1. In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England. 2. In 1649, one vote cost King Charles I of England his head. The vote to behead him was 67 against and 68 for — one vote caused the ax to fall. 3. In 1800, the result of the electoral college votes was a tie vote for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The tie put the election of President in the hands of the House of Representatives where Thomas Jefferson was elected our third president by one vote. 4. In 1824, none of the four Presidential candidates received an electoral majority. The election was thrown into the House of Representatives, where John Quincy Adams defeated front runner Andrew Jackson by one vote to become the nation’s 6th president. 5. In 1845, Texas was admitted to the union as a state by one vote. 6. The Alaska Purchase of 1867 was ratified by one vote — paving the way for the annexation of America’s largest state in 1958. 7. In 1868, one vote in the U.S. Senate saved President Andrew Johnson from impeachment. I came across an interesting story about the passage of the 19th Amendment to the constitution giving women the right to vote. Congress began debating the amendment in 1878 but it was not until 1919 that it narrowly passed both houses of Congress and was sent to the states to be ratified. When it came time for the Tennessee legislature to vote, on August 18, 1920, the amendment was one vote short of passing. The Tennessee legislators were deadlocked 48 to 48 when it came time for Harry Burn, the youngest of the legislators, to cast his vote. He had been expected to vote against it, but he had in his pocket a note from his mother which read, “Dear Son, Hurrah, and vote for suffrage! Don’t keep them in doubt. I noticed some of the speeches against. They were bitter. I have been watching how you stood, but have not noticed anything yet. Don’t forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt put the ‘rat’ in ratification. Your Mother.” He took his mother’s advice and voted in favor of the amendment. It is said that the young man fled to the attic of the state capitol and camped out there until the angry crowd downstairs finally dispersed. Doing what is right often requires courage but character is not developed in a vacuum! The unknown poet says it well: I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something That I can do.