Presidential Election of 1836: A Resource Guide

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with the presidential election of 1836, including political cartoons, broadsides, newspaper articles, and sheet music. This guide compiles links to digital materials related to the presidential election of 1836 that are available throughout the Library of Congress Web site. In addition, it provides links to external Web sites focusing on the 1836 election and a selected bibliography.

1836 Presidential Election Results [1]

Library of Congress Web Site | External Web Sites | Selected Bibliography

Digital Collections

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875

This collection consists of published congressional records of the United States of America from 1774 to 1875.

• On February 10, 1837, the Electoral College votes for the presidential election of 1836 were counted by a joint session of Congress and reported in the Congressional Globe and Register of Debates, as well as in the Senate Journal and the House Journal.

Map Collections

The focus of Map Collections is Americana and Cartographic Treasures of the Library of Congress. These images were created from maps and atlases selected from the collections of the Geography and Map Division.

• Political chart of the United States: Shewing the progress of reform, or sober second thoughts of the people (contains the results from 1836 and 1840 presidential elections).

Martin Van Buren Papers, 1787 to 1910

The Martin Van Buren Papers contains more than 6,000. The bulk of the material dates from the 1820s, when Van Buren (1782-1862) was a U.S. senator from New York, through his service as secretary of state and vice president in the Andrew Jackson administrations (1829-1837), to his own presidency (1837-1841) and through the decade thereafter when he made unsuccessful bids to return to the presidency with the Democratic and Free Soil parties. 

• "Mr. Van Buren's Opinions," printed exchange of correspondence with Sherrod Williams about Martin Van Buren's stances on issues prior to the presidential election of 1836.

Printed Ephemera: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera

The Printed Ephemera collection comprises 28,000 primary-source items dating from the seventeenth century to the present and encompasses key events and eras in American history. While the broadside format represents the bulk of the collection, there are a significant number of leaflets and some pamphlets.

• To the Democratic voters of Frederick County Fellow-citizens of the county of Frederick: An important æra in the history of our country is fast approaching. On the first Monday in November next ...
• To the rescue ... We are upon the eve of a Presidential election ...

William Henry Harrison Papers

The William Henry Harrison Papers contain approximately 1,000 items dating from 1734 to 1939, with the bulk dated from 1812 to 1841.

• Letter, William Henry Harrison, accepting the Whig Party nomination as candidate for U.S. presidency, February 20, 1836.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

Chronicling America

This site allows you to search and view millions of historic American newspaper pages from 1789-1924. Search this collection to find newspaper articles about the presidential election of 1836.

A selection of articles on the 1836 presidential election includes:

• "National Ticket. For President, William Henry Harrison..." Rutland Herald. (Rutland, Vermont), May 3, 1836.
• "The Presidency: Mr. Van Buren Cannot Be Elected!" State Journal (Montpelier, Vermont), November 1, 1836.
• "Presidential Election," Vermont Phoenix (Brattleboro, Vermont), December 9, 1836.

Prints & Photographs Division

Pictorial Americana: Selected Images from the Collections of the Library of Congress

Pictorial Americana, a Library of Congress publication, contains a chapter listing selected images related to the 1836 presidential election.

Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC)

Search PPOC to find additional prints, political cartoons, and other digital images related to the presidential election of 1836.

A selection of images from the 1836 presidential election includes:

• All fours-important state of the game-the knave about to be lost
• An affecting scene in Kentucky
• Democratic ticket. Going the whole hog
• Democratic ticket. Liberty & equal rights
• Grand match between the Kinderhook poney and the Ohio ploughman
• High places in government like steep rocks only accessible to eagles and reptiles
• Jinnoowine [i.e. "genuine"] Johnson ticket. "Carrying the war into Africa"
• Political cartoon showing Van Buren racing on a hog; below is Democratic ticket of Van Buren and Johnson and Ohio Electors - 1836
• Political cartoon showing Webster, Harrison, White, and Van Buren riding hogs; below is Democratic ticket of Van Buren and Johnson and Ohio Electors - 1836
• Political race course - Union Track - fall races 1836
• Set-to between the champion old tip & the swell Dutcheman of Kinderhook -- 1836

Today in History

December 5

Martin Van Buren, eighth president of the United States and a founder of the Democratic Party, was born on December 5, 1782, in New York. In 1837, Van Buren succeeded Andrew Jackson in the White House. Van Buren's inability to alleviate the depression, along with his opposition to the annexation of Texas on grounds it would divide the nation over the expansion of slavery, led to his drubbing by Whig candidate William Henry Harrison in 1840.

External Web Sites

The American Presidency Project: Election of 1836

The American Presidency Project Web site presents election results from the 1836 presidential election.

Selected Bibliography

Primary Sources: Campaign Literature

A Book Addressed to the People of Suffolk County, Upon Some Important Points of National Policy. Brooklyn: Printed for the author by A. Spooner & sons, 1836. [Catalog Record] [Full Text]

An Oration Delivered July 4th, 1836, at Palmer, in Hampden County, Massachusetts, by Request of a Committee of Democratic Citizens of Sixteen Towns ... in the Eight Congressional District. Boston: Printed by Beals & Greene, 1836. [Catalog Record] [Full Text]

Mr. Benton’s Letter to Maj. Gen. Davis, of the State of Mississippi, Declining the Nomination of the Convention of that State; Defending the Nomination of Mr. Van Buren for the Presidency; and Recommending Harmony, Concert, and Union, to the Democratic Part of the United States. Washington, D.C.: Printed by Blair & Rives, 1835. [Catalog Record] [Full Text]

Speech of Mr. Storer, in Defence of Gen. William Henry Harrison. Baltimore: Printed by Sands & Neilson, 1836. [Catalog Record] [Full Text]

Notes

1. Presidential Elections, 1789-2008. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2010), 128, 218.