Arkansas Traveler

"Tippecanoe and Tyler too" was an influential campaign song promoting the Whig Party's Log Cabin Campaign in the 1840 United States presidential election. Originally published as "Tip and Ty", the lyrics sang the praises of Whig candidates William Henry Harrison and John Tyler, while vilifying the Democrat candidate Martin Van Buren. The clever jingle assisted in the election of Harrison as President and proved the power of song as a campaign device.

Colonel Sanford C. Faulkner composed the music for the “Arkansas Traveller” in the 19th century. The lyrics tell the story of an adventurist traveler lost in a storm and the ensuing conversation with a cabin owner he stumbles upon.

Dr. Jeannie Whayne and Louise Hancox provide a brief history and insights to the popularity of the song The Arkansas Traveller.

Louise Hancox, shares with Dr. Jeannie Whayne information about the artist that painted who the The Arkansas Traveller, Edward Payson Washbourne.

In this segment, Dr. Jeannie Whayne, professor of history, and Louise Hancox, Doctoral student, discuss how the image of the famous tale of the Arkansas Traveller fell from a celebrated work of art to a disconcerting image for the state of Arkansas.

Louise Hancox, University of Arkansas Doctoral student, and Dr. Jeannie Whayne, professor of history and adjunct curator of American history at Crystal Bridges Museum, offer a conversation that historically contextualizes the significance and intended meaning of Edward Payson Washbourne’s The Arkansas Traveller.