USA > Ohio > History of Ohio; the rise and progress of an American state, Volume Four > Part 3
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General William S. Murphy of Ross county offered a resolution, which was unanimously adopted, recom- mending to the Whig young men of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Western New York, Penn- sylvania and Virginia to celebrate the next anniversary of the raising of the siege of Fort Meigs in June, 1813, on the ground occupied by the fort. Later this resolu- tion was carried out to the letter in the form of one of the greatest meetings of the year.
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
The campaign thus opened at Columbus in February grew in strength and excitement as the spring and sum- mer progressed. The people of Ohio engaged in the most remarkable contest in their history. The fact that their candidate was typical of themselves had much to do with the loyal support they gave him. But beyond and more powerful than this was the natural revolt against power long exercised. It was a protest of the people against the officeholders. It was a "class" campaign in which all the virtues and preju- dices of the poor voter were invoked against the aristocratic party in power.
One of the leading campaign documents was a speech by Hon. Charles Ogle, delivered in the House of Repre- sentatives April 16, 1840, entitled "The Royal Splen- dor of the President's Palace"; this was described by him "as splendid as that of the Cæsars, and as richly adorned as the proudest Asiatic mansion." He told of the White House gardens, with their rare plants from the Royal Gardens of England, of its gilded chairs that cost six hundred dollars a set. He pictured the aristocratic President that slept in a French bedstead in a chamber laid with a royal wilton carpet, and who ate from silver plates with forks of gold, and supped soup with gold spoons from silver tureens. Van Buren, living in this princely style, was compared with farmer Harrison in his simple life. In the country stores, on the roadside and by the candle light in the cabin this was read by the hard working farmers of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, and it is easily understood how frenzy crept into the campaign. So they sang their sentiments thus:
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"Let Van from his coolers of silver drink wine, And lounge on his cushioned settee;
Our man on his Buckeye bench can recline
Content with hard cider is he!
Then a shout for each freeman, a shout for each State, To the plain, honest husbandman true,
And this be our motto-the motto of Fate, Hurrah! for old Tippecanoe."
As the campaign waxed hot it developed a condition of political hyperbolism in the Whigs. Everything was exaggerated. In Ohio this reached its highest and most intense point. To use the language of the press, "the State was aflame." The hysteria of the cam- paign forbade anything like calm and deliberate dis- cussion of party principles or policies. The stories that the President lived like a king, and that the Democrats had stolen all the public moneys, were the nearest approach to reasons for Harrison's election. Of course it was immaterial to the excited crowds that the President did not live like a king, that the Democrats did not steal all the public funds, that General Harrison did not live in a log cabin and that he was not a devotee of hard cider. Nevertheless the log cabin and hard cider myth was the most powerful factor in the campaign, and it so strongly seized the American people that it became a national mental aberration. It formed the basis for a political litera- ture that is a veritable curiosity to-day. Circulating by thousands were newspapers named, The Log Cabin Farmer, The Log Cabin Rifle, The Log Cabin Advocate, and in this campaign Horace Greeley's first editorial adventure appeared, The Log Cabin. Its circulation
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extended throughout the country and reached nearly one hundred thousand copies, which for that day was a phenomenal issue.
The hard cider feature of the campaign resulted in serious discouraging effects. While it is true that it was a wonderful promoter of enthusiasm, its general, and too often intemperate, use produced conditions that did not die with the canvass. This was especially true among the young men. The grave and sober elements of the Whigs viewed with concern the indul- gences under the guise of politics. Reverend Leonard Bacon, the eminent New England divine, was alarmed at the prospect. "There is," said he, "another reason why the temperance cause is retrograding. Within three or four months intemperance has become the badge of a political party. The hard money humbug was bad enough; but the hard cider humbug will prove more disastrous to the country. More than ten thou- sand men will be made drunkards in one year by the hard cider enthusiasm." So widespread and deleteri- ous were proving these general carousals, that a remedy was sought in the celebrated Washingtonian temper- ance movement, organized in Baltimore in the midst of the hilarious campaign. It spread throughout the country, and thousands flocked to its standard. This agitation did much to check the excesses of the time. Still, more than one writer testifies that to the hard cider politics of 1840 can be charged the intemperance of many a man in after years.
Far more potent than the log cabin and hard cider shibboleth were the songs of the campaign. If ever a
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man was sung into office, it was William Henry Harri- son. The ecstatic condition of the popular mind was quick to respond to rhythm. It is a singular psycholog- ical fact that crowds are more responsive to music than the average unit of the crowd. In every cabin, upon every by-way, in village and town, Whig gather- ings were singing the songs of Harrison. Fletcher of Saltoun, a seventeenth century Scottish writer, said, "If a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation." Happy, indeed, is the party with a candidate about whose life ballads can be sung. Platforms and speeches are idle chaff compared to the songs that recite heroic deeds to a nation of hero worshippers.
The two most famous songs of the campaign were by Ohio writers. These were "The Buckeye Cabin Song," and "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." The first was written by Otway Curry, of Marysville, Union county, and possessed real poetic sentiment. The author was a true literary genius and contributed much to the poetic literature of that period. He was one of the founders and editors of The Hesperian, which as a magazine of Ohio has not been equalled since his day. It was but natural when the Union county boys attended the great Whig convention at Columbus with a cabin made of buckeye logs, that Otway Curry should be asked to write them a song. This was his work, and it was sung to the tune of "Highland Laddie." It is the only song of the campaign that may be said to have lived from 1840 and that is worth reproducing to-day:
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"Oh, where, tell me where, was your Buckeye cabin made? Oh, where, tell me where, was your Buckeye cabin made? 'Twas built among the merry boys that wield the plow and spade,
Where the log cabin stands, in the bonnie Buckeye shade. Oh, what, tell me what, is to be your cabin's fate? Oh, what, tell me what, is to be your cabin's fate? We'll wheel it to the capital, and place it there elate, For a token and a sign of the Bonnie Buckeye State!
Oh, why, tell me why, does your Buckeye cabin go? Oh, why, tell me why, does your Buckeye cabin go? It goes against the spoilsmen, for well its builders know It was Harrison that fought for the cabins long ago.
Oh, what, tell me what, then, will little Martin do? Oh, what, tell me what, then, will little Martin do? He'll 'follow in the footsteps' of Price and Swartout too, While the log cabin rings again with old Tippecanoe.
Oh, who fell before him in battle, tell me who? Oh, who fell before him in battle, tell me who? He drove the savage legions, and British armies too At the Rapids, and the Thames, and old Tippecanoe! By whom, tell me whom, will the battle next be won? By whom, tell me whom, will the battle next be won? The spoilsmen and leg treasurers will soon begin to run! And the 'Log Cabin Candidate' will march to Washington!"
This was sung with great effect at every Whig meet- ing in Ohio. Its refrain and sentiment were quieter than the general class of campaign songs, and when well sung created great enthusiasm.
The rollicking song of the campaign, however, was "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." It had a swing in it to march by, drink by or fight by. It was sung every- where. Senator Benton complained that steamboats and hotels were crowded with Whigs singing this "Whig
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doggerel," much to the annoyance of decent Democrats. It was the marching song of the campaign, and one writer said that what the "Marseillaise" was to Frenchmen, "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" was to the Whigs of 1840. That it was the most universally sung and that it was the greatest rallying cry of the campaign is unquestionably true. All other songs were supple- mentary. It was written by Alexander C. Ross of Zanesville. It belongs to that class of topical songs that could be lengthened at will and applied to meet all localities and events. To every verse, not always the same, was the chorus which was the real rallying cry :
"For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too-Tippecanoe and Tyler, too; And with them we'll beat little Van, Van, Van.
Van is a used-up man;
And with them we'll beat little Van."
The most extravagant feature of the campaign was a huge ball, ten or twelve feet in diameter, which was rolled along in the processions of the day. It made its first appearance at the Young Men's Whig Convention at Baltimore in May. It was a round wooden frame covered with linen painted in bright colors, and on all sides covered with political phrases. It was transferred from city to city to be used in Whig political demonstra- tions. At one time we find it at Zanesville, then at Nashville, and again at Annapolis. As the marchers accompanied it they sang:
"Hail to the ball which in grandeur advances,
Long life to the yeomen who urge it along; The abuse of our hero his worth but enhances; Then welcome his triumphs with shout and with song. The Whig ball is moving!
The Whig ball is moving!"
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
Oratory vied with song in swaying the multitudes. At no time before or since has the political meeting played such a part in Ohio campaigns. Some of these gatherings would last for several days-just as the supply of orators held out. The people seemed hungry for speeches and songs. It was not at all uncommon for the speaking to continue from noon until sundown, and the next morning find the enthusiastic partisans fresh for another day of the political picnic. The fore- most orator of the Whigs was Thomas Ewing, the distinguished lawyer of Lancaster. He was recognized as the leader of the Ohio bar and the greatest public man in the State. He had served in the United States Senate in 1831-37, and, with Henry Clay, advocated the protective tariff system. He discussed the serious issues of finance, tariff and the sub-treasury. When General Harrison was elected he made Mr. Ewing Secretary of the Treasury. The Whig candidate for Governor was the most popular orator of the campaign. "Tom" Corwin, with his inimitable humor and laugh- provoking mimicry, kept the crowds in a roar, and his canvass was one continuous triumph of fun. The chief Democratic orator was Thomas L. Hamer of Clermont county. He was the ablest and most popular Demo- crat in his party. He had served in Congress from 1833 to 1839, and through him young Ulysses S. Grant was appointed to West Point.
In this canvass there appeared as one of the orators of the Whigs a remarkable character known as the "Buckeye Blacksmith"; his sensational leap from obscurity to the limelight of the rostrum was one of the striking episodes of the year. His name was John W.
326589
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Bear and he lived at Zanesville, where he pursued his trade. He was gifted with great native powers of expression and eloquence, and possessed eccentric traits that emphasized these. His initial and unheralded appearance was at the great ratification meeting at Columbus. Clad in his blacksmith clothes, with leath- ern apron and tongs, and his face begrimed as though he came direct from the forge, he appeared at the main stand as the speaking commenced. Recognized by some of the Whigs from Zanesville, he was called upon for a speech.
With his first speech he became famous. His unique appearance and intense earnestness made a deep im- pression. He was the prototype of the working man in politics and spoke especially to voters of this class on the tariff. In sarcastic vituperation he aroused his partisans to the highest pitch, and in appeals against the aristocratic tendencies of Van Buren he was a "rabble-rouser." One of the local subjects of Whig attack in this campaign was Sam Medary and his paper, The Ohio Statesman. Medary had been State Printer some years before, and as the leading Democratic editor and politician was a special subject of investiga- tion by the Whigs when they came into control. As their chief opponent by reason of the great influence of his newspaper and its pugnacious editorials, he was especially obnoxious to the Ohio Whigs. Responding to this sentiment and doubtless under instruction of party leaders, the "Buckeye Blacksmith" devoted a great deal of time with evident pleasure in flaying Sam Medary, which he did with torrents of abuse and invective. To this Medary returned in kind in the
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columns of his newspaper, all of which only served to make the new and sensational orator the most con- spicuous figure in the campaign.
As an example of his realistic methods of oratory, the following incident in connection with one of his speeches is told by himself: "I had prepared a boy with a blacksmith's tongs and a basin of water, some soap and a towel. When it was my turn to speak, I stepped forward with leather apron on, sleeves rolled up and tongs in hand, ready for business amid the shouts of the multitude. When order was restored, I said, 'Gentlemen of the convention, I have a very dirty job to do, so I have my tongs with me, as you see.' Medary's paper was lying on the stand. I lifted it up with the tongs, read a short paragraph from it, and let it fall and wiped my feet on it, then called for soap and water, washed the tongs, and sent them to their owner, as I said, without defiling them with such a dirty thing as Sam Medary's paper. This caused the wildest excitement I ever saw."
It does not argue much for the intellectual grade of a campaign and its electorate that crowned this charac- ter as one of its most potent influences. Yet it is a fact that no speaker, not even Webster, Clay, Preston, Ewing or Corwin was in such demand. After great meetings at Lancaster, Chillicothe, Dayton, Cincin- nati, Portsmouth, in Eastern and Northern Ohio, he was invited by George D. Prentiss and Henry Clay to Kentucky. From there the Whigs assigned him to Pennsylvania and Maryland, where his tours were emotional triumphs. In Washington he addressed a monster meeting at which President Van Buren was
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present and listened with amusement to the stories and criticisms of himself. The President told Senator Crittenden that he regarded the "Buckeye Blacksmith" a dangerous man in the free North, as he would take a powerful hold on the working men. While in Washing- ton the orator was the guest of former President Adams.
After nine months on the stump his meteoric career closed with the election of General Harrison. He visited the President-elect at North Bend, and was received with great consideration. As a reward of his labors, General Harrison promised him the Agency among the Wyandot Indians at Upper Sandusky. To this he was appointed, but he was removed by President Tyler later on, because he declared for Henry Clay for President. He continued to participate in campaigns for twenty years, but he never made a distinct impression after 1840. The public mind became too serious for the methods and oratory of the type of "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too."
It will be remembered that the Whig State Convention held in February passed a resolution recommending the celebration of the siege of Fort Meigs by holding a mass meeting on the grounds of the old fort. This took place on June Ioth and 11th; General Harrison was present, and it was one of the most impres- sive of the Whig gatherings of the canvass of 1840. At this time the site of the fort was well outlined; the ditch, the glacis, and the sally-ports, though overgrown with short, thick grass, were all distinctly defined. There was everything in the present surroundings and in the historic past calculated to arouse patriotic enthusiasm. As night came, upon the evening of June
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Ioth, the day preceding the meeting, the scene was most picturesque. Crowds of people had arrived dur- ing the day from the neighboring states of Indiana and Michigan, and from the distant counties in Ohio. Thousands came from the eastern states by boats on Lake Erie, which landed them at the foot of the Rapids, the head of navigation. In fact, the South, East and West all had large delegations in the vast assemblage. By nine o'clock in the evening there were fully twenty thousand people on the grounds. These were divided into groups listening to and cheering some favorite orator, or singing campaign songs.
On the edge of the adjacent forest were ranged the white tents of the military and citizens. The beauty of the night and the environment conspired to make the occasion impressive. The sky was cloudless; the moon was up, and under its soft and mellow radiance, the flare of numerous torches and bonfires, the music of bands, and the exhortations and singing, the assem- blage possessed all the fervor of a camp meeting. Before morning this peaceful scene was changed. To add to the realism of the celebration a sham attack on Fort Meigs was made at midnight by a band of more than two hundred Indians, some of whom had partici- pated in the real event of thirty-seven years before. The drums beat to quarter, the skirmishers were driven in, the roar of cannon and the volley of musketry rent the air, and until morning some of the stirring scenes of the siege were reproduced with startling reality. But the Indians were repulsed, some were captured, and the camp was saved.
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The next day, June IIth, the vast gathering was increased by additional arrivals, until, it is recorded, forty thousand people were present. The meeting was organized in the morning with Thomas Ewing presiding, and shortly after General Harrison arrived and ascended the stand, on which were seated many of his old comrades-in-arms. The chroniclers of that day record in the most extravagant language the enthusias- tic reception given the Whig candidate for President.
Of all the meetings of this campaign, that of Septem- ber 10th, held at Dayton, was the greatest in numbers, as well as the most effective in its influence, through- out the country. It has not been equalled since in the history of politics. The present generation, not- withstanding its cheap transportation and increased population, has furnished no meeting to rival it. The Brough-Vallandigham campaign in 1863 more nearly approached that of 1840 in the deep interest and en- thusiasm manifested by the people, but it furnished no such counterpart as that of General Harrison's meeting at Dayton. With a due regard to the historic, the anniversary of Perry's victory on Lake Erie was the date fixed upon. The memorable message of the young commodore to his commander-in-chief was on every tongue, and there was a patriotic revival of the mem- ories of General Harrison's military life.
The approach of General Harrison to Dayton was a series of triumphal marches from his home at North Bend. Vast multitudes followed along the roadside all the way on foot and horseback. As to the meeting itself, it can only be accounted for on the theory that the people had taken up his election as a mission. It
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had developed into a crusade, and time, distance, weather, or transportation werenottaken into considera- tion. The multitude covered ten acres by actual measurement. While General Harrison was speaking, according to Niles' National Register (September 26, and October 3, 1840), the ground upon which the crowd stood was measured by three different civil engineers. Allowing four persons to a square yard, the three estimates placed the numbers at seventy- seven thousand, six hundred; seventy-five thousand, and eighty thousand respectively. The size of the meeting was of national concern and notoriety, and in speaking of the number present, the paper above referred to said:
"During the time of making three measurements, the number of square yards of surface covered was continually changing, by pressure from without and resistance within. This fact accounts satisfactorily for the slight difference in the results attained, and shows that that difference strengthens instead of weakens the probable correctness of the calculations. No one present would have pretended that there were less than twenty thousand within the limits of the measurement of the city, sauntering around the environs, scattered around the booths where refresh- ments were vended, and lying in large groups upon the plain, discussing affairs of state and making speeches for themselves. This will swell the number at the Miami Valley convention, including the citizens of Dayton (whose population is between five and six thousand) which we do, to about one hundred thousand. "
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General Harrison's address on this occasion was delivered with a fervor and animation that belonged to youth rather than age. In opening his address he made a happy reference to the victory on Lake Erie: "Fellow citizens, it was about this time of the day twenty-seven years ago this very hour, this very min- ute, that your speaker, as commander-in-chief of the Northwestern army, was plunged into an agony of feeling when the cannonading from our gallant fleet announced an action with the enemy. His hopes, his fears were destined to be soon quieted, for the tidings of victory were brought to him on the wings of the wind. With the eagle of triumph perching upon our banners upon the lake, I moved on to com- plete the overthrow of the foreign foe. The anni- versary of that day can never be forgotten, for every American has cause to rejoice at the triumph of our arms on that momentous occasion; but the brave and gallant hero of that victory is gone, gone to that home whither we are all hurrying, and to his memory let us do that reverence due to the deeds of so illustrious a patriot."
After this meeting General Harrison spoke at Chilli- cothe, Lancaster and Columbus, and at none of these were there less than twenty-five thousand people present.
It was evident from the beginning of the canvass that General Harrison would carry Ohio. The election returns show of the popular vote on electors 148, 14I were cast for the Whig candidate, and 124,780 for Van Buren, giving the former a majority of 23,361.
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After the election, with that mental resiliency so characteristic of the American people, a normal con- dition was restored, and the country settled down to receive and enjoy the campaign promises of the Whigs -the blessings of good times and an honest govern- ment. But in the day of triumph came the sorrow of a bitter disappointment. General Harrison died one month after his inauguration. Thus Ohio pre- sented her first President to the nation only to see him taken away on the threshold of his administration.
One of the fruits of the Whig victory in Ohio was the election, by a majority of 16,130, of Thomas Corwin as Governor over Wilson Shannon, who was a candidate for reelection. Tom Corwin, as he was popularly called, stands out now, as he did then, one of the most striking characters in the political history of Ohio. He had served ten years in Congress prior to his election, and he was known as the most brilliant orator of his day. He possessed wonderful and terrible powers of ridicule and sarcasm, and his eloquence was unequalled in rhetorical beauty and oral expression. He was passionately admired by his friends and equally hated by his enemies. General Harrison recognized him as the most powerful and effective of his sup- porters in Ohio. Corwin became an object of National admiration on account of his famous speech in Congress, February 14, 1840, in reply to General Isaac E. Crary, of Michigan, who had been so indiscreet as to attack the military reputation of General Harrison. In a speech, which was a masterpiece of satire and sarcasm, Corwin flayed the member from Michigan. Crary's knowledge of the art of war was acquired from his
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