Fascinating

I love history. I hated it in school, but as an adult, I can't get enough of it. Of late, I've become kind of obsessed with this election; the harder I try to extricate myself from it, the deeper I get sucked in. Guess I need to just go with it, find my groove and ride it out.

I've been looking at all kinds of information, not just about the candidates but historical data, too. Learning "in depth" all the things we were never taught in civics class in high school, even though it was required for graduation; it might have been enough to get us a diploma, but it certainly was not enough to prepare us for "the real world," I have found.

Weirdo that I am, I am fascinated by ALL of it. After the Civil War, fundamental changes took place in the two major parties of the time, Democratic and Republican, essentially giving us the system we use today. For this reason, I began my "analysis" with Lincoln:

Republican Presidents serving in office: 18
Democratic Presidents serving in office: 9

Elections won by Republican candidates: 23
Elections won by Democratic candidates: 14

Wars under Republican President: 3 (Civil War, Persian Gulf War, Iraq War)
Wars under Democratic President: 4* (WW I, WW II, Korean War, Vietnam War)
*The "Cold War" began during a Democratic administration and ended some 40 years later during a Republican administration.

Republican Presidents impeached: 0
Democratic Presidents impeached: 2

Republican Presidents successfully assassinated: 3
Democratic Presidents successfully assassinated: 1

Number of "cross party" tickets: 1

Since the Civil War:

1. Republicans have been elected more often and covered more terms than Democrats.
   
2. Cleveland (the only President elected to 2 non-consecutive terms), Wilson, FDR (the only President to be elected to 4 terms), and Clinton were the only Democratic Presidents invited back" (elected) to serve another term - 4 in total - while 7 Republicans have been re-elected to a second term.
   
3. Long "strings" of Republican terms are generally followed by a single Democratic term (exception being FDR/Truman).
4. Republican Presidents have a greater likelihood to be assassinated, while Democratic Presidents have a greater likelihood of committing an impeachable offense.
   
5. More and bigger, "bloodier" wars have happened during Democratic administrations.

THEN CONSIDER: On top of all this:

1. The Federal Reserve Act was ushered in under a Democratic administration (Wilson). There were numerous reasons the Founding Fathers laid the responsibility of coining money in the hands of the Congress, deliberately avoiding a centralized banking system; but in 1913 Wilson and his Congress subverted the Constitution and derailed the American economy for generations to come.
   
2. The institution of social programs (welfare) leading to dependence on the government came about during a Democratic administration (FDR). While these programs may have been necessary at the time, most should have been abolished at the end of the Great Depression. Instead, allowed to grow and expand, they created generations of "welfare families."
   
3. The opening up of free trade leading to the loss of many American jobs was signed into effect during a Democratic administration (Clinton). We're living this, and I don't think I need to elaborate on this subject.
   

I could go on. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and it is really disturbing.