WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.040 Welcome to this deep dive. If you're joining 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:06.339 us today, you probably have an appreciation for 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:08.939 the hidden machinery that makes American politics 00:00:08.939 --> 00:00:11.519 actually function. Yeah, the real nuts and bolts 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:15.539 of it. Exactly. And our mission right now is 00:00:15.539 --> 00:00:18.800 to take what looks at first glance anyway, like 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:22.280 the most dry, straightforward, maybe even totally 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:24.940 mundane source material you could possibly imagine 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:28.550 and decode it. Right. We are looking at a Wikipedia 00:00:28.550 --> 00:00:31.269 article that is literally just detailing the 00:00:31.269 --> 00:00:33.270 chronological list of United States senators 00:00:33.270 --> 00:00:36.310 from New Jersey. And look, I know what you might 00:00:36.310 --> 00:00:37.829 be thinking looking at the source. You're thinking 00:00:37.829 --> 00:00:39.289 it's a spreadsheet of names, dates, political 00:00:39.289 --> 00:00:40.909 parties. You know, where's the story in that? 00:00:41.090 --> 00:00:43.390 It sounds like homework. It really does. But 00:00:43.390 --> 00:00:45.770 when you sit down and actually read between the 00:00:45.770 --> 00:00:49.270 lines of this specific text, you realize it is 00:00:49.270 --> 00:00:52.659 not just a basic. clerical record. It's it's 00:00:52.659 --> 00:00:55.320 a highly detailed map of political evolution. 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:58.159 It's a ledger of quiet power plays, procedural 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:01.219 maneuvering and massive historical shifts in 00:01:01.219 --> 00:01:03.640 the United States. We're looking at a timeline 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:06.359 that traces New Jersey's representation in the 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:10.120 Senate from the very first Congress back in 1789. 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:12.739 Starting with Jonathan Elmer and William Patterson. 00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:14.620 Right. Starting with them and going all the way 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:17.099 up to the current delegation today, which the 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:20.079 document notes is Cory Booker and Andy Kim. I 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:21.819 want to tease this right up front for you because 00:01:21.819 --> 00:01:25.019 this list isn't just a historical register of 00:01:25.019 --> 00:01:27.280 who held an office and when they left. It is 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:30.319 a literal playbook of how political power is 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:32.700 maintained, how it's transferred, and sometimes 00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:35.019 how it is suddenly and traumatically lost. Oh, 00:01:35.019 --> 00:01:37.599 absolutely. There is so much leverage and strategy 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:40.180 hiding in plain sight within these timelines, 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:42.140 if you know what you're looking at. And we're 00:01:42.140 --> 00:01:44.400 going to decode those hidden mechanics of the 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:46.859 Senate today. They're just sitting there quietly 00:01:46.859 --> 00:01:49.680 documented in these chronological columns and 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:52.040 buried in the footnote. Footnotes are the best 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:55.280 part. They really are. We'll examine the fundamental 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:57.459 rules of the game, how those rules have been 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.359 rewritten over the centuries, the intense political 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:02.680 musical chairs that happen behind the scenes 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:06.060 to secure an advantage, and the historical dynasties 00:02:06.060 --> 00:02:08.520 that define the early days of the republic. Okay, 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:10.659 let's unpack this. Because to really understand 00:02:10.659 --> 00:02:13.439 this list, we have to start by focusing on the 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:15.639 timeline of how these people actually got their 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:17.939 jobs in the first place. Right, the actual mechanism 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:20.699 of getting into office. Yeah. When you look at 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:23.400 the introductory section of this Wikipedia article, 00:02:23.710 --> 00:02:27.050 It points out a massive fundamental shift in 00:02:27.050 --> 00:02:29.949 the rules of American democracy. Before 1914, 00:02:30.629 --> 00:02:33.289 senators from New Jersey were chosen by the New 00:02:33.289 --> 00:02:36.030 Jersey legislature. Yes. But after the enforcement 00:02:36.030 --> 00:02:38.669 of the 17th Amendment, they became popularly 00:02:38.669 --> 00:02:40.729 elected. And that is a night and day difference 00:02:40.729 --> 00:02:43.069 in the political mechanics of the country. I 00:02:43.069 --> 00:02:45.169 mean, before that 17th Amendment kicked in around 00:02:45.169 --> 00:02:48.330 1914, the Senate was essentially a chamber of 00:02:48.330 --> 00:02:51.090 state appointed insiders. As a prospective senator. 00:02:51.629 --> 00:02:53.349 You weren't running a massive campaign trying 00:02:53.349 --> 00:02:55.610 to win over the everyday citizens of New Jersey. 00:02:55.770 --> 00:02:58.050 You were appealing directly to the state legislators 00:02:58.050 --> 00:03:01.000 down in Trenton. Which fundamentally changes 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:02.939 the type of person who gets the job, doesn't 00:03:02.939 --> 00:03:04.379 it? Right. I mean, you don't necessarily need 00:03:04.379 --> 00:03:06.539 to be a charismatic public speaker. No, not at 00:03:06.539 --> 00:03:09.159 all. You need to be a masterful backroom negotiator. 00:03:09.340 --> 00:03:12.180 Precisely. It created a very insular specific 00:03:12.180 --> 00:03:16.060 kind of political dynamic where power was concentrated 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:19.639 among a few well -connected individuals who held 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:22.620 sway over the state capital. Right. But once 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:25.879 the 17th Amendment is enforced and US senators 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:29.479 are popularly elected, the entire incentive structure 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:32.219 of the Senate flips. It shifted the power dynamic 00:03:32.219 --> 00:03:34.520 outward, making these officials directly accountable 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:37.460 to the voting public rather than, you know, to 00:03:37.460 --> 00:03:40.759 a closed room of state politicians. It's wild 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:43.919 to think that for over a century. The names on 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:46.439 this list were placed there by a few dozen local 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:49.259 politicians rather than millions of voters. And 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:51.080 that's just one of the operational shits we found. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:53.060 There's another big one right at the top. Yeah. 00:03:53.180 --> 00:03:55.479 There's another really interesting timeline adjustment 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:57.659 noted right in the introduction of the source. 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:02.020 Before 1935, a senator's term began on March 00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:06.280 4th. But today, they begin on January 3rd. And 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:09.800 that gap used to create a massive lame duck period. 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:12.180 Oh, right. Because of the November elections. 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:15.180 Exactly. Elections happened in November. But 00:04:15.180 --> 00:04:18.600 before 1935, the newly elected officials wouldn't 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:20.939 take power until March of the following year. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:24.279 Wow. That's four months where the outgoing politicians, 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:26.560 who may have just been overwhelmingly voted out 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:28.879 by the public, were still legislating. That's 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:31.579 a huge window for mischief. It really is. Moving 00:04:31.579 --> 00:04:34.300 it to January 3rd tightened that window significantly, 00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:36.740 aligning the start of the legislative session 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:39.439 much closer to the actual election results. So 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:41.579 as you scroll down the list itself, you immediately 00:04:41.579 --> 00:04:43.920 run into another structural element of the Senate 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:46.279 that dictates everything about how these terms 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:48.839 function. The class system. The classes, yes. 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:51.639 The table is explicitly divided into class 1 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:53.819 and class 2. And this is where we get into the 00:04:53.819 --> 00:04:56.500 constitutional philosophy of the chamber. The 00:04:56.500 --> 00:04:58.959 founders designed the Senate to act as a stabilizing 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:01.860 force, often described as the legislative cooling 00:05:01.860 --> 00:05:04.540 saucer. Right. To achieve that, they didn't want 00:05:04.540 --> 00:05:07.439 the entire chamber up for reelection all at once. 00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:10.480 Right. Because if all 100 seats were on the ballot 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:14.279 at the exact same time, a single sweeping populist 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:17.040 wave could entirely replace the legislative branch 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:21.110 in one single election cycle. Which brings us 00:05:21.110 --> 00:05:23.629 to how the text breaks down New Jersey seats. 00:05:24.089 --> 00:05:26.689 Class one U .S. senators belong to an electoral 00:05:26.689 --> 00:05:29.589 cycle that the source notes was recently contested 00:05:29.589 --> 00:05:32.670 in years like 2018 and 2024. With the next election 00:05:32.670 --> 00:05:35.149 coming up in 2030. Correct. And currently, Andy 00:05:35.149 --> 00:05:37.170 Kim sits in the class one seat. And then you 00:05:37.170 --> 00:05:40.029 have class two. The source shows this cycle includes 00:05:40.029 --> 00:05:43.069 elections in 2014 and 2020, with the next one 00:05:43.069 --> 00:05:45.930 scheduled for 2026. And this is the seat currently 00:05:45.930 --> 00:05:48.439 held by Cory Booker. If we connect this to the 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:50.819 bigger picture, the staggered system ensures 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:53.319 that the Senate is never entirely replaced all 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:55.339 at once. Like a rolling subscription renewal? 00:05:55.639 --> 00:05:58.680 Yes, exactly. By breaking the chamber into three 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:01.399 overlapping classes across the country, you guarantee 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:05.180 continuous institutional memory. There are always 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:07.019 lawmakers in the room who know how the machinery 00:06:07.019 --> 00:06:10.459 works, who understand the procedural rules, even 00:06:10.459 --> 00:06:12.540 when a massive wave of newly elected freshmen 00:06:12.540 --> 00:06:15.620 arrives in Washington. And because of that continuous 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:17.980 rolling structure, the transition periods between 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:20.600 senators can be highly strategized. Oh, absolutely. 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:23.360 This list isn't just a record of smooth, orderly 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:25.959 transitions every six years. There are sudden 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:28.639 stops, abrupt starts, and brilliant tactical 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:31.500 maneuvers hiding in the dates. Let's look at 00:06:31.500 --> 00:06:33.800 the modern shifts to see that in action. The 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.800 class one seat in 2024 is a perfect case study 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:38.920 in bureaucratic musical chairs. It really is. 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:41.500 Trace the timeline of the specific seat in the 00:06:41.500 --> 00:06:43.699 source, and you see a rapid -fire succession 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:45.939 of names in just a matter of months. Let's walk 00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:48.139 through that 2024 timeline for everyone listening. 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:50.699 According to the record, we start with Bob Menendez. 00:06:51.060 --> 00:06:53.920 The source shows he had a very long tenure, appointed 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:56.839 initially in 2006, elected to a full term later 00:06:56.839 --> 00:06:59.379 that year, and re -elected multiple times. He 00:06:59.379 --> 00:07:03.100 was a fixture. Right. But the text logs his resignation 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:07.350 on August 20, 2024. And the official reason provided 00:07:07.350 --> 00:07:10.089 in the source for this resignation is his bribery 00:07:10.089 --> 00:07:12.829 convictions. So suddenly, in late August, there 00:07:12.829 --> 00:07:15.209 is a completely unexpected vacancy in the class 00:07:15.209 --> 00:07:18.069 one seat. The state is down a vote in the Senate. 00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:20.290 And a vacancy means the state governor has to 00:07:20.290 --> 00:07:22.730 step in to fill the void. The timeline shows 00:07:22.730 --> 00:07:24.769 that Governor Phil Murphy appointed George Helmy 00:07:24.769 --> 00:07:27.370 to fill the gap. But Helmy's term is incredibly 00:07:27.370 --> 00:07:30.029 brief. Blink and you miss it. Yeah, he takes 00:07:30.029 --> 00:07:33.870 office on August 23, 2024, just three days after 00:07:33.870 --> 00:07:36.529 the resignation. And he officially serves only 00:07:36.529 --> 00:07:39.389 until December 8th, 2024. What's fascinating 00:07:39.389 --> 00:07:41.589 here is what happens next. And you really have 00:07:41.589 --> 00:07:43.790 to dig into the footnotes of the Wikipedia article 00:07:43.790 --> 00:07:46.269 to find it. The fine print. Right. This wasn't 00:07:46.269 --> 00:07:48.529 just a simple case of a temporary appointee keeping 00:07:48.529 --> 00:07:50.709 the seat warm until the newly elected senator 00:07:50.709 --> 00:07:53.589 arrived in January. This was a highly strategic 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:56.370 maneuver known in Washington as preferential 00:07:56.370 --> 00:07:59.870 seniority. Footnotes 8 and 10 in our source spell 00:07:59.870 --> 00:08:02.470 this out perfectly. George Helmy deliberately 00:08:02.470 --> 00:08:05.139 retired at the end of his term. Resigning early. 00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:08.279 He intentionally stepped down a few weeks before 00:08:08.279 --> 00:08:10.240 his appointed term was officially supposed to 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:13.139 end so that Andy Kim, who had just won the 2024 00:08:13.139 --> 00:08:16.300 general election, could be appointed early. Right. 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:18.860 And so Kim takes the seat on December 8th, 2024. 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:21.639 For you listening, you might wonder why any of 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:24.079 this procedural maneuvering even matters. What 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:26.100 difference does three or four weeks make in a 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:28.240 six year Senate term? It seems like nothing. 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:31.029 In the United States Senate. It dictates almost 00:08:31.029 --> 00:08:32.909 everything about your daily life and your political 00:08:32.909 --> 00:08:35.309 influence because the Senate operates strictly 00:08:35.309 --> 00:08:37.990 on seniority. It determines your committee assignments, 00:08:38.070 --> 00:08:39.990 right? Committee assignments, your physical office 00:08:39.990 --> 00:08:42.830 space in the Senate buildings, your desk placement 00:08:42.830 --> 00:08:45.509 on the Senate floor, and the overall power dynamics 00:08:45.509 --> 00:08:48.669 within your party's caucus. By having Helmy resign 00:08:48.669 --> 00:08:51.629 early, Governor Murphy was able to appoint Andy 00:08:51.629 --> 00:08:53.549 Kim slightly before the rest of the incoming 00:08:53.549 --> 00:08:56.149 freshman class across the country was sworn in 00:08:56.149 --> 00:08:58.399 on January 3rd. So while all the other newly 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:01.120 elected senators from other states are just sitting 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:03.460 at home waiting for January to officially start 00:09:03.460 --> 00:09:06.100 their jobs, Annie Kim is already on the clock 00:09:06.100 --> 00:09:09.220 in December. Exactly. That tiny little window 00:09:09.220 --> 00:09:11.879 of time gives him preferential seniority over 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:14.440 every other newly elected senator in his class. 00:09:15.610 --> 00:09:17.470 When it comes time to hand out coveted committee 00:09:17.470 --> 00:09:19.990 seats, he is technically senior to all of them. 00:09:20.129 --> 00:09:22.929 It is a total power move, documented right there 00:09:22.929 --> 00:09:25.610 in a few dates on a spreadsheet. The list literally 00:09:25.610 --> 00:09:28.750 notes, Kim was appointed early to finish Menendez's 00:09:28.750 --> 00:09:31.149 term, having been already elected to the next 00:09:31.149 --> 00:09:33.669 term. It is incredible how a few manufactured 00:09:33.669 --> 00:09:36.629 days of tenure translate to real -world political 00:09:36.629 --> 00:09:39.190 capital that could impact his influence for the 00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:41.809 next six years, or however long he stays in office. 00:09:42.049 --> 00:09:45.309 It's a brilliant modern maneuver. Marvel at the 00:09:45.309 --> 00:09:48.110 tactical games played in 2024. This document 00:09:48.110 --> 00:09:50.250 is also packed with historical drama that puts 00:09:50.250 --> 00:09:52.009 all of our modern politics into perspective. 00:09:52.149 --> 00:09:54.049 Here's where it gets really interesting. When 00:09:54.049 --> 00:09:56.490 you scroll back up to the 18th and 19th centuries 00:09:56.490 --> 00:09:59.690 on this list, you stop seeing modern granular 00:09:59.690 --> 00:10:02.610 political strategy and start seeing outright 00:10:02.610 --> 00:10:05.850 political dynasties. The family names? Yes. You 00:10:05.850 --> 00:10:08.009 see the exact same last names popping up over 00:10:08.009 --> 00:10:09.690 and over again, generation after generation. 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:12.139 These were the families that essentially dominated 00:10:12.139 --> 00:10:14.759 early New Jersey politics. Let's look at the 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:17.769 Frailing Heisens. In this single Wikipedia list, 00:10:18.009 --> 00:10:20.409 you have Frederick Frelinghuysen serving in the 00:10:20.409 --> 00:10:22.830 1790s. Then you have Theodore Frelinghuysen in 00:10:22.830 --> 00:10:25.909 the 1830s. Then Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, who 00:10:25.909 --> 00:10:27.970 served two different stints in the 1860s and 00:10:27.970 --> 00:10:31.350 1870s. And then Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Sr., 00:10:31.350 --> 00:10:35.769 who served from 1917 to 1923. It's amazing. That 00:10:35.769 --> 00:10:38.169 is four different members of the same family 00:10:38.169 --> 00:10:41.129 holding Senate seats across three distinct centuries. 00:10:41.470 --> 00:10:43.970 And they were by no means the only ones. Look 00:10:43.970 --> 00:10:46.000 at the Stockton family. Richard Stockton served 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:49.519 starting in 1796. Robert F. Stockton served in 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:52.980 the 1850s and then John P. Stockton in the 1860s 00:10:52.980 --> 00:10:55.779 and 1870s. But how does one family maintain that 00:10:55.779 --> 00:10:57.740 kind of stranglehold on a federal office for 00:10:57.740 --> 00:10:59.899 that long? Were they just that universally beloved 00:10:59.899 --> 00:11:02.000 by the public? Remember the rule change we talked 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:04.360 about earlier? For almost all of those 10 years, 00:11:04.460 --> 00:11:06.700 senators were not popularly elected. Oh, right. 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:08.960 The state legislature appointments. Power was 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:11.440 heavily concentrated within certain prominent 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:13.720 wealthy families who had the ear of the state 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:16.389 legislature. You didn't need to win over the 00:11:16.389 --> 00:11:18.990 masses. You just needed to maintain your family's 00:11:18.990 --> 00:11:21.509 influence among the elite political circles in 00:11:21.509 --> 00:11:24.169 the state capital. It created a self -sustaining 00:11:24.169 --> 00:11:27.210 loop of dynastic power. Even with that insular 00:11:27.210 --> 00:11:29.850 system, it clearly wasn't always smooth sailing. 00:11:30.470 --> 00:11:32.990 Just because your last name was Stockton didn't 00:11:32.990 --> 00:11:35.590 mean you were guaranteed an easy term. The tenure 00:11:35.590 --> 00:11:38.250 of John P. Stockton is a perfect example of how 00:11:38.250 --> 00:11:41.120 chaotic 19th century politics could get. The 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.559 Stockton dispute. This is one of the most fascinating 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:46.419 entries in the entire document. The text shows 00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:49.799 John P. Stockton was elected in 1864. But right 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:51.980 there in the notes column, it casually drops 00:11:51.980 --> 00:11:55.259 a massive bombshell. It says, election disputed 00:11:55.259 --> 00:11:57.740 and seat declared vacant. And it wasn't just 00:11:57.740 --> 00:11:59.600 vacant for a few days while they sorted out some 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:02.340 paperwork. The source shows his seat was actually 00:12:02.340 --> 00:12:05.460 left entirely vacant between March 1865 and March 00:12:05.460 --> 00:12:08.460 1866. Think about the implications of that for 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:10.740 a second. An entire year where a state is just 00:12:10.740 --> 00:12:13.159 missing half of its Senate representation. Unbelievable. 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:15.779 They are operating with only one senator because 00:12:15.779 --> 00:12:18.480 the factions in the state legislature are fighting 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:21.059 so bitterly over the election results that they 00:12:21.059 --> 00:12:23.419 simply leave the seat empty. And look at the 00:12:23.419 --> 00:12:28.330 dates, 1865 to 1866. Without bringing in outside 00:12:28.330 --> 00:12:31.149 history, anyone listening knows that is one of 00:12:31.149 --> 00:12:33.289 the most critical, turbulent periods in American 00:12:33.289 --> 00:12:35.809 history right at the end of the Civil War. Absolutely. 00:12:35.889 --> 00:12:39.009 And during that massive national crisis, New 00:12:39.009 --> 00:12:41.830 Jersey's political elites were so deadlocked, 00:12:41.850 --> 00:12:44.049 they effectively forfeited half their voting 00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:46.350 power in the United States Senate. Yeah. It really 00:12:46.350 --> 00:12:48.370 goes to show that contested elections, bitter 00:12:48.370 --> 00:12:50.909 political fights, and functional government paralysis 00:12:50.909 --> 00:12:54.350 are absolutely not modern inventions. The mechanics 00:12:54.350 --> 00:12:57.039 of power have always been messy. And speaking 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:58.759 of things that might surprise a modern reader, 00:12:58.899 --> 00:13:01.320 let's look at the revolving door of early politicians. 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:04.080 Today, we often think of the U .S. Senate as 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:06.220 the absolute pinnacle of a political career. 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:08.100 You spend your life trying to get there, and 00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:10.320 once you do, you stay. But back in the early 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:12.480 days, being a U .S. senator almost seemed like 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:15.480 a temporary stepping stone. Or maybe even a side 00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:18.419 gig. Just looking at the table, William Patterson, 00:13:18.539 --> 00:13:20.779 one of the very first senators for the state, 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:25.480 resigns in 1790. Why? The text says it was to 00:13:25.480 --> 00:13:27.860 become the governor of New Jersey. It wasn't 00:13:27.860 --> 00:13:30.779 an isolated incident either. Samuel L. Southard 00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:33.659 resigns in 1823 to become the U .S. Secretary 00:13:33.659 --> 00:13:37.179 of the Navy. In the early republic, the federal 00:13:37.179 --> 00:13:39.580 government didn't have the massive centralized 00:13:39.580 --> 00:13:42.240 power it has today. That makes sense. Being the 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:44.120 governor of your home state was often viewed 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:47.059 as a more powerful, more prestigious, and frankly, 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:49.620 more comfortable position than traveling all 00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:52.080 the way to a swampy national capital to sit in 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:54.110 the Senate. I wonder how long that mentality 00:13:54.110 --> 00:13:56.889 lasted, because you don't really see people abandoning 00:13:56.889 --> 00:13:58.789 the Senate for a governor's mansion very often 00:13:58.789 --> 00:14:01.269 today. It is rare now, but the text points out 00:14:01.269 --> 00:14:03.750 it hasn't completely disappeared. Even in the 00:14:03.750 --> 00:14:06.009 modern era, John Corsene resigned from his Senate 00:14:06.009 --> 00:14:08.909 seat in 2006 for the exact same reason William 00:14:08.909 --> 00:14:11.830 Patterson did in 1790, to become governor of 00:14:11.830 --> 00:14:13.909 New Jersey. It's a great historical parallel, 00:14:14.009 --> 00:14:16.490 but it is a sharp contrast to some of the other 00:14:16.490 --> 00:14:18.850 names on this list who treated the Senate as 00:14:18.850 --> 00:14:21.830 their ultimate life's work. The source specifically 00:14:21.830 --> 00:14:24.809 identifies Frank Lautenberg as New Jersey's longest 00:14:24.809 --> 00:14:27.629 -serving senator. He served an incredibly long 00:14:27.629 --> 00:14:30.809 time, first from 1982 to 2001, and then he returned 00:14:30.809 --> 00:14:34.460 and served again from 2003 to 2013. That kind 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:36.960 of longevity brings up another layer of evolution 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:39.220 recorded in this document. We've talked about 00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:41.340 the procedural rules changing, the dynasties 00:14:41.340 --> 00:14:44.100 fading, and the timeline shifting. But what stands 00:14:44.100 --> 00:14:46.360 out to you when you look straight down the party 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:49.460 column of this Wikipedia table? Oh, it is literally 00:14:49.460 --> 00:14:52.080 a fossil record of American political factions. 00:14:52.279 --> 00:14:54.759 You can see the tectonic plates of the country's 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:57.659 politics shifting just by reading the party affiliations 00:14:57.659 --> 00:15:00.460 top to bottom. You truly can. You can trace the 00:15:00.460 --> 00:15:02.519 complete evolution of American political parties 00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:05.580 through this. one state Senate seats at the very 00:15:05.580 --> 00:15:09.220 beginning in 1789. Jonathan Elmer is listed simply 00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:11.919 as pro -administration. Which makes sense. Yeah. 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:14.480 Because formal political parties, as we know 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:16.720 them, didn't really exist on day one. You were 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:18.840 either aligned with George Washington's administration 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:21.240 or you were part of the opposition. But then 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:23.279 we quickly move into the Federalist era with 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:25.100 people like Richard Stockton and Jonathan Dayton 00:15:25.100 --> 00:15:28.679 in the late 1790s. This was the era of a stronger 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:31.789 centralized government. But as the national mood 00:15:31.789 --> 00:15:34.870 shifts, so does the column. It morphs again. 00:15:35.309 --> 00:15:37.490 You get Democratic -Republican for a long stretch 00:15:37.490 --> 00:15:40.009 in the early 1800s. Then you see the Jacksonian 00:15:40.009 --> 00:15:42.450 Party pop up, representing a completely different 00:15:42.450 --> 00:15:44.549 populist movement, followed by the Whig Party 00:15:44.549 --> 00:15:47.549 in the 1830s and 1840s. It isn't until the mid 00:15:47.549 --> 00:15:49.429 to late 19th century that you start seeing the 00:15:49.429 --> 00:15:51.809 table consistently filled with the Democratic 00:15:51.809 --> 00:15:54.470 and Republican labels that we recognize today. 00:15:54.929 --> 00:15:57.309 Looking at that column is a vivid reminder that 00:15:57.309 --> 00:16:00.149 political parties are not permanent, static institutions. 00:16:00.649 --> 00:16:03.289 They are fluid factions that shift, dissolve, 00:16:03.610 --> 00:16:10.230 completely rebrand. So what does this all mean? 00:16:10.409 --> 00:16:12.610 We started this deep dive looking at a Wikipedia 00:16:12.610 --> 00:16:15.129 list of names, dates, and political parties. 00:16:15.690 --> 00:16:17.990 But what we found is that this document isn't 00:16:17.990 --> 00:16:20.990 just trivia for a local history quiz. It is a 00:16:20.990 --> 00:16:24.409 living, breathing ledger of how American democracy 00:16:24.409 --> 00:16:27.269 operates on a mechanical level. It's the blueprint. 00:16:27.570 --> 00:16:30.679 It shows how the system adapts over time. like 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:32.899 shifting from elite backroom appointments to 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:35.659 popular elections with the 17th Amendment. It 00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:37.120 shows how the system occasionally completely 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:40.159 stumbles, like leaving a seat vacant for an entire 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:42.940 year over a disputed election during a national 00:16:42.940 --> 00:16:45.799 crisis. And it shows how the players within the 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:49.120 system learn to maximize their power right down 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:51.820 to resigning a few weeks early just to secure 00:16:51.820 --> 00:16:54.600 a slight edge in preferential seniority for their 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:56.740 successor. It's the raw mechanics of political 00:16:56.740 --> 00:16:59.590 power stripped down to dates on a page. But before 00:16:59.590 --> 00:17:01.529 we wrap up today, I want to leave you with one 00:17:01.529 --> 00:17:04.410 final, truly bizarre historical fact that is 00:17:04.410 --> 00:17:06.309 buried deep in the footnotes of this source. 00:17:06.789 --> 00:17:08.430 Specifically, if you look at footnote number 00:17:08.430 --> 00:17:10.650 seven. This might be the strangest detail in 00:17:10.650 --> 00:17:13.849 the entire article. In 1937, Senator William 00:17:13.849 --> 00:17:16.789 H. Smathers was installed late in the U .S. Senate. 00:17:17.190 --> 00:17:20.029 Why was he delayed? because he remained a member 00:17:20.029 --> 00:17:22.349 of the New Jersey State Senate at the exact same 00:17:22.349 --> 00:17:25.670 time. The footnote explicitly states, and I quote, 00:17:26.089 --> 00:17:28.549 there is no prohibition in concurrent service 00:17:28.549 --> 00:17:31.390 in both federal and state legislatures. Let me 00:17:31.390 --> 00:17:33.029 make sure I'm understanding that. Who's passing 00:17:33.029 --> 00:17:36.250 state laws in Trenton and federal laws in Washington 00:17:36.250 --> 00:17:38.730 simultaneously? According to the source, yes, 00:17:38.930 --> 00:17:41.630 the rules did not prohibit it. So I want to leave 00:17:41.630 --> 00:17:44.450 you to mull over this concept. Based purely on 00:17:44.450 --> 00:17:46.349 the rules outlined in this historical footnote, 00:17:46.490 --> 00:17:48.569 what would American politics look like today 00:17:48.569 --> 00:17:51.109 if your local state representative was legally 00:17:51.109 --> 00:17:53.430 allowed to also simultaneously hold a seat in 00:17:53.430 --> 00:17:55.269 the United States Senate? How would that dual 00:17:55.269 --> 00:17:57.609 mandate change the balance of power between highly 00:17:57.609 --> 00:18:00.490 specific local needs and massive national politics? 00:18:00.829 --> 00:18:03.990 It is a completely wild thought experiment. And 00:18:03.990 --> 00:18:06.490 it just goes to show how much rich history is 00:18:06.490 --> 00:18:08.910 hiding in the fine print of the things we usually 00:18:08.910 --> 00:18:11.700 scroll right past. Thank you so much for joining 00:18:11.700 --> 00:18:13.880 us on this deep dive. We hope you walk away with 00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:15.960 a totally new perspective on how to read between 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:18.480 the lines of historical records. Keep questioning 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:21.019 the details, keep exploring the footnotes, and 00:18:21.019 --> 00:18:22.220 we will catch you next time.