1839 Whig Convention

Place: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

In 1839, the Whigs held their first national convention. Going into the convention, the three leading candidates were Henry Clay, William Henry Harrison, and Winfield Scott. Clay led the first ballot but after five more ballots, Harrison emerged as the candidate. The convention nominated John Tyler for vice president.

Michael F. Holt, The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 101-105.