(Don’t forget him. And yes he counts. Mr. Beat called him the “Oldest Person ever nominated for president” with zero extra qualifiers back in 2015 and he was on a bunch of top 10 lists in that crunchy 2009-2014 era)
He was nominated by the Greenback Party and received less than 1% of the vote.
The Greenback Party had been organized by agricultural interests in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1874 to urge the federal government to inflate the economy through the mass issuance of paper money called greenbacks. Its first national nominating convention was held in Indianapolis in the spring of 1876. Peter Cooper was nominated for president with 352 votes to 119 for three other contenders. The convention nominated Anti-Monopolist Senator Newton Booth of California for vice president. After Booth declined to run, the national committee chose Samuel Fenton Cary as his replacement on the ticket.
Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but my interpretation of the Greenbacks monetary policy here indicates they were a little ahead of their time. In particular, it looks like they were advocating for some sort of government stimulus to help the economy following the US Civil War, a looser monetary policy in general, and the abandonment of the gold standard.
Mr. Cooper specifically was an interesting character. He invented Gelatin mix(and his wife invented the household packaged version which she named Jello), was involved in the SS Great Eastern and the Transatlantic Cable project, invented the anthracite coal smelting system used until the 1950s, invented the steel safety rocking chair, built the first ever steam locomotive in America(the Tom Thumb), founded Cooper Union College in Manhatten and advocated for free higher education(His college was funded by him and his family and was free until the 2014 when the family funds were strained by the Great Recession and they started charging tuition), pushed for ending the gold standard, was anti-slavery, opened an orphanage in New York, was a huge fan of the arts. He started off pretty poor(hatmaker for a bit, thankfully he quit that business before they switched from urine to mercury, then he was a brewer and a cabinet maker), but he invented a new chain system to help move boats through the Erie Canal and got some money from De Witt Clinton and went into a line of glue factories.
Also is there an award for most unique beard? Forgot having his head in the clouds, Mr. Cooper had the clouds on his head.
Lol I am just trying to imagine someone running for President with this beard today. Would he be able to to break the Beard Barrier?
I’d be rooting for him.
Honestly most of his policies have aged pretty well, just get him up to speed on women’s rights and he’ll be good. Also if you last that long in those days you are in exceptional health, he would have lasted a term and a half at the time and with modern medicine I’m sure we could squeeze two more years out of him.
Also he could cross the board, the Jell-O Belt will be powerless to stop him, and he’ll secure the neckbeards vote. Plus the old guys would like someone as old as him. Someone get me the Jeb template
Intentionally excluding Third Parties here is kinda weird given they actually on average nominate far far younger candidates. Other than the disputed Willy Hope Harvey who was originally on a third party before getting ousted and going independant, all the other old farts are mainline. Trump, Biden, Reagan, Dole, McCain, Robert M. La Follette(Bull Moose Guy Post-Teddy) and…William Henry Harrison? Ok didn’t know that last one, clearly not the right move though.
Also both John Adams and his son were shockingly old the last time they ran by the standards of the era, John Adams died at 90 and was the oldest living ex-president from the day his term ended(George was already dead midway through his first term and John Adams was older than him by the time he was midway through his second term) until 2001 when Dementia Riddled Reagan limped ahead and took the record before dying at Age 90, then Ford beat his record for 5 weeks in 2006 before croaking, then HW beat his record in 2017 and held it for a whole 6 months before croaking, and Carter’s had it since 2019.
Though accounting for life expectancy of the era John Adams is still insane. Adams had untreated thyroid issues which almost killed him a couple times, he had Typhoid in his 80s, and he got a kidney infection in his final months which helped finish him off. All of those would be treatable today so he’d probably be closer to Carters level by our standards.
Also had ones of those beards that you just nope past at the barber in Red Dead.
