United States Presidential Election of 1840

The United States presidential election of 1840 was fought between incumbent Democrat Martin Van Buren and Whig candidate William Henry Harrison. Economic distress after the Panic of 1837 shaped the campaign, while the Whigs promoted Harrison through mass rallies, songs and the deliberately rustic log-cabin and hard-cider image.

Henry Clay remained a major Whig leader despite losing the nomination, and the contest demonstrated the growing importance of organised parties and popular campaigning. Harrison won decisively but died only a month after taking office.

Barbara Hambly’s Death and Hard Cider places Benjamin January amid a Harrison rally in New Orleans, where murder becomes entangled with rival supporters of Harrison, Clay and Van Buren.