1839 Whig National Convention

Presidential nomination

Clay led on the first ballot, but circumstances conspired to deny him the nomination. First, the convention came on the heels of a string of Whig electoral losses, and party members were anxious to reverse the trend. Harrison managed to distance himself from the losses, but Clay, as the party's philosophical leader, could not. Had the convention been held in the spring of 1840, when the continuing economic downturn caused by the Panic of 1837 led to a string of Whig victories, Clay would have had much greater support. Second, the convention rules had been drawn up so that whoever won the majority of delegates from a given state would win all the votes from that state. This worked against Clay, who could have combined solid majority support in almost all the Southern delegations (with little potential for opponents to capitalize on a proportional distribution of delegates), and a large minority support in Northern delegations if the rules allowed counting of individual delegate votes. Third, several Southern states whose Whig party organizations supported Clay abstained from sending delegates to the convention.

Harrison won on the fifth ballot after Clay delegates from Illinois and Scott delegates from Michigan, New York, and Vermont combined to switch their support to Harrison. Writer and activist John Neal, who chaired the delegation from Maine, claimed to have been instrumental in convincing the powerful New York delegation to back Harrison prior to the final vote. The state-by-state roll call was printed in the newspaper the Farmer's Cabinet on December 13, 1839:

Nomination

Maps

File:1839 Whig National Convention 1st and 2nd presidential ballots.svg|1st–2nd presidential ballot: results by state File:1839 Whig National Convention 3rd and 4th presidential ballots.svg|3rd–4th presidential ballot: results by state File:1839 Whig National Convention 5th presidential ballot.svg|5th presidential ballot: results by state

Vice presidential nomination

Candidates

Image:John Tyler (cropped 3x4).png|Former Senator John Tyler of Virginia Image:John M. Clayton, head-and-shoulders length studio portrait, facing left LCCN2015651550.tif|Former Senator John M. Clayton of Delaware (Withdrawn) Image:Portrait of Edward Bishop Dudley, by William Garl Browne.jpg|Governor Edward B. Dudley of North Carolina (Withdrawn) Image:Benjamin Leigh.jpg|Former Senator Benjamin W. Leigh of Virginia (Withdrawn)

Because Harrison (born in Virginia) was considered a Northerner (as a resident of Ohio), the Whigs needed to balance the ticket with a Southerner. They also sought a Clay supporter to help unite the party. After being turned down by several potential candidates, including John J. Crittenden, John Bell, and Willie Person Mangum, the convention finally found its Southerner who had faithfully supported Clay and would accept: former Senator John Tyler. Tyler was well known to the delegates, having previously been the running mate of Hugh Lawson White and Willie Person Mangum during the four-way Whig campaign of 1836. He was easily nominated on the first ballot.

Nomination

Maps

File:1839 Whig National Convention vice presidential ballot.svg|1st vice presidential ballot: results by state

Aftermath

During the balloting, Clay and Scott played cards with two Whig politicians, John J. Crittenden and George Evans, at the Astor House hotel in New York City.

When the group received word of Harrison's victory, Clay blamed his loss on Scott and punched him, hitting the shoulder which had been wounded during Scott's participation in the Battle of Lundy's Lane, before being physically removed from the hotel room.

Scott then sent Crittenden to Clay with Scott's challenge for a duel, but Crittenden reconciled the two by convincing Clay to apologize for his outburst.

Notes

References

Bibliography

References

1. (29 August 2004). "The First National Nominating Convention". University of Pittsburgh Press.
2. Richards, Irving T.. (1933). "The Life and Works of John Neal". Harvard University.
3. Niles, Hezekiah. (December 11, 1841). "Harrisburg Convention". Niles' National Register.
4. (2014). "The American Vice Presidency". Smithsonian Books.
5. Eisenhower, John S. D.. (1999). "Agent of Destiny: The Life and Times of General Winfield Scott". University of Oklahoma Press.