CAMPAIGN BADGE

The presidential election of 1840 is perhaps best known from the ""Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign of the Whig candidates Willaim Henry Harrison and John Tyler (for vice president), with their campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." Harrison and Tyler ran against Democratic candidates Martin Van Buren and Richard Johnson (for vice president).

The term "O.K." which appears on the Cater site badge above the safe came into popular use as part of a fad started in 1838by Boston and New York writers. These writers abbreviated "humorously" misspelled words as a type of code. "O.K." meant "oll korrect" (i.e. "all correct"). In the political campaign of 1840, "O.K." referred to Van Buren's nickname "Old Kinderhook" (Van Buren was from Kinderhook, New York).

"SPECIE" on the Cater site badge refers to the currency policy of the Jackson and Van Buren Administrations and the specie amendment to the Independent Sub-Treasury Bill. The Jackson and Van Buren administrations were opposed to the Bank of the United States, believing it to be unconstitutional and that its monopolistic power threatened to corrupt the government and destroy freedom. The Democrats favored a "hard money" policy based on coinage (i.e. specie), whereas the Whigs favored a sound currency (i.e. paper money) policy. During Jackson's presidency "hard-money" measures were undertaken, for example revaluing gold in relation to silver, making foreign coinage legal tender, enlarging the U.S. mint, and limiting the use of small denomination currency notes. Van Buren retained Jackson's "specie circular" which required payment for federal lands to be made in specie only, though it was repealed by an act of Congress in 1838.

The safe on the badge refers to the "Sub-Treasury" Bill. This bill required the Federal Government to deposit its money in its own vaults and not in banks. The connection of the safe with the Sub-Treasury Bill can be seen on other Van Buren campaign tokens with a safe and the legends "THE INDEPENDENT SUB-TREASURY, THE CHOICE OF THE PEOPLE" and "SUBTREASURY & DEMOCRACY." The safe symbolized that the people's money was safe.

The popular "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign of Harrison and Tyler and the depression 1838 with its subsequent "hard times," resulted in the defeat of Van Buren and the election of Harrison in 1840. Most of these badges belong to the Harrison campaign and have a picture of a log cabin and/or cider barrel with the legend "HARRISON & REFORM." While Harrison badges are more common, certain campaign issues advocated by the Democrats were popular on the western frontier and probably account for the Van Buren badge at the Cater site. These issues concerned land. the Democrats favored restriction of sales to actual settlers, rights of states to tax land when sold, safe-guarding squatters' rights (preemption), and graduation of the price of land so unsold lands became cheaper. These squatter's rights and cheap land were likely major concerns of the Cater site occupants.

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