Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!

The election of 1840 was between William Henry Harrison and Martin Van Buren. Important issues of the time involved the possibility of a Second Bank of America and other national infrastructure concerns. Such issues were not very easy to communicate to the public, much less decide on which course of action was the best. As a result, the Whigs (Harrison’s political alignment) decided to avoid the conflict that would be caused by addressing politics and instead extol the virtues of their candidate. 

I would like to make it clear that promoting a candidate based on personal terms was not a new concept. In a twisted sense, presidency was always a sort of popularity contest. George Washington was unanimously declared president because who could compete with the general that just won America its freedom? Andrew Jackson was promoted for being a “common man” that grew up in a log cabin (and he won the Battle of New Orleans). The new aspect to the Harrison-Buren election was the method of communicating these virtues. I mean look at it (the slogan), it rhymes! To take it a step further, it was even turned into a song to be sung during rallies.

The Harrison campaign went full out on its public outreach. It provided parties and offered grandiose speeches and parades. To top it off was the catchy slogan/song “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too! “ In addition, the campaign ran a slogan against Martin Van Buren: “Van, Van, Van/Van is a used-up man.” This line (also rhymes!) refers to Van Buren’s first term as president. It asks voters to consider what Van Buren did in office and if they want more of him.

As you have noticed, Harrison is not directly mentioned at all in his slogan. However, at the time, Harrison was a well-known military hero of the French and Indian War and the War of 1812. Like Washington and Jackson, Harrison used his war accomplishments as a promoting point. The Battle of Tippecanoe was a victory over the Native Americans for Harrison. He may seem like the antagonist in the fight, but in context, tensions had been growing between the Natives and settlers. In addition, tensions with the British were growing and the Natives were accused (not always falsely) of allying with them. When the press presented the story of the battle to the public, the people of the still-young America were outraged at the attacks made by the Natives and proud of the victory achieved by Harrison.

Oddly enough, the slogan has the vice president candidate mentioned as well. During the time of the election, the inclusion of his name seemed to only serve to balance the rhythm of the slogan. However, one month into his presidency, Harrison succumbed to an illness leaving the office to his vice president, John Tyler. In hindsight, the slogan turned out to be a morbid prophecy; both of the people mentioned served in office.

This campaign set an example for future presidential candidates. It became the norm to promote the candidate instead of the policies. After all, who would prefer to hear politics over rhyme and song?