When did all this begin?
1845 — The Tuesday after the first Monday in November was established for presidential elections
1875 — Adopted for electing U.S. House members
1914 — Applied to electing senators when the direct election of them began
Why Tuesday — and in November?
Convenience, believe it or not. In order to understand the day chosen, you need to understand 19th century America. Most Americans were farmers, devoutly Christian and needed time to travel, because roads weren’t paved, and polling locations weren’t widespread like today.