Whig history
In the Presidential election, Whig General William Henry Harrison defeated Democratic President Martin Van Buren. Harrison won by a margin of 5% in the popular vote, but dominated the electoral college. Harrison was nominated at the 1839 Whig National Convention, the first convention in Whig history. Harrison's victory made him the first President unaffiliated with the Democratic-Republican Party or the Democratic Party to win election since John Adams in 1796. Martin Van Buren's defeat made him the third President to fail to win re-election, following John Adams and John Quincy Adams.