Booklet, "Harrison Melodies", 1840

Harrison, William · 1840

Nineteenth-century political campaigns made frequent use of songbooks to spread positive images of their candidate and party, or mocking tunes poking fun at opponents. In 1840, William Henry Harrison’s Whig party circulated songsters honoring Harrison’s military experience, western background, and common touch, while mocking his opponent, Martin Van Buren as elite, corrupt, and responsible for the 1837 depression. Many songs included personal, mean-spirited attacks, often deriding Martin Van Buren – who was 5’6” tall and the second shortest president in U.S. history – as “Little Van, the used-up man.”