'Political Jugglers Losing Their Balance' cartoon

This cartoon comes from William Henry Harrison's campaign for the presidency against incumbent Martin Van Buren. Van Buren is depicted as a frock-coated dandy supported by Washington insiders, while Harrison is shown as a simple Ohio farmer bearing a club labelled "Reform." Harrison's campaign in the 1840 election was designed to appeal to "the common man," a constituency that had gained greater importance as suffrage expanded beyond the propertied classes. Historians have described the 1840 campaign as the first modern political campaign. Harrison broke with tradition and campaigned actively for president on the Whig ticket. The log cabin became the symbol of Harrison’s campaign when his Democratic opponents ridiculed him, saying he would be content to spend his days in a log cabin drinking hard cider. Harrison’s supporters turned this insult around to portray Harrison as a man of the people. The American voters elected Harrison with the wide margin of victory of 234 electoral college votes for Harrison to Van Buren's 60. The 68-year-old Harrison took office in 1841 but served the shortest time in office of any man elected to the presidency. He died of pneumonia on April 4, 1841, one month after taking office