218 ^yisco}lsi7l Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 



Table IV. — Vote for presidential electors and congressman 1S56-1896. 



Repcblicajj. 



Vote. 



Group I . . . . 



Group II . . . 



Group III. . 



Total. 



19,3:33 

 22, S31 

 13, 863 



Per cent, 

 of total. 



Democratic. 



Vote. 



.06, OTt 



47 



59 

 G5 



I 



Av. 56 



21,769 



15,236 



7,420 



44,425 



Per cent, 

 of total. 



53 

 41 



35 



Av. 44 



Table Y shows the combiued vote on two measures for town- 

 ship organization taken April 4, 1854, and April 7, 1857.^ 

 The votes here taken were in accordance with the state law, 

 which allowed any conntj governed under the precinct system, 

 to change to the more regular and perfect system of organiza- 

 tion by toAvnships. The precinct system was a relic of the con- 

 nection of Illinois with Virginia;^ it was loose and easy work- 

 ing in its action, but it did not appeal to the more strict and 

 careful ideas of governmental administration entertained by the 

 Xew England men who came into the county from 1840 to 



Table V. — Vote on township organization. 



For 



Vote. 



Per cent, 

 of total. 



Group I 



Group II. .. 



Group III., 



Total 



685 

 901 

 674 



2,260 



60.5 

 78.0 

 82.7 



Av. 75.0 



Ag.\inst 



Vote. 



445 



255 



53 



Per cent, 

 of total. 



753 



39.5 



22.0 



7.3 



A V. 25.0 



1850. The}^ made several attempts to substitute the to'vvnship 

 for the precinct system, and finally succeeded in doing so, al- 

 though the influence of the southern element in the population 

 was strong enough to make Jo Daviess the last county north 

 of the Illinois River to adopt the township system.^ The 



^ The statistics for these votes are taken from boz 110 in the vault of the County Clerk 

 in Galena. 

 " History of Jo Daviess County, p. 346. 

 « lb., p. 347. 



