The American Vote
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Second Party SystemCycle 14 / 60

1840

William Henry Harrison and the 1840 map.
William Henry Harrison (Whig) defeated Martin Van Buren (Democratic), 52.9% to 46.8% of the popular vote.

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 (234 to 60). Popular-vote margin: 6.0 percentage points. Turnout was 80.3%. The cycle falls in the Second Party System era of American electoral history.

Harrison
234 EV
Buren
60 EV
0148 to win294
The map · 1840
19 states for Whig · 7 for Dem
ALAKAZARCACOFLGAIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMIMNMSMOMTNENVNMNYNCNDOHOKORPASCSDTNTXUTVAWAWVWIWY

Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.

Narrative

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.

Key issue

Economic depression from the Panic of 1837; opposition to Jacksonian Democrats

Notable

First modern campaign ('Tippecanoe and Tyler Too'); highest 19th-century turnout; Harrison died 31 days in

This summary was drafted with AI tools and has not yet been checked sentence by sentence. The vote table and the National Archives note on this page come from named sources; where they differ from the summary, rely on them. Tell us about an error.

From the National Archives

William H. Harrison, ninth President of the United States, died on April 4, 1841. He was succeeded by Vice President John Tyler, who took the oath of office on April 6, 1841.

National Archives, Electoral College results for 1840, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.

State results · 1840

Electoral votes by state. State popular votes for 1840 are not yet published here.
1840 presidential election results by state: electoral votes
StateElectoral votesPopular vote
Alabama1
7 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Arkansas2
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Connecticut3
8 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Delaware4
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Georgia5
11 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Illinois6
5 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Indiana7
9 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Kentucky8
15 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Louisiana9
5 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Maine10
10 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Maryland11
10 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Massachusetts12
14 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Michigan13
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Mississippi14
4 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Missouri15
4 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New Hampshire16
7 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New Jersey17
8 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New York18
42 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
North Carolina19
15 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Ohio20
21 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Pennsylvania21
30 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Rhode Island22
4 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
South Carolina23
11 EV
Electors were chosen by the legislature.
Tennessee24
15 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Vermont25
7 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Virginia26
23 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.

Notes on the figures

  1. Alabama State popular vote not yet sourced.
  2. Arkansas State popular vote not yet sourced.
  3. Connecticut State popular vote not yet sourced.
  4. Delaware State popular vote not yet sourced.
  5. Georgia State popular vote not yet sourced.
  6. Illinois State popular vote not yet sourced.
  7. Indiana State popular vote not yet sourced.
  8. Kentucky State popular vote not yet sourced.
  9. Louisiana State popular vote not yet sourced.
  10. Maine State popular vote not yet sourced.
  11. Maryland State popular vote not yet sourced.
  12. Massachusetts State popular vote not yet sourced.
  13. Michigan State popular vote not yet sourced.
  14. Mississippi State popular vote not yet sourced.
  15. Missouri State popular vote not yet sourced.
  16. New Hampshire State popular vote not yet sourced.
  17. New Jersey State popular vote not yet sourced.
  18. New York State popular vote not yet sourced.
  19. North Carolina State popular vote not yet sourced.
  20. Ohio State popular vote not yet sourced.
  21. Pennsylvania State popular vote not yet sourced.
  22. Rhode Island State popular vote not yet sourced.
  23. South Carolina The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
  24. Tennessee State popular vote not yet sourced.
  25. Vermont State popular vote not yet sourced.
  26. Virginia State popular vote not yet sourced.

SourceNo state popular-vote figures for 1840 are published here yet. How these figures were compiled

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1836
Martin Van Buren · Dem

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