geeky
As the 1840 election campaign approached, Democratic Party President and political genius Martin Van Buren ran for re-election, in the wake of the "Panic of 1837", one of the worst economic catastrophes ever to occur in the history of the sixty-four year old nation, caused by the failed policies of Van Buren's predecessor and political mentor, Andrew Jackson. When the fledgling Whig Party nominated 67 year-old General William Henry Harrison as their candidate for president, Van Buren and the Democrats thought that they had a chance to hold on to the reigns of power as they mocked the elderly "Granny Harrison" as a dottering old imbecile from the backwoods who lived in a log cabin and sipped hard cider. Little did they know that their doing so would lead to one of the most epic political spin battles ever, and a presidential campaign with many firsts, one that would change the way that election campaigns would be fought from then on.
In a concise but efficient 237 pages, Shafer describes the backgrounds of the candidates, how the Whigs' "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign turned the Democratic Party attacks on their candidate into a very successful appeal to populist sentiments, pitting their candidate, the "common man" from humble beginnings, against the aristocratic and prissy Van Buren. Never mind that the spin bore no resemblance to reality. Shafer explains how this winning campaign strategy originated, how it changed the way elections were fought, and how the two campaigns battled it out in the news media, in fundraising and in getting out the vote. Especially interesting is the story of how Harrison broke tradition by becoming the first presidential candidate for a major party to take to the stump and campaign for himself (a response to counter negative media attacks on his courage, physical condition and his intellect). Also of interest are the presence of phony news stories containing the most malicious attacks on the candidates, as well as how women became involved in a political campaign for the first time, even though they wouldn't get the vote for another eighty years. Shafer also writes an interesting chapter on contemporary methods of voter fraud practiced by both parties, and on campaign financing practices badly in need of reform. He also describes the transition to Harrison's presidency, his brief (31 day) administration and the aftermath of Harrison's early and untimely death.
Shafer has produced an excellent book about a presidential election campaign, choc full of interesting detail, and never too wordy or verbose. He has selected one of the most interesting election campaigns ever to write about. The combination of efficient, entertaining and informative writing coupled with interesting subject matter and interesting times make this one of the best books written about presidential election history, not only of this year, but in recent memory.