The Whig Campaign of 1836
By 1836 Andrew Jackson had served two full terms as President. He considered running for a third term, but opted against breaking the precedent set by George Washington. He had achieved a number of his goals including winning the so-called Bank War (in which he prevented the rechartering of the Bank of the United States). This policy would come back to haunt his successor when the panic of 1837 hit, but that wasn't something on voters minds yet in 1836, when it came time to select a successor for Jackson.
Jackson publicly endorsed a ticket consisting of his Vice President, Martin Van Buren of New York, and Representative Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky, the latter of whom had gained popular favor for his role in the War of 1812. Although the nomination could have been contested, Jackson still maintained strong influence and control over his party, and there were no serious challenges at the Democratic Convention held in Baltimore in May of 1835, when Van Buren was unanimously selected as the Party's candidate on the first ballot.
The selection of his running mate was another matter. Several Southerners were opposed to Richard Johnson's nomination for Vice President because of Johnson's open relationship with his African-American slave. The scandal caused Virginia delegates to supported Senator William Cabell Rives against Johnson. Rives's candidacy failed to obtain sufficient support however and Johnson won the nomination for the second spot on the ticket by the required 2/3 majority, defeating Rives by a vote of 178 to 87.
The Whig Party was a new party that arose largely out of opposition to Jackson. Shortly after Jackson's re-election, South Carolina passed a measure to "nullify" the Tariff of 1832, beginning the Nullification Crisis. Jackson strongly opposed the right of South Carolina to nullify federal law, and even threatened to personally lead an army to bring the petulant state into line. The crisis was resolved after Congress passed the Tariff of 1833, but partisan divisions were created. Many of Jackson's former supporters opposed his threats of force against South Carolina. In South Carolina and other states, those opposed to Jackson began to form small "Whig" parties. The Whig label was used to compare "King Andrew" to King George III, the King of Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution. Jackson decision to remove government deposits from the national bank resulted in further opposition. The move drew opposition from both pro-bank National Republicans and states' rights Southerners like Willie Person Mangum of North Carolina, who accused Jackson of ignoring the Constitution.
In late 1833, Henry Clay began to hold a series of dinners with opposition leaders in order to settle on a candidate to oppose Martin Van Buren, the likely Democratic nominee in the 1836 presidential election. But Jackson's opponents could not agree on a single presidential candidate. They were able at least to coordinate opposition against Jackson in the Senate, taking control of the Senate in December 1833.
National Republicans Henry Clay and Daniel Webster formed the core of the Whig Party leadership. Anti-Masons like William H. Seward of New York and Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania also joined the party. Some prominent Democrats defected to the Whigs, including Mangum, former Attorney General John Berrien, and John Tyler of Virginia.
The Whig Party's first major action was to censure Jackson for the removal of the national bank deposits. During 1834 and 1835, the Whigs successfully incorporated National Republican and Anti-Masonic state-level organizations and established new state party organizations in Southern states like North Carolina and Georgia. John C. Calhoun also temporarily joined the Whig coalition.
Unlike the Democrats, the Whigs did not hold a national convention in 1836. Instead, state legislatures and state conventions nominated separate candidates for president. Southern Nullifiers chose Tennessee Senator Hugh Lawson White as their candidate for the presidency in 1834 soon after his break with Jackson. White was a moderate on the states' rights issue, which made him acceptable in the South, but not in the North. The state legislatures of Alabama and Tennessee each also officially nominated White. The South Carolina state legislature nominated Senator Willie P. Mangum of North Carolina as their presidential candidate. By early 1835, Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster was building support among Northern Whigs. The Pennsylvania legislature nominated popular former general William Henry Harrison, who had led American forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe. The Whigs hoped that Harrison's reputation as a military hero could win voter support. Harrison soon displaced Webster as the preferred candidate of Northern Whigs.
Despite multiple candidates, there was only one Whig ticket in each state. The Whigs ended up with two main tickets: William Henry Harrison for president and Francis Granger for vice-president in the North and the border states, and Hugh Lawson White for president and John Tyler for vice-president in the middle and lower South. In Massachusetts, the ticket was Daniel Webster and Granger. In South Carolina, the ticket was Mangum for president and Tyler for vice-president.
The Whigs knew that no one candidate could win enough electoral votes to top those won by Van Buren. Instead they hoped that their various candidates would win enough states that Van Buren would be denied a majority of electoral college votes. In that case the House of Representatives would have to select a President, just as they did when John Quincy Adams was chosen in 1824 over Jackson, despite Jackson winning a plurality of electoral and popular votes. The Whigs were confident that whoever the House chose for President, that person would be a Whig and not Van Buren.
Voting took place from Thursday, November 3, to Wednesday, December 7, 1836. The Whigs attacked Van Buren on all sides, but Van Buren was known as the Little Magician and his superior organization carried the day, earning him a majority of electoral votes. Van Buren defeated Harrison by a 51-49% vote in the North, and he defeated White by a similar 51-49% margin in the South. He won 170 electoral votes compared to 73 for Harrison, 26 for White, 14 for Webster and 11 for Mangum (whose electoral votes were at the time awarded by the North Carolina legislature, without popular vote). The Whig candidates received 124 electoral votes in total, giving Van Buren a clear majority.
A dispute arose during the counting of the electoral votes concerning the state of Michigan, which had only become a state on January 26, 1837, but which had cast its electoral votes for president before that date. The dispute had no bearing on the final result: either way Van Buren was elected. There was a problem however with the election for Vice-President. Virginia's 23 electors were all pledged to Van Buren and his running mate, Richard Mentor Johnson, but all 23 of them refused to vote for Johnson. This left Johnson one vote short of the 148-vote majority required to elect. Under the Twelfth Amendment, the Senate had to decide between the top two vote-getters, and they picked Johnson over Francis Granger.
While Van Buren won the day, his victory would not be the prize he anticipated. As president, Van Buren was blamed for the depression of 1837 and hostile newspapers dubbed him "Martin Van Ruin". He tried to cure the economic problems by keeping control of federal funds in an independent treasury rather than in state banks, but Congress would not approve of this until 1840. In 1840, Van Buren was voted out of office, losing to Whig candidate William Henry Harrison, the man he had defeated four years earlier.
Jackson publicly endorsed a ticket consisting of his Vice President, Martin Van Buren of New York, and Representative Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky, the latter of whom had gained popular favor for his role in the War of 1812. Although the nomination could have been contested, Jackson still maintained strong influence and control over his party, and there were no serious challenges at the Democratic Convention held in Baltimore in May of 1835, when Van Buren was unanimously selected as the Party's candidate on the first ballot.
The selection of his running mate was another matter. Several Southerners were opposed to Richard Johnson's nomination for Vice President because of Johnson's open relationship with his African-American slave. The scandal caused Virginia delegates to supported Senator William Cabell Rives against Johnson. Rives's candidacy failed to obtain sufficient support however and Johnson won the nomination for the second spot on the ticket by the required 2/3 majority, defeating Rives by a vote of 178 to 87.
The Whig Party was a new party that arose largely out of opposition to Jackson. Shortly after Jackson's re-election, South Carolina passed a measure to "nullify" the Tariff of 1832, beginning the Nullification Crisis. Jackson strongly opposed the right of South Carolina to nullify federal law, and even threatened to personally lead an army to bring the petulant state into line. The crisis was resolved after Congress passed the Tariff of 1833, but partisan divisions were created. Many of Jackson's former supporters opposed his threats of force against South Carolina. In South Carolina and other states, those opposed to Jackson began to form small "Whig" parties. The Whig label was used to compare "King Andrew" to King George III, the King of Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution. Jackson decision to remove government deposits from the national bank resulted in further opposition. The move drew opposition from both pro-bank National Republicans and states' rights Southerners like Willie Person Mangum of North Carolina, who accused Jackson of ignoring the Constitution.
In late 1833, Henry Clay began to hold a series of dinners with opposition leaders in order to settle on a candidate to oppose Martin Van Buren, the likely Democratic nominee in the 1836 presidential election. But Jackson's opponents could not agree on a single presidential candidate. They were able at least to coordinate opposition against Jackson in the Senate, taking control of the Senate in December 1833.
National Republicans Henry Clay and Daniel Webster formed the core of the Whig Party leadership. Anti-Masons like William H. Seward of New York and Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania also joined the party. Some prominent Democrats defected to the Whigs, including Mangum, former Attorney General John Berrien, and John Tyler of Virginia.
The Whig Party's first major action was to censure Jackson for the removal of the national bank deposits. During 1834 and 1835, the Whigs successfully incorporated National Republican and Anti-Masonic state-level organizations and established new state party organizations in Southern states like North Carolina and Georgia. John C. Calhoun also temporarily joined the Whig coalition.
Unlike the Democrats, the Whigs did not hold a national convention in 1836. Instead, state legislatures and state conventions nominated separate candidates for president. Southern Nullifiers chose Tennessee Senator Hugh Lawson White as their candidate for the presidency in 1834 soon after his break with Jackson. White was a moderate on the states' rights issue, which made him acceptable in the South, but not in the North. The state legislatures of Alabama and Tennessee each also officially nominated White. The South Carolina state legislature nominated Senator Willie P. Mangum of North Carolina as their presidential candidate. By early 1835, Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster was building support among Northern Whigs. The Pennsylvania legislature nominated popular former general William Henry Harrison, who had led American forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe. The Whigs hoped that Harrison's reputation as a military hero could win voter support. Harrison soon displaced Webster as the preferred candidate of Northern Whigs.
Despite multiple candidates, there was only one Whig ticket in each state. The Whigs ended up with two main tickets: William Henry Harrison for president and Francis Granger for vice-president in the North and the border states, and Hugh Lawson White for president and John Tyler for vice-president in the middle and lower South. In Massachusetts, the ticket was Daniel Webster and Granger. In South Carolina, the ticket was Mangum for president and Tyler for vice-president.
The Whigs knew that no one candidate could win enough electoral votes to top those won by Van Buren. Instead they hoped that their various candidates would win enough states that Van Buren would be denied a majority of electoral college votes. In that case the House of Representatives would have to select a President, just as they did when John Quincy Adams was chosen in 1824 over Jackson, despite Jackson winning a plurality of electoral and popular votes. The Whigs were confident that whoever the House chose for President, that person would be a Whig and not Van Buren.
Voting took place from Thursday, November 3, to Wednesday, December 7, 1836. The Whigs attacked Van Buren on all sides, but Van Buren was known as the Little Magician and his superior organization carried the day, earning him a majority of electoral votes. Van Buren defeated Harrison by a 51-49% vote in the North, and he defeated White by a similar 51-49% margin in the South. He won 170 electoral votes compared to 73 for Harrison, 26 for White, 14 for Webster and 11 for Mangum (whose electoral votes were at the time awarded by the North Carolina legislature, without popular vote). The Whig candidates received 124 electoral votes in total, giving Van Buren a clear majority.
A dispute arose during the counting of the electoral votes concerning the state of Michigan, which had only become a state on January 26, 1837, but which had cast its electoral votes for president before that date. The dispute had no bearing on the final result: either way Van Buren was elected. There was a problem however with the election for Vice-President. Virginia's 23 electors were all pledged to Van Buren and his running mate, Richard Mentor Johnson, but all 23 of them refused to vote for Johnson. This left Johnson one vote short of the 148-vote majority required to elect. Under the Twelfth Amendment, the Senate had to decide between the top two vote-getters, and they picked Johnson over Francis Granger.
While Van Buren won the day, his victory would not be the prize he anticipated. As president, Van Buren was blamed for the depression of 1837 and hostile newspapers dubbed him "Martin Van Ruin". He tried to cure the economic problems by keeping control of federal funds in an independent treasury rather than in state banks, but Congress would not approve of this until 1840. In 1840, Van Buren was voted out of office, losing to Whig candidate William Henry Harrison, the man he had defeated four years earlier.