Wellyoucan't.
American Politics Forever Changed
With the election of 1840, American politics were forever changed. Although William Henry Harrison came from wealth and privilege, he was able to grab hold of the power of Andrew Jackson's image in his bid for the presidency in 1828.
Jackson had been the first president to come from poverty and was well known and admired as a rugged frontiersman and military man. How did this image affect the election of 1840 and beyond?
As Jackson's election showed, voters appreciated the prospect of a president who didn't come from wealth. He seemed more like them. In 1840, the Whig party and Harrison used this knowledge to create an image for Harrison. Harrison was successfully marketed as a Jackson-like figure, a rugged frontiersman and an accomplished military man. Did this image represent the "real" William Henry Harrison?
Not really. In reality, Harrison had left the Army after his victory at Thames River and before the end of the War of 1812, in order to go on a celebratory tour of parties and banquets in his honor in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. What did the 1840 election solidify (make secure) in political campaigns?
The 1840 election solidified the growing political influence of the West and the idea of politics as entertainment. Ever since then, elections have been won and lost on images and the attempt to deliver what the public wants.
Oh...No, that's me dead of shock, not him. He died of pneumonia. That's an actual photograph of him though...No, up there! Not me dead of shock. Actually that's really not me dead of shock, I'm just kidding. That's actually "The Dead Toreador" by Manet Whatever! The daguerreotype of Harrison is the first photograph of a sitting president and if they would have waited 33 days they'd a had the first photograph of a laying president.
