"Vote for Jackson!"

While the exact date is not known, the letter above was written from William H. Hunter to Dr. George Anderson during Andrew Jackson’s 1828 campaign for the U.S. Presidency. William H. Hunter was a Democratic member of the 25th U.S. Congress. In his letter to Dr. Anderson, he is hoping to gain support for Jackson in northern Ohio. An article in the American Heritage magazine points out that in 1828, when Jackson ran against John Quincy Adams, Ohio was considered a swing state.

A transcription of Mr. Hunter’s letter appears below:

Dear Sir,

The friends of Genl. Jackson in this place and some of the adjoining townships have thought it advisable to call a meeting of his friends for the purpose of sending delegates to Columbus on the 21st instant. I hope that you will join us and urge the necessity of all attending who are friendly to the cause and can conveniently leave home. The administration is straining every nerve to carry its points. But it must fail. It only requires moderation, union and firmness to carry the old Genl. in. And as it is necessary that Ohio should go along with the other western states let us use some little exertion to carry her along with them. So far as my information extends the friends of the Genl. are rapidly increasing. In this village where at the last election he had not above 6 notes we can calculate upon at least 40 at the next. In other parts of the county I hear almost every day of an accession to our strength.

Fail not if you please to have a notice put in the Clarion of contemplated meeting.

Yours respectfully,

W. H. Hunter

An article in the July 19, 1828 issue of the Sandusky Clarion reported about a Jackson meeting which had been held in Tiffin on July 4, 1828. However in the October 11, 1828 issue of the Sandusky Clarion was an editorial penned by a writer who called himself “Common Sense.” The writer stated, “We are called upon to bow down and worship the military idol of the south, under the seductive appellation of the Tennessee farmer, the hero of New Orleans, the compeer of Washington, the spotless patriot, … and we are denounced as knaves, aristocrats, and the enemies of our country, if we do not.”

While Andrew Jackson was not liked by everyone in the Sandusky area, he did win the election of 1828. Read more about Andrew Jackson at Ohio History Central.