1840
Reading the 1840 result in Illinois
Illinois backed VanBuren (Democratic) in the 1840 presidential election, casting 5 electoral votes for the ticket. Nationally the result broke the other way — William Henry Harrison (Whig) won the presidency, leaving Illinois among the states he did not carry.
It marked the 4th consecutive election in which Illinois backed the Democratic party, a streak reaching back to 1828. The region divided — Iowa and Missouri joined Illinois for the Democratic ticket, while Kentucky and Indiana did not. Across the 53 presidential elections Illinois has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Democratic party (26 times). The vote fell within the Second Party System — Jackson, Whigs, and the rise of mass politics.
In the national count, William Henry Harrison took 234 of the 294 electoral votes, against Martin Van Buren's 60. William Henry Harrison led the national popular vote with 52.87% of the ballots cast.
Illinois in nearby cycles
Embed
Drop this map on your site · coming soon
Free iframe with attribution. White-label option in the works.
Get notified →Classroom
All 300 packets, free
60 cycles · K-2 through AP · open download.
Browse packets →Poster
Wall-worthy print · coming soon
Every-election grid and single-state series in the works.
Get notified →Read further
Curated picksAmerican Lion
Jon Meacham
Pulitzer-winning Jackson biography.
Buy on Amazon →A Country of Vast Designs
Robert W. Merry
James K. Polk and the manifest-destiny presidency.
Buy on Amazon →Recommendations are editorial.
Free, ad-light, no paywall
Built by one person. Tips fund the next 60 elections of editorial.