Campaign Blast from the Past: The County Election

In 1852, Missouri-native George C. Bingham completed "The County Election" (detail, right). The painting portrayed free liquor being poured, inebriated voters propped up at the polling place, bought votes, and a glad-handing politican (in top-hat).
You might think (like I did) that Bingham had a jaundiced view of the questionable Whig tradition of providing voters with free liquor. Not so; Bingham was a Whig!

So where we see ethics violations, this was actually Bingham's way of paying tribute to the will of the people. He wasn't necessarily condoning the hubbub, but there is a spirit of celebration surrounding the democratic spectacle. (Or so say Bingham's biographers.)

George Bingham had political aspirations of his own, serving as State Treasurer of Ohio from 1862-6 and running unsuccessfully for Congress.

And while his Whig affiliation dates him, Bingham was ahead of his time in one respect; he anticipated the rise of heavy metal with this detail from "The Jolly Flatboatmen" (1846).

* My sources are here.

Campaign Blast from the Past: Trapped by the Whigs

As previously noted, America’s Whig Party made liberal use of libations at election time. This strategy did not always go down smoothly; this anti-Whig woodcut from Louisiana mocks the Whigs’ predilection for “entrapping” voters with free alcohol. (The log cabin was a Whig symbol.)
What an innocent age! Of course, today's voters are WAY too sophisticated to fall for traps of this primitive nature. (Although if one were to substitute a free cell phone for the cider...) The text below accompanied the anti-Whig woodcut:
"Tip. and Ty." were William Henry Harrison (aka, Tippecanoe) and John Tyler (Ty), the Whig candidates of 1840. They won, and both men got to be President of the United States. Score one for free hard cider.
Images from the Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division

Campaign Blast from the Past: Whigging Out

Members of the late American political party known as the Whigs (1824-1854) were notorious for “treating” voters to a drink at election time. Party organizers would even hand out little whiskey jugs with the Whig candidate’s name on it so that foggy voters recalled who had gotten them drunk.

The spirit of spirits ran through many Whig campaigns, most famously with their 1840 presidential candidate, William Harrison (you know, the guy who died after a month in office?). Nicknamed “Old Tip-ler,” his opponents came up with an election ditty for him:

Hush-a-bye baby; Daddy’s a Whig
Before he comes home, Hard cider he’ll swig;
Then he’ll be tipsy and over he’ll fall;
Down will come Daddy, Tip, Tyler, and all.

I’ve been trying to think about what kind of political giveaways one could get away with in the 21st century. (Whiskey is out of the question, right?)

I believe there is only one pair of foodstuffs so virtuous, not even the most principled opponent could object: A free “marmalade and toast” event! Think of the songs they’d write for that.

*My sources are here.