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A Dose of Slangwhang and Hard Cider: Charles S. Todd and the Harrison Campaign of 1840
- Ohio Valley History
- The Filson Historical Society and Cincinnati Museum Center
- Volume 8, Number 2, Summer 2008
- pp. 1-22
- Article
- Additional Information
A Dose of Slangwhang and Hard Cider Charles S.Todd and tbe Harrison Campaign of 1840 Sherry K.Jelsma Charles S. Todd, First Representative of the United States in Columbia,South America,1841. THEFILSONHISTORICAL SOCIETY 'heeraofgoodfeelingswaslonggone. Inthe 18305Americansfeltinsecure about their future. 1[ hey complained of an unstable economy and an administration unresponsive to the social and cultural changes arising from the country' s rapid economic and territorial growth. For some Americans,the 1840 Whig presidential " Log Cabin Campaign" offered a powerful,albeit temporary,antidote to these problems. SUMMER 2008 1 I I , 5/ hi A DOSE OF SLANGWHANG AND HARD CIDER A key organizer of the campaign was Col. Ch, irles S.Ti, dd of Kenttick. Tc, dd rose through the military ranks iii the War of 1812 · as an aide to Ilis father' s protdgO, Gen. William I lenrv Harrison. Twentyeight years later, when Flarrison ran tc , r president as the Whig Party' s candidate,Todd,a fornier elected ofticial,Whig political operative, and 11CTVSpaper editor, served as his campaign manager. The 1840 presidential campaign energized residents of the growing nation. Some 80 percent of eligible voters turned orit, and newspapers played a central role in generating voter interest. Whig newspapers presented their C. tildid. ite, Harrison, witli his slogan, Tippecanoe and Tyler Too, and his tradem·ark, tlie log cabin and the b: irrel of hard elder,so memorably that the campaign became legendary . For tlie first time,opposition politicians presented tlic sitting administration as the cause of tlle country' S fin'anCharles S.Todd ( 1791-1871). cial woes,a presidential candidate spoke ti, r himself on the THEFILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY stumli, atid wonien played , 1 recoonizeil and public role iii b 61 political campaign: Newspapers encour, itted and recorded tliese benchmarks , acting as party ortratis. Illiey defitied the differences between tlic two parties fl, r the public,directed tlie actioti, and set the pace oftlic campaign. In the nineteenth century,newspapers were transparently partisan and Todd and his fellow editors functioned as political org·anizers and often held public office. Local editors regularly published articles from c, ther 1} apers, offering political coirimentators a national pc, litical voice and giving re·aders access to nati() nal debates. If a candidate did not ec, ntrol at least one paper, he bought one and either edited it hiniself or hired an editor. Newsp·apers were a source of candidate propag·and·a and campaign issues, and editors helped build political networks to get out the v te. Partisan newspapers existed in everv citv and most rural tc, wns and coiild be found at 1-(, adside inns · around the colintry Partisan editors generated crc, wds fi) r rallies and meetings, anne, unced schedules, reported public opinion, · and personalized the candidate. In the process,editors ( manv of whom were selfmade men) helped democratize antebellum politics.2 T, dd,in contrast,was wealthy and welleducated ,a member of a cohort of War of 1812 veterans who held political office most of their lives. Borii in 1791 in what soon would become Kentucky,Todd began his schoolinir at age five, · and eventuallv graduated from Virginia' s William and Mary College in 1809. He earned his law license after a vear of study in Litchficld, Connecticut,with judges James Clould · and l' apping Reeves, and begin his political career duritig the War of 1812. After tile war,he 111,irried the daughter of Kentucky' s governor,Letitia Shelby,wlio inherited farmland in Shelby Countv,Kentucky. He served two terms in the Kentucky legislature before the president,James Monroe, appointed him in 1820 : is 2 01110 VALLEY IliSTORY SHERRY K IFI. SMA a confidential agent to South America,where he served until 1824 When he returned,Todd began writing for the Shelbyville fldvocate And likely for the Fiankfort A} gut ofWete) ) 1 Aineiita In short,he possessed all the qualities his age required to entei politics,tiamelv " wealth, Influence, intelligence, resources, contiol of public media and bleepless involvement " 1 Kentuckv statesmen sought Todd's advice as well as his pen A wellwritten article published in the pioper papci could be of great help to a candidate In 1828, for CX, ltnple, U S Speaker of...