Show GOOD STORIES OF NATIONAL CONVENTIONS LOG LOe CABIN CABIN- HARD CIDER F. F CAMPAIGN I Hot flot Presidential l Race in 1840 When Whigs Whis Elected Elected Elected Elect- Elect ed Their Candidate WM WK HENRY HARRISON i DEFEATED VAN VANBUREN BUREN That Year Was Beginning lof f Era of Practical Politics Poll Poli r tics in Conventions 1 t t BY y FREDERIC FREDERIO 3 J. J I HASKIN SKIN Il bo hottest political contest in the tho thoi i tory of the United States was that in which William Henry Harrison Har liar rison oo oD defeated Martin Van Vau Buren for president The rIte Democratic party had haden haden Jien en en be been n dominant in the nation for fory Forty r. r y years cars and in this campaign the thc unS unger r Generation revolted It was a DJ incas men's campaign campain and a although though ir candidate was the oldest man Jr elected ted t to the tho presidency t they cy ad ad- boated his his' causo cause with a a. frenzy of ot that still marks maiks the gh ghe in io Amor- Amor ie e of political excitement vas as the famous log cabin a and d a i campaign mch Indi In m ch di the tho opposition to the Jac Jackson o party part although not united any n fly political principle sank their ional quarrels in 10 their hatred ot son s 's and Van Buren and with the tho thoY iv Y conceived artifices of a popular aign pr pressed on to gain a hollow ory ry r c C n l that h t no norm norm- m General Harrison was held at December December- 4 1839 This 1 first bo o. o caned called The Th Whig party organized in but the tuition position ti ty tD time the Democrats held no convention con in 1836 isae How Row in- in were the tho elements s that made mado p. p K the tho now new party is proved by the Whig Almanac for which b h said Ji hat bIt f tlc the party was as composed of 1 I host cost n st of tIme ho National Republicans who T supporter supported Adams Clay and d ad ad- torsted a protective tariff 2 ti most of tb SQ who had hafi been beell stigmatized d as nil nl and states' states ri rights mc men and aDd who were thrown into armed neutrality toward the government Oc by the proc proclamation procla mation a against n South Sonth Carolina 3 a 3 majority of the Masons and many Ja Jackson k ou men meu who had condemned tho the fight ficht on the tho bun bank 4 1 i and arid those opposed op op- po posed oed d to the palpable usurpations of oC the thc executive 0 and the imminent peril to the whole boJo fabric of constitutional principle First Whig Convention Thus the Whigs s comprised both tho the high hiah protectionists of Pennsylvania and the tho free traders of South bouth Carolina the federalists of New England aria and the states' states ri rights men of the time south first national convention did not hare re a adopt opt a platform b because caus tho the t dele delegates d tes never could have R agreed recd upon Buy any ny statement of principles Their one ODA bond of union was their hatred of the th Democratic party a and d their determination deter deter- I lOn to prevent Van Burens Buren's re election I t The f first 1St convention con was no- no for two thin things it made mado its nomination nomi- nomi nation by b- moans mons of a unique system I that has not Dot since been revived and it marked the b p of the thc era of practical politics in in national con- con mentions Indeed the firs first innovation iwas 1 S the be result of ol the latter because Ithe the s scheme was got up for the purpose to of defeating ln Clay for the tho nomination S A special rule was adopt adopted d bv by bl Wl winch Which the he h delegation of each state selected pa 8 committee e of three thre these committeemen commit commit- committeemen ittem n to assemble as a committee of oi whole holo The Tho 8 state te delegations in separate te me meetings tins were to ballot and anil then deliver their ballots to their committee com corn of three to bo later compared i ib by b the he committee of the The Tue so so- tl ho of course course- e. e w was s made in these ate committee meetings but only the fl was made known in in the conven n. n tion tiou e Days Days' Struggle I After a three days' days struggle Harri- Harri I Continued on pa page pace e 2 1 f. f LOG HARD CABIN CIDER CAMPAIGN Continued d from pa page e 1 i. s son n had received a majory majority having US votes as against 90 SO for Henry Clay and 16 10 f for r Winfield Scott That lIht hat Clay was the popular favorite favorit even en in the theL convention is pr proved v d by bythe bythe bythe the fact that on the first ballot be he re received received re- re votes to 94 for Harrison and 57 1 for Scott Thaddeus Stevens was wu the master of oJ the convention con He had bad conspired with Thurlow Weed to overthrow Clay whose popularity was dan dangerous erous fro from D tho the viewpoint of a practical Stevens had bad been an Ln Mason anti and he be soon noon convinced the convention that could the tho Masonic anti they ever get cot voto vote for tor Clay who was a Royal Arch Mason He Ho also ur urged od that tho the convention con nominate a military man milD BO eo o t that at the be Whigs could use ulle the tho war hero machinery that the Democrats had so 80 successfully employed in tho the behalf of General Jackson Both Scott and Har Has were heroes of ot tho the w war r of 1812 Both were nat natives yes of Virginia as was wall was Clay and curiously e crough it required the vote of tho the Vir Virginia inia delegates dele dole gates gates' to settle the issue Stevens had bad managed to get ret a a. letter Jetter from Harrison promising him a cabinet cabinet cabi cabi- net position if ho were elected and this decided the tho Pennsylvania leader loader Stevens Steven also had a letter from irom General Gen eral Cral S Scott tt who was was perhaps the rno most t famously unfortunate letter writer in Ul our political history This Thi letter waa Yu written to Fran Francis i. i Granger er and in it Sc Scott tt flirted with the abolitionist sentiment son len in the north orth orthIS IS by by- bilL bya A carefully l panned accident ac Re- let thin letter lotter drop on tho the floor of the room occupied by br tho the Virginia dele delegation a It w was i- i il l fO found Dd Instantly tb the Ithel i Virginia d delegates le te solidified in support of ot Harrison and he be WOD won Virginia i W was 8 then t r rewarded d' d by 1 Steven teY ns throwing th the nomination n of vi vice e president to John n Tyler a Virginian Vir ginian who had bad loft Idt the Democratic party pasty because h he was a 3 states states' tat s' s ri rights man of the tho Calhoun school First Marching MarchIg Clubs At this this' first Whig convention the marchin marching clubs and boosters' boosters organizations organizations organizations made their first appearance a I notable one being the Tippecanoe club from from- Philadelphia a Stevens tion Th This Thi l convention w w was s bom being held at the VCr very time that John Quincy Ad Adams ms W was S bringing order out of chaos in the house of representatives representative whom the balance between Whigs and anu Demo Domo Democrats crate crat's was so BO close that the house for weeks was not able to organize Following Fol owing lowing the ex example mple of the old old National Republicans this convention caned called a a. national convention of young yonn men inca to meet in Baltimore on May 4 which by coincidence of course was th the late date date named tamed for the meeting of th the National Democratic convention The Tho Democratic convention met in Baltimore as usual and is notable as DS icing being the last national convention that failed ailed to make nominations for both president and vice president The rc rc- nomination of Van Bur Buren n was a n. foregone foregone fore fore- gone one conclusion and was waa made m by no no- But the tho opposition to R. R M. M r. r Johnson for forice or vice ice president that had almost dis dis- disrupted the tho convention four years years years' belore before be be- ore lore was so marked that it was was' deem deemed d expedient not to nominate any any candidate candi candi- date ato for vice president president- but to leave the he matter to the electors It was p perhaps per per- r. r haps taps the he most uneventful of 01 ol all Democratic conventions before the war 50 o far as tho the convention itself was con- con The young oun men men's mens s 's Whig convention meeting in Baltimore at the same time was nothing more than an an an- immense rally Hi Already the tho enthusiasm for Tippecanoe and Tyler too had bad spread over the tho country and the speakers in the Democratic convention Sneered contemptuously at the tho antics of their rivals It was too e early for them to be bo afraid The Fhe Democrat had been in power for tor forty years e rs th the JD k tn men had triumphed tri trl in the popular vote for four tour elections and there was hardly a Democrat that believed ed that the motley combination called caled Whigs could pos pos- sibly win wil an electon election Riot Proves Disastrous But the Whigs s were confident In Baltimore that day there thero was a huge hUte procession recession On floats there were log there were barrels of or hard cider hero was a great reat ball to represent the ball bail rolling on for Tippecanoe and Tyler too anc and there were wert coon skins by y the tho thousand In In Monument square a great mass meeting was addressed by Henry lenry Clay Daniel Webster John J. J Crittenden William C. C Preston Henry HenryA A. A Wise and other Whig leaders Whilo While the procession was moving through h one of oi the streets some Bome Demo Demo- crab rats waved a red petticoat in derisive allusion Huston to a char charge e o of alle alleged d cow cow- ardi ardice e on th the part of ot General Harrison Harrisonn in n the war of 1812 The Tho procession resented resented re- re the insult and there was a agon genral gen gen- c era ern ral fight in hi which one ne o ot th the tho Whig m marshals was killed and several score men were injured CIa Clay and Webster delivered the tho funeral orations over tho the dead men the next da day In B Baltimore at the same time there was a general en ral conference of the Motho- Motho dist diet church and a meeting of oft Roman oman Catholic clergy clery so that tho the city t was full ull to overflowing o The crowd in Ba Bal Bal- imore at that time was the larEl that hat over ewer had bad gathered in the tho United States To judge judt from the newspapers at the the time imo it was a a 3 high carnival for pick pick- ts and sneak thieves and the theD D Democratic politicians accused the Whigs s of being the pickpockets and vice versa ersa The whole cIty expected momentarily a pitched battle between the be adherents adherent of or the two parties And |