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The Coming of Democracy: Presidential Campaigning in the Age of Jackson
After the "corrupt bargain" that awarded John Quincy Adams the presidency in 1825, American politics underwent a fundamental shift from deference to participation. This changing tide eventually propelled Andrew Jackson into the White House--twice. But the presidential race that best demonstrated the extent of the changes was that of Martin Van Buren and war hero William Henry Harrison in 1840. Harrison's campaign was famously marked by sloganeering and spirited rallies.
In The Coming of Democracy, Mark R. Cheathem examines the evolution of presidential campaigning from 1824 to 1840. Addressing the roots of early republic cultural politics--from campaign biographies to songs, political cartoons, and public correspondence between candidates and voters--Cheathem asks the reader to consider why such informal political expressions increased so dramatically during the Jacksonian period. What sounded and looked like mere entertainment, he argues, held important political meaning. The extraordinary voter participation rate--over 80 percent--in the 1840 presidential election indicated that both substantive issues and cultural politics drew Americans into the presidential selection process.
Drawing on period newspapers, diaries, memoirs, and public and private correspondence, The Coming of Democracy is the first book-length treatment to reveal how presidents and presidential candidates used both old and new forms of cultural politics to woo voters and win elections in the Jacksonian era. This book will appeal to anyone interested in US politics, the Jacksonian/antebellum era, or the presidency.
In The Coming of Democracy, Mark R. Cheathem examines the evolution of presidential campaigning from 1824 to 1840. Addressing the roots of early republic cultural politics--from campaign biographies to songs, political cartoons, and public correspondence between candidates and voters--Cheathem asks the reader to consider why such informal political expressions increased so dramatically during the Jacksonian period. What sounded and looked like mere entertainment, he argues, held important political meaning. The extraordinary voter participation rate--over 80 percent--in the 1840 presidential election indicated that both substantive issues and cultural politics drew Americans into the presidential selection process.
Drawing on period newspapers, diaries, memoirs, and public and private correspondence, The Coming of Democracy is the first book-length treatment to reveal how presidents and presidential candidates used both old and new forms of cultural politics to woo voters and win elections in the Jacksonian era. This book will appeal to anyone interested in US politics, the Jacksonian/antebellum era, or the presidency.
248 pages, Hardcover
Published August 1, 2018
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About the author
Mark R. Cheathem
9 books23 followersI am a historian of 19th-c. U.S. presidential history.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 28, 2018
The presidential election of 1840 in America was a notable one for a number of reasons. Not the least of these was its result, as it was the first election in which the nominee of the Whig Party, William Henry Harrison, triumphed by defeating his Democratic opponent, incumbent president Martin Van Buren. Though this was the product of a variety of factors, foremost among them was the Whig's perfection of electioneering techniques that had emerged over the previous sixteen years, the employment of which served in many ways as a model for presidential campaigns down to the present day. In this book Mark Cheathem describes the evolution of presidential campaigning during the antebellum era, showing how these techniques emerged and how they framed the contests for the growing number of Americans voting in national elections.
As Cheathem explains, the development of presidential campaigning was a relatively recent phenomenon. With George Washington as a consensus choice, the nascent political parties did not even confront the problem of electing candidates until the third election in 1796. Even then, elections took place in a very different context, with the electoral college delegates chosen by their state's legislatures rather than in a popular vote. This changed in the 1820s as popular democracy was expanded, a development intertwined with the emergence of the "second party system" in the aftermath of the presidential election of 1824.
With the new parties now needing to appeal to this growing pool of voters they began to develop a range of electioneering devices. Here Cheathem details the emergence of a variety of tools in print, music, and visual culture that sought to promote a chosen candidate and undermine their opponent. As the dominant mass media of their time newspapers were at the forefront of this, often serving as the most direct means for candidates to reach out to their supporters across long distances. But the songs and displays at rallies also emerged as important implements for campaigns to rally voters to support their man. Cheathem also details the growing role women played in this process, as the contemporary views about their role as moral guardians proved a valuable asset in political campaigns.
Cheathem describes this in a brisk narrative that demonstrates a command of both the campaign material of the era and the secondary source literature on his subject. By weaving into this a succinct narrative of the presidential politics of the time, he provide a useful background to the issues touched upon in the campaign materials he describes. All of this is presented in a fluid text that provides its readers with a clear presentation of the era and makes a convincing argument about the development of presidential campaigning in the era. The result is a book that everybody interested in American politics should read, both for the understanding it provides in the development of modern electioneering, both for better and for worse.
As Cheathem explains, the development of presidential campaigning was a relatively recent phenomenon. With George Washington as a consensus choice, the nascent political parties did not even confront the problem of electing candidates until the third election in 1796. Even then, elections took place in a very different context, with the electoral college delegates chosen by their state's legislatures rather than in a popular vote. This changed in the 1820s as popular democracy was expanded, a development intertwined with the emergence of the "second party system" in the aftermath of the presidential election of 1824.
With the new parties now needing to appeal to this growing pool of voters they began to develop a range of electioneering devices. Here Cheathem details the emergence of a variety of tools in print, music, and visual culture that sought to promote a chosen candidate and undermine their opponent. As the dominant mass media of their time newspapers were at the forefront of this, often serving as the most direct means for candidates to reach out to their supporters across long distances. But the songs and displays at rallies also emerged as important implements for campaigns to rally voters to support their man. Cheathem also details the growing role women played in this process, as the contemporary views about their role as moral guardians proved a valuable asset in political campaigns.
Cheathem describes this in a brisk narrative that demonstrates a command of both the campaign material of the era and the secondary source literature on his subject. By weaving into this a succinct narrative of the presidential politics of the time, he provide a useful background to the issues touched upon in the campaign materials he describes. All of this is presented in a fluid text that provides its readers with a clear presentation of the era and makes a convincing argument about the development of presidential campaigning in the era. The result is a book that everybody interested in American politics should read, both for the understanding it provides in the development of modern electioneering, both for better and for worse.
December 31, 2018
As the title promises, the book describes presidential campaigns from 1824 through 1840. It is at its most entertaining and edifying when it describes particularly pungent images or songs from the campaigns. I would imagine it's a book worth reading in hard copy rather than on Kindle (I read it on Kindle and the images can be hard to make out). The weaker parts are the lists of newspapers that supported one side or the other, the over-inclusiveness of song lyrics, and a few quotations that I thought didn't add much, either bland rehearsals of one candidate's advantages over another, or of the size of one side's campaign events.
Though you'll find plenty of campaign materials, there isn't very much analysis of how the campaigns were organized. Perhaps that's another book entirely. But the book sometimes alludes to the organizational wizardry of Van Buren, or the hierarchical structure of the Whig campaign in 1840. I would love to learn more about who actually did that organizing and how.
Though you'll find plenty of campaign materials, there isn't very much analysis of how the campaigns were organized. Perhaps that's another book entirely. But the book sometimes alludes to the organizational wizardry of Van Buren, or the hierarchical structure of the Whig campaign in 1840. I would love to learn more about who actually did that organizing and how.
September 6, 2023
I read “The Coming of Democracy” in preparation for a book club and am glad I did. It is an ordered examination of presidential campaigns from 1824 to 1840, a period dominated by the gigantic figure of Andrew Jackson. Each year’s campaign is divided into Cultural Politics, Public Correspondence, Auxiliary Organizations, Visual and Material Culture, Women’s Activity, Political Music and the outcome.
I appreciate it for the details it brings out about each campaign, things that are easily overlooked, but tie the campaigns together into a flowing trend, rather than isolated phenomena the appear to more cursory examination.
The book club discussion was lively. Attendees found many things on which to comment regarding this work and learned much about campaigning in the Jackson era. It was a good book club choice.
I appreciate it for the details it brings out about each campaign, things that are easily overlooked, but tie the campaigns together into a flowing trend, rather than isolated phenomena the appear to more cursory examination.
The book club discussion was lively. Attendees found many things on which to comment regarding this work and learned much about campaigning in the Jackson era. It was a good book club choice.
August 10, 2020
Mark Cheathem argues that cultural politics and voter mobilization were more important factors than the expansion of the franchise for the increased voter turnout in the Age of Jackson. He examines each election between 1828 and 1840 through the cultural communications like public letters, songs, cartoons, swag, props, auxiliary organizations, etc. He tracks the development of these campaign tactics and how they were deployed. There are chapters on issues and their development over presidential administrations. Coming of Democracy concludes with the 1840 election which marked the maturation of competitive two party political system.
October 23, 2019
A brief, analytic look at the changing nature of presidential campaigns from 1824 through 1840. While the book spends a disproportionate amount of time listing which newspapers backed which candidate, or naming every lithograph of the 1836 election, it has a clear analytic framework within the chronological narrative. Of particular value was the epilogue that clearly laid out the long-term resonances of the campaign style born in the Jacksonian Age.
July 30, 2019
This was a lively romp through early American presidential campaigns. With its fast pace and interesting stories, it never got boring. I recommend!
October 29, 2018
Read my review here: https://kirkcenter.org/reviews/when-d...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews