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Election of 1840

Election of 1840. U.S 1. Who was running?. Martin Van Buren renominated by Democrats Not with much enthusiasm Called Martin Van Ruin by Whigs. William Henry Harrison nominated by Whigs Voters blamed woes on the party in power (Democrats)

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Election of 1840

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  1. Election of 1840 U.S 1

  2. Who was running? • Martin Van Buren renominated by Democrats • Not with much enthusiasm • Called Martin Van Ruin by Whigs • William Henry Harrison nominated by Whigs • Voters blamed woes on the party in power (Democrats) • Learned from mistake in 1836, united behind one candidate • Thought to be greatest vote getter

  3. William Henry Harrison • 68 years old when campaign ended • Was known for his success against Indians and British (Tippecanoe) • John Tyler of Virginia was vice-presidential running mate • Whigs had no real political platform • Harrison portrayed by Whigs as the poor “Farmer of North Bend” • Felt Van Buren was aristocratic who wore corsets and ate French food from golden plates

  4. Harrison • Whigs ran a campaign to make Harrison seem as a poor gentleman who grew up in a log cabin • He was really from one of the First Families of Virginia • Never was poverty stricken, lived in a 16 room mansion on a 3,000 acre farm • Harrison won by close margin in popular vote, but crushed in electoral votes

  5. Election of 1840 results

  6. Issues in Election • Voters faced a choice between 2 economic visions of how to cope with country’s first economic depression • Whigs wanted to expand and stimulate economy • Democrats favored retrenchment and end to high flying banks and aggressive corporations

  7. 1840 • 2 major changes in American Politics since Era of Good Feelings • 1st- triumph of a populist democratic style • Candidates had to relate to the people • Common man was finally moving to center of political stage • 2nd- Formation of vigorous and durable 2 party system

  8. 2 Party System • Both parties grew out of the rich soil of Jeffersonian Republicanism • Jacksonian Democrats glorified the liberty of the individual • Whigs trumpeted the natural harmony of society and value of community • Were willing to use government to realize their objectives • Whigs berated individuals (like Jackson) whose appeals to self-interest fostered conflict among individuals, classes or sections

  9. Differences in Parties • Democrats clung to states’ rights and federal restraint in social and economic affairs • 2 PARTIES WERE SEPERATED BY REAL DIFFERENCES OF PHILOSOPHY AND POLICY • Whigs favored renewed national bank, protective tariffs, internal improvements, public schools and moral reforms like… • Prohibition of liquor • Abolition of slavery

  10. Similarities? • They did have some things in common however • Both tried deliberately to mobilize as many voters as possible for their cause • Democrats tended to be more humble folk and Whigs more prosperous • HOWEVER… both parties commanded loyalties of all kinds of Americans from all social classes and sections • What does this mean for sectionalism? Issue of slavery?

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