Consider these three recent events; a ship trapped in the Suez Canal, a virus outbreak in a city in south-eastern China, and a small group of Reddit website users investing in a video game retailer. The first paralyzed world shipping, the second caused a global epidemic, and the third caused a massive stock market upheaval. Each one appeared quite routine at the time but illustrated the theory that a small circumstance could have global ramifications. This has been popularized from a quote in the movie “Havana,” where Robert Redford states, “a butterfly can flutter its wings over a flower in China and cause a hurricane in the Caribbean.”

Could one vote be a butterfly hurricane? Impossible, you say? It was a long time ago, November of 1844, wherein the extreme southwest corner of Indiana, there lived an old farmer by the name of Freeman Clark. He lay seriously ill in bed, yet begged his sons to carry him over a mountain road to the county seat in order that he could vote. He wanted to cast his ballot for a lawyer who was running for a state senate seat by the name of David Kelso. Years before, Kelso had defended Clark against a murder charge and got him acquitted. Clark now wanted to return the favor.

Clark’s sons obeyed their father’s wishes, and the old farmer cast his vote. The journey, however, cost the man his life. It was not for nothing as David Kelso was elected to the Indiana state senate by a single vote — Freeman Clark’s vote. No sooner had Kelso been sworn in than the Indiana State Senate had to decide on their choice for a US Senator for their state. (This was before the 17th amendment to the US Constitution that was passed in 1913, which allowed for direct election of US senators.)

Newly elected David Kelso provided the Democratic Party with a one-seat majority, which made him the point man on selecting the US Senator. At that time in the mid-1800s, the major issue of the day was the annexation of Texas, a position the Democrats were not in favor of. The caucus selected a man who took that position, but which Kelso refused to vote for. For days, his vote created a deadlock between the Democrat and Whig candidates. To break the impasse, Kelso proposed a compromise candidate, Edward A. Hannigan. Exhausted by this time, his party agreed, and Hannigan was elected by one vote — David Kelso’s vote.

Edward A. Hannigan took his seat in Washington, D.C. as a United States Senator. One of the first issues to come up was the reconsideration of the Texas treaty of annexation. Popular sentiment was not high given that this would add another slave-holding state and might ignite tensions with neighboring Mexico. The issue was one of the hottest of the presidential election held in 1844, and lame-duck President Tyler wanted to try one more time to get the treaty passed before the new president would be inaugurated in March. Instead of a treaty that required a two-thirds vote, Tyler opted for a joint resolution, requiring only a majority.

It was February 27, 1845, when the United States Senate voted on the Joint Resolution to admit Texas to the Union, which carried by one vote. Yes, the deciding vote was from the new Indiana senator — Edward A. Hannigan’s vote. A little less than four months before that historic action, a dying old farmer in the backwoods of Indiana flapped his butterfly wings. That simple yet costly act of voting resulted in a hurricane of change that altered American history.

There may be another hurricane in the making soon. The upcoming Pennsylvania Primary Election on Tuesday, May 18th, might resound far beyond the borders of our Commonwealth. Suppose the majority of voters vote “yes” on the two constitutional amendments limiting a governor’s rule by edict during a declared emergency. In that case, it could provide a template for other states to follow. It would bring a return of true democratic government, a government that is of the people, by the people, for the people, as President Lincoln so eloquently stated it. And this could turn our country around back to its roots, which despite the loud cries by the radical revisionists of today, has been a Land of Hope for the world since its inception. Not perfect, to be sure, a work in progress, of course, but progress toward freedom and opportunity for all.

When you cast your vote in the Pennsylvania Primary Election, it is very doubtful that your single vote will impact Freeman Clark. But your vote added to thousands of others throughout the state could result in the constitutional change that would become a wind that would blow across the nation and model what should be done in other states.

Let an old dying farmer that got carried over a mountain road in the nineteenth century to vote be our example. Vote like your life and your nation depended on it.