ELECTION (1836)

Van Buren's Political Party:             Democratic Party

Van Buren's Opponent(s):
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON-	               Whig Party
Hugh L. White-			                                   Whig Party
Daniel Webster-			                                  Whig Party

Election Facts:
The Democrats 
        The Democrats nominated Vice President Van Buren for president.  The vote was unanimous.  (Van Buren was backed by ANDREW JACKSON.)  Richard Johnson of Kentucky was nominated for vice president.

The Republicans 
        The Republican Party was badly split.  Republicans did not nominate a presidential candidate in 1836.  In 1828, they had called themselves National Republicans.  But they could not hold the party together.  Conservative Republicans wanted to preserve slavery.  For a while, they called themselves Jeffersonian Republicans.  By 1836, most Republicans had joined the Whig Party.

The Whigs 
        In 1836, the Whigs wanted to deny Vice President Van Buren an electoral majority.  But they could not agree on one candidate for president.  They ran three regional candidates.  WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON (Ohio) was the western candidate.  Daniel Webster (Massachusetts) was the eastern candidate.  Hugh Lawson White (Tennessee) was the southern candidate.  They were chosen by state legislatures.

The General Election Campaign 
        Vice President Van Buren was favored to win the election.  He courted southern support by opposing the abolition of slavery.  The Whigs had a potent issue in the weak economy.  But they were too divided to capitalize on it.  President ANDREW JACKSON was still popular.  With his support, Van Buren had the edge in the election.

The Election Results 
        Van Buren defeated Harrison by more than 200,000 popular votes.  He won 170 electoral votes and carried 15 states.  Harrison won 73 electoral votes and carried 7 states.  White and Webster won under 15 percent of the popular vote.  They split 51 electoral votes with Willie Mangum of North Carolina.  (Mangum was not a declared candidate for president.)

        No vice presidential candidate received enough electoral votes to be elected.  Virginia's electors refused to vote for Richard Johnson, Van Buren's running mate.  The Senate elected Johnson vice president in February 1837.  He won 33 votes.

ELECTION (1840)

(See WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.)

ELECTION (1848)

(See ZACHARY TAYLOR.)

MARTIN VAN BUREN'S VICE PRESIDENT(S)

FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1837-1841):

Richard Mentor Johnson, Kentucky
Vice President (1837-1841)

Birth-		          1780
Death-           1850
Profession-	    Lawyer
Offices-	        U.S. House representative (1806-
		                  1819); U.S. senator (1819-1837).

Other Facts-
        Richard Johnson is the only vice president to be elected by the U.S. Senate.  He did not have enough electoral votes to be elected by the electoral college.

        Before he entered politics, Johnson was a military hero.  (He killed the great Indian chief Tecumseh in the War of 1812.)  He was the first of three vice presidents whose surname was Johnson.  He was the first vice president to come from the West.  (In 1836, Kentucky was part of the West.)