Author : Lindsey Williams
Oll KorrectEach political campaign brings out a new wrinkle in persuasion – "fast response" being this year's fashion – but nothing compares to the immortal phrases concocted in the VanBuren-Harrison contest of 1840.Out of that rip-roaring confrontation came two, new words unsurpassed in vote power: "O.K." and "Buckeye."President Martin VanBuren was blamed for the financial panic of 1837 and the hard times that followed. Yet, the Democrats had no choice but to nominate him for re-election.The Whigs nominated General William Harrison, an Ohio Congressman and popular war hero. He had become renowned in the War of 1812 by breaking the British siege of Ft. Meigs (Toledo), and for defeating a large force of Indians at Tippecanoe River in Indiana.Dissident Democrats in New York City opposed VanBuren as the spokesman for monopolies and banks and accused party leaders of forcing his nomination.Emigrant Irishmen comprised a large, outspoken faction within the party. They formed an O.K. Club to assure voters that everything was "all correct" within the party. Critics jeered the Irish assertion by spelling it "Oll Korrect" to imitate brogue.East coast newspapers noted the political schism following a Democratic nominating convention in March. Said the National Intelligencer newspaper: "The Irish Locofocos in New York's 6th ward have been parading the streets with shillelaghs, swearing "O.K. etc."VanBuren regulars prevailed at the convention, but only after adjourning it hastily and turning off gas to the hall lights. The O.K. faction attempted to carry on by light of "friction" matches newly introduced under the trade name Locofocos.Some linguists suggest that the word "okay" may have been introduced into our language by West African blacks whose meaning was "that's it" or "all is right." It was the slave's standard answer to an order by the boss.The term could have been picked up by Irish emigrants who at first worked alongside slaves and other common laborers in New York. It would have been a cynical response to authoritative direction.WhiggeryWhigs were delighted with this split in the opposition party. They adopted OK as a sympathetic war-cry to steal working class votes from Democrats. Thus, the word quickly became identified with "the other party."In those days, rallies and parades were popular affairs attended by thousands of party faithful. Each side strove to outdo the other in number of supporters turned out, length of their parades, cleverness of their mottoes, size of their band wagons.A notable Whig convention was held in Urbana, Ohio, that year. Harrison spoke for two hours. Other orators filled out the day. Twelve dining tables, each 300 feet long, were set up in a grove of trees.The audience drifted away from the speakers' platform occasionally to eat barbecued oxen and sheep and to drink barrels of hard cider.A huge banner strung between two trees proclaimed, "The People Is Oll Korrect." This intrigued Samuel Medary, a Whig publisher at Columbus, Ohio, who made much of the OK motto in his newspaper.The publicity impressed another ardent Whig named Daniel Leffel. He owned the Sugar Grove tavern at Springfield, Ohio. It was located on the National Road, then the principal thoroughfare between east and west.Leffel painted OK over his doorway to proclaim his political leanings. Travelers spread the word far and wide.Big HetuckThe companion word that year was "Buckeye" to designate a native Ohioan. It originated with the Indians around Marietta to compliment Col. Ebenezer Sproat, high sheriff of the first settlement.When a court opened at Marietta, town officials marched to the "house of justice" in solemn procession. Leading the way, in fringed buckskin and with drawn sword, was the sheriff. He was over six feet tall and well proportioned.Indians watching the procession were so impressed with the commanding figure of Sproat they shouted "hetuck" – meaning "big buck eye" -- as he passed by. The buckeye is a beautiful, mahogany-colored nut resembling the eye of a deer. It is the dried non-edible fruit of a common tree in Ohio.By 1840, the word buckeye was in local usage when the Van-Buren-Harrison campaign got underway. Ohio Whigs took great pains to emphasize Harrison's state connections.For example, Democrats sneered that the aging general "was better fitted to sit in a log cabin and drink hard cider than rule in the White House."A Whig nominating convention at Columbus, Ohio, adopted the intended insult and turned that bit of negative advertising into an inspired campaign ploy -- made more famous many years later by friends of Abraham Lincoln.Harrison fans built a cabin of buckeye tree logs on a wagon and hauled it to the convention. They composed several songs praising their "log cabin candidate" as a true "Buckeye." A favorite ditty was:"Oh where, tell me where, was your buckeye cabin made? 'Twas built among the merry boys who wield the plow and spade. Hurrah for the father of the Great West, for the Buckeye who follows the plow."Enterprising peddlers began making buckeye-wood canes as a symbol of Harrison's frontier background. The sticks quickly became as famous as Harrison's official slogan -- "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" -- which boosted both Harrison and his running mate, John Tyler.Strings of buckeye nuts, already were entrenched in folklore as a preventive of rheumatism when worn as a necklace. They also figured prominently in Harrison's campaign. Ohioans traveling outside the state took along buckeyes as prized Harrison souvenirs.Victory and TragedyHarrison was elected in a landslide, thanks in large part to the OK and Buckeye publicity.However, the hardships of the campaign were too much for him. He died after only a month in office – leaving two power words as his most enduring monument.June 4, 2000.Click here to see this article on Lindsey Williams's website .Lindsey Williams is a Sun columnist who can be contacted at:LinWms@earthlink.net or LinWms@lindseywilliams.orgWebsite: http://www.lindseywilliams.org with over a thousand of Lin's Editorial & At Large articles written over 40 years.Also featured in its entirety is Lin's groundbreaking book "Boldly Onward," that critically analyzes and develops theories about the original Spanish explorers of America.
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Keyword : politics,etymology,sayings,quotes,elections,president,history,America,politician,leadership
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