1840 Election Results Harrison VS Van Buren

President Van Buren was very unpopular by the time the election of 1840 neared. Van Buren was blamed for the depression that followed the Panic of 1837. President Van Buren was reviled for not doing anything to improve the economy. As a result, the Whig Party felt they had a good chance to capture the White House.

Henry Clay, of Kentucky, was the early favorite at the Whig convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in December 1839. Clay, however, was a Mason. Strong anti-mason feeling was strong enough to block his nomination. In the final ballot, Harrison was nominated, with 148 votes to Clay's 90, and Scott's 16. John Tyler was nominated as the Vice Presidential candidate. Meanwhile, President Van Buren was unanimously renominated by the Democrats.

The election of 1840 was the first campaign with slogans, songs, and modern campaign paraphernalia. The motto that became best known was: "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." Tippecanoe was the battle Harrison won against the Indians in 1811. Harrison was portrayed as a man of the people. His views on most significant issues were unknown to voters. The economy was the major issue of the campaign. Van Buren shouldered the blame for the poor state of the economy. Harrison promised to get the economy moving again. By this time, Van Buren was so wildly unpopular that he even lost his home state.

Democratic Convention

 

State results in 1840

Popular Results in 1840

W. Harrison Van Buren Birney Total Votes
Votes Pct Votes Pct Vote Pct
Alabama 28,515 45.6 33,996 54.4 0 62,511
Arkansas 5,160 43.6 6,679 56.4 0 11,839
Connecticut 31,598 55.6 25,281 44.4 0 56,879
Delaware 5,967 50 4,872 44.9 0 10,852
Georgia 40,339 55.8 31,983 44.2 0 72,322
Illinios 45,574 48.9 47,441 50.9 160 0.2 93,175
Indiana 65,280 55.5 51,696 44 30 0 117,605
Kentucky 58,488 64.2 32,616 35.8 0 91,104
Louisiana 11,296 59.7 7,616 40.3 0 18,912
Maine 46,612 50.2 46,190 49.8 0 92,802
Maryland 33,528 53.8 28,752 46.2 0 62,280
Massachusetts 72,852 57.4 52,355 41.3 1,618 1.3 126,825
Michigan 22,933 52.1 21,096 47.9 0 44,029
Mississippi 19,515 53.4 17,010 46.6 0 36,525
Missouri 22,954 43.4 29,969 56.6 0 52,923
New Hampshire 26,310 43.9 32,774 54.7 872 1.5 59,956
New  Jersey 33,351 51.7 31,034 48.1 69 0.1 64,454
New York 226,001 51.2 212,733 48.2 2,809 0.6 441,543
North Carolina 46,567 57.7 34,168 42.3 0 0 80,735
Ohio 148,043 54.3 123,944 45.4 903 0.3 272,890
Pennsylvania 144,023 50.1 143,672 49.9 0 0 287,695
Rhode Island 5,213 60.4 3,263 37.8 19 0.2 8,631
Tennessee 60,194 55.7 47,951 44.3 0 0 108,145
Vermont 32,440 63.9 18,006 35.5 317 0.6 50,782
Virginia 42,637 49.4 43,757 50.6 0 0 86,394