1841 saw a bitterly contested presidential campaign between five political leaders in the Whig Party. William Henry Harrison, fondly known as “Tippecanoe” because of a military success in 1811, was running against Henry Clay and others. Henry Clay had publicly stated that Harrison was unfit for public service because he lived in a log cabin and drank hard cider (rather than champagne).

Harrison took that negative and turned it into a campaign theme: Log Cabin and Hard Cider. Nationwide, Whigs organized parades that featured crudely made floats of log cabins with outside latchstrings. Plenty of barrels of hard cider, of course, were available for drinking. Tiny paper replicas or metal badges of log cabins were handed out.  Newspapers printed a cartoon sketch of a log cabin, with a big cider barrel next to the door and a coonskin on the wall. Ordinary people identified with Harrison and he gained a large following. It was the first modern political campaign.

What was meant for evil, politicians turned into good. God loves to do the same thing, if we keep our attitude right (Genesis 50:20).

When have you seen God take what was meant for evil and turn it into good?

Tags: defeat, Harrison, log cabin