Books on John Tyler provide look at W&M alum and U.S. president
Only once in United States history have presidential and vice presidential candidates come originally from the same state, much less the same county. Such was the case in 1840, when William Henry Harrison and John Tyler, both born in small Charles City County, ran on the Whig Party ticket and won.
The Whig presidential slogan in that 1840 campaign has gone down as one of the most appealing and attention-gathering political catchphrases in history: “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” Richard Ellis has written a very detailed and somewhat heavy-going, academic account of the election, “Old Tip vs. the Sky Fox: The 1840 Election and the Making of a Partisan Nation” (University of Kansas Press, 520 pgs., $39.95).
