Log Cabins and Hard Cider
How did William Henry Harrison become president in 1840? After all, it was well known that the Whig party that supported him was comprised of a diverse group of people with the only common denominator being opposition to Andrew Jackson. Wouldn’t a divided political party be weaker compared to the well organized Democrats? The answer is yes, but the Whig party offset this weakness by aggressively campaigning for their presidential candidate much like political parties do today.
Upon seeing Andrew Jackson elected because he appealed to the common people, the Whig propagandists took a leaf out of the Democrats’ book and made Harrison relateable to commoners. Even though Harrison was quite aristocratic, they cleverly manipulated his image to look like a humble farmer who lived in a log cabin and drank hard cider. The log cabin and hard cider eventually became symbols of Harrison, and they appeared on everyday items like plates and handkerchiefs so that a man would always have Harrison on his mind.
To further increase the appeal of their presidential candidate, Whig propagandists started the catch phrase “Tippecanoe and Tyler too” (Harrison was the general who won the battle of Tippecanoe and Tyler would be his vice-president) while also denigrating Van Buren who they called “Van Ruin” (due to the panic of 1837). Thus, the contrast between Harrison and Van Buren was seen: one was a successful military hero and the other was perceived to have failed the United States economy.
Here is a list of other activities the Whigs did to gain support:
- Like the politics of today, the Whig party held rallies which drew large crowds. The people at these rallies would have a good time by drinking down symbolic hard cider.
- Music and songs were created in support of Harrison. The Whigs made sure to cement Harrison in the minds of common folk by giving the song the title “The Tippecanoe or Log Cabin Quickstep”
- Flag banners were made with, you guessed it, log cabins to show support for Harrison. At the time, these were the equivalent of presidential election bumper stickers that you see on cars today.
After all the effort of the Whig party in promoting Harrison's image, Harrison ousted Van Buren from office in 1840. The organized Democrat party had been defeated by the divided Whigs who had won the campaign merely with propaganda and not with solidified political positions, and this demonstrated that presidential candidates would have to appeal to all groups of people in order to get elected--a precedent that still continues to this day.
I learned that "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign is the nickname given to William Henry Harrison's 1840 presidential campaign. Democrats characterized him as a man who preferred to sit in his log cabin and drink hard cider than run a country.
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