The Election of 1836
The election of 1836 featured a sitting Vice-President running against a future President. Whig candidate and war hero William Henry Harrison would become president, but not for another four years. In 1836, Vice-President Martin Van Buren would become President. This was the last time that a sitting Vice-President would be elected President for over 150 years, until George H. W. Bush accomplished the feat in 1988. It was also the only race in which a major political party intentionally ran several presidential candidates. The Whigs ran four different candidates in different regions of the country, hoping that each would be popular enough to defeat Van Buren in their respective areas. The strategy failed. Van Buren won a majority of the electoral vote and became President.
Incumbent President Andrew Jackson decided to retire after two terms, once again following the precedent set by all of his predecessors who had won re-election to a second term in office. Jackson supported his vice-president, Martin Van Buren, to serve as the next president. Although Southerners disliked the Van Buren, and they were not fond of his intended running mate, Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky, Van Buren secured the nomination at the 1835 Democratic National Convention held in Baltimore, Maryland by a unanimous first ballot vote.
The 1834 mid-term elections proved the Whig Party to be the chief opposition to the Democratic Party. The Whigs gained some support in the south because some Southerners were angered by Jackson's opposition to states' rights, especially John C. Calhoun. He and his Nullifiers became part of the Whig coalition. The Whig Party absorbed most of the supporters of the National Republican Party, the Anti-Masonic Party and what was left of the Federalist Party.
Southern Nullifiers placed Tennessee Senator Hugh Lawson White into contention 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. Whigs in the North were promoting the candidacy of Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster. Both Webster and White used debates in the Senate to establish their positions on the issues of the day, and newspapers nationwide carried the text of their speeches. But by the end of 1835, some Whig states in the North began to shift from Webster to popular general William Henry Harrison and by the middle of 1836, Harrison had replaced Webster as the Whig nominee in all free states except Massachusetts. Harrison also replaced White in three border states. The Whigs ended up with two primary 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 Willie P. Mangum for President and Tyler for VP. Despite the multiplicity of candidates, the Whigs still hoped that they could prevent Van Buren from getting a majority, throwing the election into the hands of Congress to decide.
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. 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.
Incumbent President Andrew Jackson decided to retire after two terms, once again following the precedent set by all of his predecessors who had won re-election to a second term in office. Jackson supported his vice-president, Martin Van Buren, to serve as the next president. Although Southerners disliked the Van Buren, and they were not fond of his intended running mate, Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky, Van Buren secured the nomination at the 1835 Democratic National Convention held in Baltimore, Maryland by a unanimous first ballot vote.
The 1834 mid-term elections proved the Whig Party to be the chief opposition to the Democratic Party. The Whigs gained some support in the south because some Southerners were angered by Jackson's opposition to states' rights, especially John C. Calhoun. He and his Nullifiers became part of the Whig coalition. The Whig Party absorbed most of the supporters of the National Republican Party, the Anti-Masonic Party and what was left of the Federalist Party.
Southern Nullifiers placed Tennessee Senator Hugh Lawson White into contention 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. Whigs in the North were promoting the candidacy of Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster. Both Webster and White used debates in the Senate to establish their positions on the issues of the day, and newspapers nationwide carried the text of their speeches. But by the end of 1835, some Whig states in the North began to shift from Webster to popular general William Henry Harrison and by the middle of 1836, Harrison had replaced Webster as the Whig nominee in all free states except Massachusetts. Harrison also replaced White in three border states. The Whigs ended up with two primary 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 Willie P. Mangum for President and Tyler for VP. Despite the multiplicity of candidates, the Whigs still hoped that they could prevent Van Buren from getting a majority, throwing the election into the hands of Congress to decide.
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. 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.