The Jacksonian era documents, Study Guides, Projects, Research of History

Download The Jacksonian era documents and more Study Guides, Projects, Research History in PDF only on Docsity!

After addressing the questions above, read the following summary of the Election of 1840.

The Election of 1840 – The Log Cabin and Hard Cider Campaign

Martin Van Buren vs. William Henry Harrison

From Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White, Volume I

Andrew Dickson White, 1832-

From Section II, Chapter III: “Political Life, from Jackson to Fillmore:”

My recollections of American politics begin, then, with the famous campaign of 1840, and of that they are vivid. Our family had, in 1839, removed to Syracuse, which, although now a city of about one hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants, was then a village of fewer than six thousand; but, as the central town of the State, it was already a noted gathering-place for political conventions and meetings.

The great Whig mass-meeting held there, in 1840, was long famous as the culmination of the campaign between General Harrison and Martin Van Buren. As a President, Mr. Van Buren had fallen on evil times. It was a period of political finance; of demagogical methods in public business; and the result was “hard times,” with an intense desire throughout the nation for a change. This desire was represented especially by the Whig party. General Harrison had been taken up as its candidate, not merely because he had proved his worth as governor of the Northwestern Territory, and as a senator in Congress, but especially as the hero of sundry fights with the Indians, and, above all, of the plucky little battle at Tippecanoe. The most popular campaign song, which I soon learned to sing lustily, was “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too,” and sundry lines of it expressed, not only my own deepest political convictions and aspirations, but also those cherished by myriads of children of far larger growth. They ran as follows:

“Oh, have you heard the great commotion-motion-motion Rolling the country through? It is the ball a-rolling on For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too, For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too; And with them we’ll beat little Van; Van, Van is a used up man; And with them we’ll beat little Van.”

The campaign was a display of silliness. General Harrison had lived the life, mainly, of a Western farmer, and for a time, doubtless, exercised amid his crude surroundings the primitive hospitality natural to

lines in the foremost campaign song. For the October election in Maine having gone Whig by a large majority, clearly indicating what the general result was to be in November, the opening lines ran as follows:

“Oh, have you heard the news from Maine -- Maine -- Maine? Rolling the country through? It is the ball a-rolling on For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too.”

Against all this the Democrats, with their negative and defensive platform, found themselves more and more at a disadvantage; they fought with desperation, but in vain, and one of their most unlucky ventures to recover their position was an effort to undermine General Harrison’s military reputation. For this purpose they looked about, and finally found one of their younger congressional representatives, considered to be a rising man, who, having gained some little experience in the Western militia, had received the honorary title of “General,” Isaac M. Crary, of Michigan; him they selected to make a speech in Congress exhibiting and exploding General Harrison’s military record. He was very reluctant to undertake it, but at last yielded, and, after elaborate preparation, made an argument loud and long, to show that General Harrison was a military ignoramus. The result was both comic and pathetic.

Another feature in the campaign also impressed me. An orator on the Whig side, one of those whom great audiences applaud for the moment and ever afterward despise, -- a man named Ogle, -- made a speech which depicted the luxury prevailing at the White House, and among other evidences of it, dwelt upon the “gold spoons” used at the President’s table, denouncing their use with such unction that, for the time, unthinking people regarded Martin Van Buren as a sort of American Vitellius (Roman emperor known for his lack of ability). As a matter of fact, the scanty silver-gilt table utensils at the White House have been shown to have been, for the most part, bought long before; -- and by order of General Washington.

Check out these items from the Election of 1840. HOW is William Henry Harrison portrayed in his “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” log cabin and hard cider campaign? WHY would people vote for him?

Campaign Drawing

Campaign Ribbon

Check out these items from the Election of 1840. HOW is William Henry Harrison portrayed in his “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” log cabin and hard cider campaign? WHY would people vote for him?

WHH Pitcher

Check out these items from the Election of 1840. HOW is William Henry Harrison portrayed in his “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” log cabin and hard cider campaign? WHY would people vote for him?

Campaign Song

Check out these items from the Election of 1840. HOW is William Henry Harrison portrayed in his “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” log cabin and hard cider campaign? WHY would people vote for him?

Campaign Banner

Campaign Images

Check out these items from the Election of 1840. HOW is William Henry Harrison portrayed in his “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” log cabin and hard cider campaign? WHY would people vote for him?

Campaign Images

(That’s supposed to be MVB in the last one. Look how happy he is drinking champagne and how “ugly” his “mug” gets when he drinks hard cider.)