1840
The 1840 U.S. presidential election was won by William Henry Harrison (Whig) with 234 of 294 electoral votes, defeating Martin Van Buren (Democratic). Electoral vote margin: 174 EV, popular-vote margin +6%; turnout 80.3%. The cycle falls in the Second Party System era of American electoral history.
William Henry Harrison and the 1840 map
William Henry Harrison and the Whigs defeated incumbent Van Buren with the first modern media campaign, the famous 'Log Cabin and Hard Cider' campaign portraying Harrison as a rough frontier hero. The Panic of 1837 had devastated Van Buren's popularity. Voter turnout surged to 80%, reflecting the maturation of mass-participation politics. Harrison died of pneumonia just 31 days after his inauguration, leaving John Tyler — a Democrat in Whig clothing — as president.
Economic depression from the Panic of 1837; opposition to Jacksonian Democrats
First modern campaign ('Tippecanoe and Tyler Too'); highest 19th-century turnout; Harrison died 31 days in
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