DON ’ T FORGET TO VOTE !
BY MAXINE FRIEDMAN
“ Did you ever know such a time ?” Although those words might seem to express a popular sentiment about our current election cycle , in fact they were written by a Staten Island resident in 1876 , referring to the contested presidential election of that year . Faced with the negativity and sharp political divisions of today ’ s election campaigns , people may long for a simpler time , but a variety of historical items in the collections of Historic Richmond Town suggest that perhaps little has changed over the years when it comes to behavior in politics . Letters , campaign buttons , handbills , ballots , and many other artifacts from elections past give us a glimpse of the good and the bad in our political system through the years .
8 The STaTen ISland hISTorIan