Westward the march of empire takes it flight / lith. by...

A grand Whig campaign broadside, with text "A brief sketch of the principal events in the lives of William Henry Harrison, and John Tyler . . ." written by Benjamin Owen Tyler. The biographies highlight the candidates' public careers and (in Harrison's case) military exploits. The text is framed by two Doric columns supporting medallion portraits of Harrison supporters New York Senator Nathaniel P. Tallmadge and Virginia Senator William C. Rives. (See also "The Shipwreck," no. 1840-41, for another commentary on this alliance.) Above the two portraits are seated figures of Liberty and Justice respectively. Flanking each is a cornucopia. Spanning the tops of the columns is a fasces, on which rests an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows in his talons, and a banderole inscribed with the title in his mouth. Behind the eagle a large sun rises. The columns and their bases are inscribed with the names of distinguished military figures, in a few cases accompanied by their historic words. On the bases are illustrations of War of 1812 battles Tippecanoe and Lake Erie. Beside each column grows a tall stalk of corn. Inset in the text are portraits of Harrison and Tyler and, below, a view of Harrison's residence at North Bend.