Good morning.
It’s an even chance of Saturday rain for Whitewater, with a high of fifty-two.
On this day in 1824, Congress decides the outcome of a presidential election:
….Congress acts to decide a presidential election for the first time in history, giving the presidency to John Quincy Adams. A clause in the Constitution’s 12th Amendment puts the power of deciding an election in the hands of Congress if no candidate receives a majority of the Electoral College votes….
On Election Day, Adams and Jackson led the pack in electoral votes, but Clay and Crawford had garnered enough votes to prevent either from winning a majority. Adams received 84 electoral votes; Jackson won 99. By the terms of the 12th Amendment, Congress was tasked with deciding between the two candidates, who could not have been more different in style or policy. Adams, described by his opponents as a cold, calculating Yankee elitist contrasted with Jackson, who was portrayed (not inaccurately) as hot-headed and hell-bent on destroying federal institutions (such as the National Bank) that George Washington and the Federalists had worked hard to establish.
In the end, Speaker Clay used his influence to convince fellow lawmakers to cast their vote for Adams and he emerged victorious. Not surprisingly, Adams chose Henry Clay to be his secretary of state, an act that enraged Jackson and helped to unite what had been a fragmented Democratic Party. In the election of 1828, Jackson easily beat the incumbent Adams, and went on to serve until 1837.
On 12.1.1884, a fire changed life (temporarily) for students at UW-Madison:
1884 – Fire Destroys UW Building
On this date fire destroyed Science Hall on the UW-Madison campus. As a result, engineering students were forced to use the cramped space of the former dormitory, North Hall, for the next four semesters. [Source: College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison]
From Google’s daily puzzle, a question of bio-science: “What animal uses several layers of chromataphores to change its color based on its emotional state?”