News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Remind HN: Vote. Parent comment

Re:Remind HN: Vote by riffic on Tuesday November 02, 2010 @08:38AM (#1860154)
In 1845, the United States was largely an agrarian society. Farmers often needed a full day to travel by horse-drawn vehicles to the county seat to vote. Tuesday was established as election day because it did not interfere with the Biblical Sabbath or with market day, which was on Wednesday in many towns.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_Day_(United_States)

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Remind HN: Vote by jdub on Tuesday November 02, 2010 @11:25AM (#1860783)
That's great, but it's not 1845, and I know that not all Americans are Constitutional fundamentalist nutjobs. :-)
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Remind HN: Vote by SkyMarshal on Tuesday November 02, 2010 @03:38PM (#1861959)
So why not Saturday? That article doesn't mention it.

Neither sabbath nor market day, yet still a weekend day. Or did people back then consider Saturday a regular work/week day too?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Remind HN: Vote by rue on Tuesday November 02, 2010 @03:48PM (#1862011)
Not Saturday because it would, presumably, take that same whole day to get back.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Remind HN: Vote by btilly on Tuesday November 02, 2010 @05:10PM (#1862365)
And note that market day tended to be in the same town where you voted, so arriving a day early was much of a hardship.
[ Parent | on HN ]