A banner displays a variation of the "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" slogan, used during the 1840 U.S. presidential campaign by candidate William Henry Harrison and his running mate John Tyler. Harrison took credit for defeating Indian forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Image from Ross County Historical Society
In Part 2 of a series, Steve Russell, a member of the Cherokee Nation, takes a look at the role of music in American political campaigns, a history that includes Tippecanoe and Tyler Too, a song and slogan that tied candidate William Henry Harrison to the defeat of Indian forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe:
The first election where the campaign song was the center of attention was 1840, when white men without property had been extended the right to vote even though many could not read. The song was a memory cue to the names and the candidate’s principal accomplishment. William Henry Harrison took credit for the defeat of the pan-tribal revolt led by Tecumseh at the battle of Tippecanoe. He took his nickname from that engagement and his campaign theme song reminded his illiterate supporters to cast a ballot for “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” “Tyler Too” referred to John Tyler, who became the first vice president in U.S. history to become president on the death of his running mate. “Old Tippecanoe” (as they called Harrison) may have been dragging along some bad karma. Tecumseh was not present at the Battle of Tippecanoe and his brother Tenskwatawa, who was in charge, survived the defeat, but the Indian patriots had to withdraw when they ran out of ammunition. Tenskwatawa’s forces were greatly outnumbered, but the settler army took more casualties until the Indians had to back off. Unopposed then, Harrison’s forces burned the Shawnee coalition’s city to the ground and destroyed the supplies Tecumseh had stored for the winter. It was a blow from which the Indian resistance never recovered. What remained of Tecumseh’s coalition took the British side in the War of 1812. Two years after Tippecanoe, General William Henry Harrison commanded the prevailing forces at the Battle of the Thames, and Tecumseh was killed in action. On the strength of his Indian fighting, Harrison was elected President of the United States. He died on his thirty-second day in office, the shortest time any POTUS served before or since, and Tyler finished his term.Get the Story:
Steve Russell: Topical Songs 2: Singing for Votes (Indian Country Today 7/7)
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