Jacksonian Democracy
Mobilizing Voters in the 19th
Century
The Presidential Election of 1840
• Martin Van Buren—(Democrat); Short-statured;
Known as the “Little Magician”. Other important
Democrats at the time included John C. Calhoun and
Thomas Hart Benton.
• William Henry Harrison—(Whig); Indian fighter
known for winning the Battle of Tippecanoe;
Campaign known as the “Log Cabin” or “Hard Cider”
Campaign
• John Tyler—Whig Candidate for Vice-President; also
a military hero
Rockabye, Baby
Rockabye, Baby! Daddy’s a Whig.
When he comes home, hard cider he’ll swig.
When he has swug, he’ll fall in a stew,
And down will come Tyler and Tippecanoe.
Rockabye, Baby! When you awake,
You will discover Tipp is a fake.
Far from the battle, war cry, and drum,
He sits in his cabin, a-drinkin’ bad rum.
Rockabye, Baby! Never you cry!
You need not fear old Tipp and his Ty.
What they would ruin, Van Buren will fix.
Van’s magician! They are but tricks!
The Harrison Yankee Doodle
Come swell the crowd and join the throng
Extend the circle wider!
Join the run for Harrison, Log Cabin, and Hard Cider.
With Harrison, our country’s won
Though treachery hath been lightered.
Thy will be done with Harrison, Log Cabin, and Hard Cider.
Let Calhoun jeer and Benton sneer
Like every such backslider!
The fight was won by Harrison, Log Cabin, and Hard Cider.
To all the world our flag’s unfurled
To vict’ry Tipp’ll guide her.
Second to none is Harrison, Log Cabin, and Hard Cider!
Tippecanoe and Tyler Too
Oh who has heard the great commotion – motion - motion all the country through?
Is the ball a rollin’ on for Tippecanoe and Tyler too, For Tippecanoe and Tyler too?
And with ‘em we’ll beat little Van, Van,
Van is a used up man!
And with ‘em we’ll beat little Van.
Sure let’em talk about hard cider – cider - cider and log cabins too!
They’ll only help to speed the ball for Tippecanoe and Tyler too,
(refrain)
Like the rush of mighty waters – waters - waters onward it will go!
And its course will bring you through, for Tippecanoe and Tyler too
(refrain)
Discuss with a partner:
• How did these songs help mobilize voters?
Pay attention to style, language,
presentation, etc.
Consider:
• Could we use catchy songs like this to
mobilize voters for modern politicians? (e.g.
Bush? Kerry? Dean?)
• What techniques DO we use to mobilize
voters?
First Party System:
Federalists vs. Democratic Republicans
• From debate between Alexander Hamilton &
Thomas Jefferson
• Ambivalence about parties (or dangerous
factions)
• Attention focused locally, not nationally
• Party differences faded
• By the 1810s, “Era of Good Feelings” - one
party (Democratic Republicans)
Crises in the 1810s:
• Panic of 1819
- Widespread economic depression
- National Bank implicated
• Missouri Crisis
- Admit Missouri as a slave or free state?
- Congressmen came to blows
- Would the Union survive?
Second Party System:
Democrats vs. Whigs
• Organized, disciplined, national political parties
• Parties good, permitting legitimate political differences to be
aired without dividing the Union
• Redirect divisions to partisan issues instead of sectional
differences.
• Voter Turnout skyrocketed:
-1824: 28%
-1828: 56%
-1840: 78%
Jacksonian Democracy: A Political
Culture
• Parties organized locally, as well as at state and national levels.
• Political patronage to maintain party loyalty.
• Fun stuff to mobilize voters—songs, drinks, rallies, BBQs,
picnics, parades, women, etc.
• Candidates people can relate to—folksy, drinking, fighting,
soldiers (esp. Indian fighters), manly; e.g. Jackson and
Harrison
• Use of partisan newspapers to share information and get out
the vote.
• High voter turnouts (lasts through 1900)
Draw on the whole set of documents to
answer these questions:
• How did Democrats and Republicans in San
Francisco create an engaged electorate that
participated in massive numbers in
campaigns and elections?
• What was the role of the press in helping
motivate voters in San Francisco?
• How does the election of 1856 in San
Francisco help explain why voter
participation skyrocketed in the United
States during the antebellum period?
Mobilizing Voters in the 21st Century?
• Joe Trippi, The Revolution will not be Televised: Democracy,
the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything
• “Trippi states that Dean’s 600,000 Internet supporters made a
difference . . . Dean’s cadre [of voters] were activists willing to
go to rallies and donate time and money for a candidate they
believed in. Most voters were passive observers only
committing themselves in the voting booth . . . hardly
Jeffersonian democrats actively participating in the political
process. . . . . Maybe Trippi’s enthusiasm for a new Internet
democracy is a little early. The Internet and other emerging
electronic communication devices have possibilities that may
change politics. Whether or not they will be come the dominant
force remains to be seen because unless the majority of
American voters become more actively involved, an organized
minority will always be in control.”
• Given your work with 19th century political participation today,
do you think the Internet can change American participation in
politics? Is it analogous to the techniques of Jacksonian
Democracy? Why or why not?