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Fourteenth American presidential election of 1840

Cg-realms (current)AndyHogan14 (original), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Dates

The 1840 election was held from Friday, October 30 - Wednesday, December 2, 1840.

Candidates

• Democratic Party

• Martin Van Buren (winner)

• Whig Party

• William Henry Harrison (winner)
• Henry Clay
• Winfield Scott

Final tickets

• Democratic Party

NOTE: The Democratic Party did not nominate a Vice Presidential candidate.

• Martin Van Buren (P)

• Whig Party

• William Henry Harrison (P) & John Tyler (VP)

Campaining & major issues

After Van Buren was elected, the Panic of 1837 began. It was originally an economic panic but then became a recession, and by 1840 it still hadn't gone away. Even though it wasn't Van Buren's fault, since he was president, he was blamed for it. He was quite unpopular. The Whigs decided to go with just William Henry Harrison, as he was an attractive candidate for being a war hero in the War of 1812. However, he was criticized for his age, which he was in his late 60s. Opponents called him, "Granny". Harrison's supporters replied by saying Van Buren was a, "Rich snob". Harrison also came up with a catchy slogan, "Tippecanoe & Tyler, too!", referring to the Battle of Tippecanoe that Harrison won.

Electoral college & turn-out

The electoral college stayed the same at 294 electors; 148 needed to win. 2,412,694 people voted.

Results

First place (winner): William Henry Harrison & John Tyler

234/294 electoral votes

52.87% of the popular vote

Second place: Martin Van Buren & Richard Mentor Johnson

48/294 electoral votes

46.82% of the popular vote

Third place: Martin Van Buren & Littleon Waller Tazewell

11/294 electoral votes

Popular vote unknown

Fourth place: Martin Van Buren & James Polk

1/294 electoral votes

Popular vote unknown

Fifth place: James Birney & Thomas Earle

No electoral votes

0.31% of the popular vote

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