JOHN TYLER
The campaign of 1840 was the most unique of our political history. The Democrats, in attempting to belittle General Harrison, declared that he lived in a “log cabin” and drank hard cider. Instead of resenting these expressions, intended to prejudice the public against the Whig candidate, the Whigs at once took up the log cabin as one of the great illustrative features of the contest, and when the battle reached its zenith, and the people gathered by thousands at the mass-meetings, the log cabin was always in the procession as the symbol of the simplicity of the party candidate for President. It was a campaign of speeches and songs, and it developed a new class of campaign orators, of which the then celebrated and long after well-known Buckeye Blacksmith was a type.
It was the first national campaign in which the masses of the people took intense interest, and alike in the cities of the East, the prairies of the West, and the savannas of the South the people were singing and shouting for “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too.” The Whig campaign culminated in a tempest against the Democrats, and resulted in the overwhelming defeat of Van Buren, and General Harrison certainly contributed largely to the result by taking the stump in Ohio in September and October, to vindicate himself against the accusations made that he was a mere puppet in the hands of political leaders and unable to speak for himself. The following was the popular vote for Harrison and Van Buren:
| STATES. | Harrison. | Van Buren. | Birney. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | 46,612 | 46,201 | 194 |
| New Hampshire | 26,163 | 32,761 | 126 |
| Vermont | 32,440 | 18,018 | 319 |
| Massachusetts | 72,874 | 51,944 | 1,621 |
| Rhode Island | 5,278 | 3,301 | 42 |
| Connecticut | 31,601 | 25,296 | 174 |
| New York | 225,817 | 212,527 | 2,808 |
| New Jersey | 33,351 | 31,034 | 69 |
| Pennsylvania | 144,021 | 143,672 | 343 |
| Delaware | 5,967 | 4,874 | —— |
| Maryland | 33,528 | 28,752 | —— |
| Virginia | 42,501 | 43,893 | —— |
| North Carolina | 46,376 | 33,782 | —— |
| South Carolina[11] | —— | —— | —— |
| Georgia | 40,261 | 31,921 | —— |
| Alabama | 28,471 | 33,991 | —— |
| Mississippi | 19,518 | 16,995 | —— |
| Louisiana | 11,296 | 7,616 | —— |
| Kentucky | 58,489 | 32,616 | —— |
| Tennessee | 60,391 | 48,289 | —— |
| Missouri | 22,972 | 29,760 | —— |
| Arkansas | 5,160 | 6,766 | —— |
| Ohio | 148,157 | 124,782 | 903 |
| Indiana | 65,302 | 51,604 | —— |
| Illinois | 45,537 | 47,476 | 149 |
| Michigan | 22,933 | 21,131 | 321 |
| Totals | 1,275,016 | 1,129,102 | 7,069 |
There was nothing to quibble about in declaring the count in Congress, as Harrison had nearly three-fourths of the electoral vote, with a very large popular majority. While the Democrats had not nominated any candidate for Vice-President, and as a division of the vote would be of little consequence, the Democratic electors generally voted for Vice-President Johnson for re-election. Virginia, that cast a solid vote against him four years before, gave him 22 of the 23 votes, and South Carolina, while voting for Van Buren, gave its 11 votes to L. W. Tazewell, of Virginia, for Vice-President, leaving Johnson with only 48 of the 294 electoral votes.
The following is the vote as cast in the electoral colleges:
| STATES. | President. | Vice-President. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W. H. Harrison, Ohio. | Martin Van Buren, N. Y. | John Tyler, Va. | R. M. Johnson, Ky. | L. W. Tazewell, Va. | James K. Polk, Tenn. | |
| Maine | 10 | — | 10 | — | — | — |
| New Hampshire | — | 7 | — | 7 | — | — |
| Vermont | 7 | — | 7 | — | — | — |
| Massachusetts | 14 | — | 14 | — | — | — |
| Rhode Island | 4 | — | 4 | — | — | — |
| Connecticut | 8 | — | 8 | — | — | — |
| New York | 42 | — | 42 | — | — | — |
| New Jersey | 8 | — | 8 | — | — | — |
| Pennsylvania | 30 | — | 30 | — | — | — |
| Delaware | 3 | — | 3 | — | — | — |
| Maryland | 10 | — | 10 | — | — | — |
| Virginia | — | 23 | — | 22 | — | 1 |
| North Carolina | 15 | — | 15 | — | — | — |
| South Carolina | — | 11 | — | — | 11 | — |
| Georgia | 11 | — | 11 | — | — | — |
| Alabama | — | 7 | — | 7 | — | — |
| Mississippi | 4 | — | 4 | — | — | — |
| Louisiana | 5 | — | 5 | — | — | — |
| Kentucky | 15 | — | 15 | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | 15 | — | 15 | — | — | — |
| Missouri | — | 4 | — | 4 | — | — |
| Arkansas | — | 3 | — | 3 | — | — |
| Ohio | 21 | — | 21 | — | — | — |
| Indiana | 9 | — | 9 | — | — | — |
| Illinois | — | 5 | — | 5 | — | — |
| Michigan | 3 | — | 3 | — | — | — |
| Totals | 234 | 60 | 234 | 48 | 11 | 1 |
Harrison was in feeble health when he was called from the clerkship of the Cincinnati courts, that he had held for many years, to the highest civil trust of the world, and the intense pressure upon him after his election so impaired his vitality that he died a little more than a month after his inauguration. Harrison’s death was the first break in the Presidency since the organization of the Government. John Tyler was Vice-President, and was living quietly on his farm on the Virginia Peninsula. He could not be reached by railways, and telegraphs were unknown. He had no knowledge that he had become President through the death of Harrison until late the next day, when Webster and another member of the Cabinet finally found their way to his home, partly by water and partly overland, and formally announced to him the death of the President and the new duties which devolved upon him. He hastened to Washington to find a very grave dispute among the leading statesmen of both parties as to whether he became President or simply Acting President. It was important to determine whether he was President with the full title. The question was brought up in Congress, and in the midst of a discussion on the subject a message was received from the Executive Mansion signed “John Tyler, President.” The dispute was at once ended, and the question settled for all time.
JAMES K. POLK