Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.15 |
Object Name |
Box, Ballot |
Title |
Ballot Box |
Artist |
Dearborn, Benjamin |
Place of Origin |
Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
Date |
1808 |
Description |
Wooden box on legs, with a hinged aperture in the top, drawer in front, and carrying handle beneath. Contemporary marking in ink, "Inventor. Presented by Benjamin Dearborn, Feb. 5, 1808." The box has a wide slot in the back, below which it is divided into one open compartment and one closed compartment, the latter having a hole in the cover and housing a drawer opening from the front. The top of the box has the form of a shallow tray having a hinged trap-door at one end. This door is directly above the open compartment. (Robert P. Multhauf, "Catalogue of Instruments and Models," 1961). |
Label |
In the early 19th century, there was a movement to replace the English tradition of show-of-hands and vocal voting in the United States. Private-ballot voting subsequently became more common. From 1808 to 1840, APS members donated four ballot boxes designed for membership election. Benjamin Dearborn, a Boston inventor and educator, presented this ballot box in 1808. A voter would use colored beans or differently-shaped blocks of wood to cast his vote, and the box would hide his hands and the ballots in order to keep his vote secret. Dearborn gave another ballot box of his own design to the APS in 1823 (58.16). |
Material |
Mahogany and brass |
Dimensions |
H-11.813 W-10.5 D-7 inches |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society |
Search Terms |
19th century nineteenth century election politics invention |