Commemorating the old battleground: the celebrations of the Battle of Tippecanoe and 1850s politics

Through examining commemorations at Tippecanoe, this article contends that the politics of the 1850s overshadowed the political instability in earlier decades. Hoping to use the chaos to their advantage and win over Whig voters for the 1856 presidential election, Democrats pitched a new account of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	American nineteenth century history Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 131 - 149
Main Author:	Wiley, Andrew
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Abingdon Routledge 03-05-2024 Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:	crisis of the 1850s Presidential elections Stability Tippecanoe Two-party system
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Through examining commemorations at Tippecanoe, this article contends that the politics of the 1850s overshadowed the political instability in earlier decades. Hoping to use the chaos to their advantage and win over Whig voters for the 1856 presidential election, Democrats pitched a new account of the past that downplayed the influence of antislavery northerners on both older parties along with their many disagreements. Because Whigs had politicized the Tippecanoe battlefield in the 1830s, Democrats commemorated the site in 1856, turning the location into a symbol for a new pro-Union political coalition based on a glossed-over version of history.
ISSN:	1466-4658 1743-7903
DOI:	10.1080/14664658.2024.2357446