BACKGROUND FOR

OLD TIPPECANOE 

A SONG ABOUT WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON

Anyone who goes into politics must be ready to be satirized. When I do it, it is for the sake of fun, not to be disrespectful. Laughing is an important part of life, and leaders of our nation should and usually do understand that.

William Henry Harrison was elected president of the United States in 1840. It was a very interesting election in that some of the phrases that originated or which were popularized during that election are with us today.

"OK"

It is disputed whether the word OK, meaning"fine" actually originated during this election or was used before and made popular. The incumbent, Martin Van Buren was born in Kinderhook New York. His nickname became "Old Kinderhook." His followers shortened it to the acronym "OK." When people used the phrase it implied that everything will be fine if Van Buren were reelected (which he wasn't!!)

"BOOZE"

The symbol for William Henry Harrison was the log cabin. It was in 1840 that the E.C. Booz company started selling  it's "Old Cabin Whiskey" in bottles shaped like a log cabin. Coincidence? People went into stores to ask for a bottle of "booz." (It is commonly spelled with an 'e' at the end. It is thought that the term "booze" might have originated in some sort of form earlier than 1840. But the term would certainly have been popularized during this election. People asking for Booze would have meant the Booz Log Cabin Whiskey.

"Keep the Ball Rolling"

This was a campaign slogan for William Henry Harrison. In fact, they did roll huge balls of string from one place to the other.

"Tippacanoe and Tyler Too"

William Henry Harrison's nickname was "Tippacanoe." In 1811 Harrison was a general who commanded the U.S. army forces in the Battle of Tippacanoe Creek. He was thought of as a hero, and retained the name. When running for office, he was the oldest candidate to do so, as of that time.

President Harrison died after 32 days in office. In those days the inauguration was in March. It was a cold and windy.  The President sat for  a long period of time without a coat. He caught a chill and became fatally  ill.