William Henry Harrison 1840 presidential campaign

In 1840, William Henry Harrison was elected President of the United States. Harrison, who had served as a general and as United States Senator from Ohio, defeated the incumbent president, Democrat Martin Van Buren, in a campaign that broke new ground in American politics. Among other firsts, Harrison's victory was the first time the Whig Party won a presidential election. A month after taking office, Harrison died and his running mate John Tyler served the remainder of his term, but broke from the Whig agenda, and was expelled from the party.

Harrison was born into wealth in 1773. He started a military career before using his father Benjamin Harrison V's connections to gain office on the frontier. After a decade as governor of Indiana Territory, Harrison made his reputation fighting the Native Americans, notably at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe and, once the War of 1812 began, the British. He was triumphant over both at the Battle of the Thames in 1813. After the war, he was elected to Congress from Ohio and served in a variety of offices over the next two decades. A regional Whig candidate for the White House in 1836, he finished second to Van Buren and did not stop running for president until he won the office four years later.

One of three presidential candidates at the December 1839 Whig National Convention, Harrison gained the nomination over Henry Clay and General Winfield Scott on the fifth ballot. At home, far from the convention in an era of primitive communications, Harrison played no part in the selection of Tyler as running mate. After the convention, a Democratic paper in Baltimore suggested that if offered a pension and some hard cider to drink in a log cabin, Harrison would turn aside from his campaign. The Whigs adopted the cabin and cider as emblems, both of which were commonly seen (and, in the case of cider, drunk) at their rallies, and became symbolic of the party's connection with the grass roots. Harrison rallies grew to unprecedented size, and the candidate delivered speeches at some of them, breaking the usual custom that the office should seek the man and presidential hopefuls should not campaign.

The carnival atmosphere attracted many voters at a time when there was little public entertainment, and the Whig ticket won easy majorities in both the popular and electoral vote. Harrison was inaugurated in March 1841; his death a month later marked the first time an American president had failed to complete his term. While some historians view Harrison's victorious campaign askance because of the role emotion played in it, others note how it originated techniques used in later presidential races. The unofficial campaign motto, "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", has been called the most famous presidential campaign slogan in American history.

## Background

### William Henry Harrison and Tippecanoe

William Henry Harrison was born on February 9, 1773, on Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia. His father was the wealthy and influential Benjamin Harrison, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of Virginia. Houseguests at Berkeley while Harrison was a child included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. Harrison was sent to Hampden-Sydney College in 1787, where he developed a lifelong interest in Roman history, and then to Philadelphia to learn medicine from Dr. Benjamin Rush, including study at the University of Pennsylvania.

Benjamin Harrison died in 1791. William Henry dropped the study of medicine and used Benjamin's connections with the Founding Fathers to get a commission in the Army. The seat of the federal government was then in Philadelphia, and President Washington granted him a commission. Harrison served under Mad Anthony Wayne, fighting against Native Americans in what is now western Ohio. He was promoted to captain and made commander of Fort Washington before returning to civilian life in 1798, disliking garrison duty. He was already seeking another position through his government connections, and the same year was appointed by President John Adams as secretary of the Northwest Territory. The following year, the territorial legislature narrowly elected him the territory's delegate to Congress. In 1800, the Indiana Territory was separated from the Northwest, and Harrison was made territorial governor by President Adams, a position he would hold for over a decade. Prior to taking office, he bought a large tract of land from his father-in-law, along the Ohio River at North Bend. When Harrison purchased it, there was a log cabin on the property, but by 1840 the structure had been absorbed into the mansion that stood there.

On the instructions of the presidents he served under, Governor Harrison secured as much land as he could from the Indians for white settlement, sometimes loaning chiefs money and taking the land when they could not repay, or finding compliant "leaders" when chiefs would not sell. This led to increased tensions between natives and settlers. In late 1810, an influential Native American, Tecumseh came to confront Harrison at the territorial capital of Vincennes, telling the governor there could be no more land taken. The meeting ended badly, and Tecumseh began gathering warriors at Prophetstown. After there were raids, Federal authorities gave Harrison permission to destroy Prophetstown, and in late 1811, with Tecumseh away recruiting, Harrison led about 1,000 federal troops and Kentucky militia on a 150-mile (240 km) march to there.

On the night of November 6, 1811, Harrison's troops camped on a ridge overlooking Prophetstown. The Indians attacked before dawn. U.S. troops, though taken by surprise, repelled the attack after two hours in what came to be called the Battle of Tippecanoe and proceeded to destroy Prophetstown. Harrison's forces suffered heavy casualties, which did not stop him from quickly becoming known as the "Hero of Tippecanoe".

After the War of 1812 began, the Indians allied with the British. Harrison remained in the West (resigning as governor to accept a military commission in 1812), but was unable to make much headway against the alliance due to British naval superiority on Lake Erie. Once those ships were defeated by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie (1813), Harrison attacked his foes, and in the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813, in present-day Ontario, Harrison's troops won the day. Tecumseh was killed and U.S. control of Detroit (which Harrison had taken from the retreating British) was not threatened in the remainder of the war. Harrison was hailed as a hero by many. Even so, his military record was quickly contentious, as some castigated him for not ordering that a palisade be built around his camp at Tippecanoe, which would have made it more difficult for the Indians to take his forces by surprise, and his record remained controversial in 1840.

### Candidate in 1836

Harrison's military career was an asset to him in his postwar political ventures. He was elected to Congress from Ohio in 1816 to fill a vacancy, subsequently winning a full two-year term. He served a brief term in the U.S. Senate, but also failed in two other bids for the House of Representatives and one for Governor of Ohio. In 1828, President John Quincy Adams appointed him minister to Gran Colombia, but he was recalled as Andrew Jackson instituted his "spoils system" the following year.

Harrison lost a bid for the Senate in 1831, and found insufficient support to mount a run for the House of Representatives in 1832. His large family gave him money problems, and he remained out of public life in the early 1830s. By 1834, opposition to President Jackson was coalescing into what became known as the Whig Party. Harrison, though several years out of active politics was a war hero with roots in both North and South, and had been fired by Jackson. Thus, he looked attractive as a possible presidential candidate to the new party, something Harrison did nothing to discourage. Harrison wrote a letter to the newspapers that won over many Whigs, assuring them of his fidelity to party principles, such as the limited power of the executive and federal subsidies for roads, canals and railroads.

The Whig Party was still seeking to build its state organizations, and seeing little chance of winning the presidency in 1836, ran regional candidates for president. The plan was that a presidential candidate who was popular locally, even if he did not win, might boost the Whig vote for state offices. Some hoped the group of candidates might deny Jackson's chosen successor, Vice President Martin Van Buren a majority in the Electoral College. Harrison was known by then more as a war hero than as a politician, as memories of his time in Congress had faded. As state Whig parties chose their presidential candidates by convention or caucus, the other major Whig presidential candidate from the North, Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster was defeated by Harrison in most states, eventually getting to run only in his home state. Harrison made a trip from Ohio to Virginia, ostensibly to visit relatives, resulting in a long series of receptions and dinners. Harrison gave speeches, but as these were nominally in thanks for his welcome, they did not violate the custom at the time that the office should seek the man, and that presidential candidates should not indulge in electioneering. Harrison was the leading Whig candidate in the 1836 election, taking seven states and 73 electoral votes, but he and the other two popular-vote candidates (Webster and Hugh Lawson White of Tennessee) could not stop Van Buren from winning a majority in the Electoral College.

## Nominating convention

After the 1836 election, Harrison did not really stop running for president, nor did his supporters stop boosting him—an Ohio political convention endorsed him as early as 1837. His finances were somewhat secured by his appointment as clerk of Hamilton County's court of common pleas, a post that paid no salary but allowed considerable income from fees. The years between 1838 and 1840 were years of personal tragedy for the general, as three of his adult children died and his wife Anna fell seriously ill. Harrison did his best to manage a network of acquaintances and supporters from his home in North Bend, corresponding extensively and seeking to have items favorable to him placed in the newspapers.

The Panic of 1837 and the depression that followed caused many to blame Van Buren and his Democratic Party for the hard times, making it more likely that the Whig nominee in 1840 would be the next president. In addition to Harrison and Webster, Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky sought the nomination, as did General Winfield Scott. Some Whigs argued that because the depression was driving many to their ranks, there was no need to nominate a relative outsider such as Harrison; the party could win behind one of its statesmen, Clay or Webster, and by 1838, Clay was the frontrunner. A slaveholder, he commanded the near-united support of the South, though this came at the price of alienating many Northern Whigs. There was wide consensus in the party that a national convention was needed to decide on a presidential candidate, and in late 1837, the Whig congressional caucus agreed to work with the state parties to organize a convention. After considerable maneuvering, a convention to nominate candidates for president and vice president was called by the congressional caucus in May 1838, to be held at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, beginning on December 4, 1839. Having failed to gain much support, Webster dropped out of the race in June 1839.

The Whig National Convention opened on December 4, 1839, almost a year before the general election. The candidates did not travel to the convention, and with no telegraph yet in operation, they did not learn of events in Harrisburg until the convention was over. Each state was allocated two votes for each member of the House of Representatives and Senate it was entitled to send to Washington. There were four absent states from the South, which hurt Clay. The rules of the convention, once passed by the delegates, also hurt Clay, since they provided that the entirety of a state's vote would be cast as a majority of the delegation directed, negating Clay's sizable minorities in Northern states such as New York. That state's delegation was run by its Whig boss, Thurlow Weed, who deemed Clay unelectable as a slaveholder. New York provided much of Scott's vote through the first four ballots, which were deadlocked with Clay ahead but not close to a majority. Pennsylvania's Thaddeus Stevens, a leader of the Harrison forces, had obtained possession of a letter Scott had written expressing sympathy for abolitionists. Stevens intentionally dropped the letter while walking among the pro-Clay Virginia delegation. After reading it, the Virginians announced Harrison was their second choice, setting off a stampede for him, and he became the Whig nominee for president on the fifth ballot.

Harrison's convention managers sought a Southerner as vice presidential candidate, to balance the ticket. Clay disciples such as John M. Clayton of Delaware, Willie Mangum of North Carolina and Virginia's Benjamin Watkins Leigh were discussed, but all of Clay's close associates refused or were believed to be unwilling to run. Former senator John Tyler of Virginia, a onetime Democrat who had broken with Jackson over states' rights, had been a regional Whig candidate for vice president in 1836, and had supported Clay at the convention. Harrison, out of communication in distant North Bend, was not consulted. Weed's assistant, Horace Greeley, later claimed Tyler had wept at Clay's defeat, and this had gotten him the nomination. The vote was unanimous, but Virginia's ballots were not cast. Diarist Philip Hone, following President Harrison's death after a month in office in 1841, would write of Tyler's nomination, "there was rhyme, but no reason to it." Michael F. Holt, who in his history of the Whig Party chronicled President Tyler's departure from it, noted, "the choice of Tyler would later prove to be a disaster."

For the remainder of the convention, delegates continued to try to conciliate the Clay supporters. A number of speeches were made in tribute to the Kentucky senator, and attendees roared with approval when a pre-written letter from Clay was read, expressing support for the nominee, whoever it might be. The magnanimous tone of the letter contrasted with Clay's reaction when on December 8, the day after the convention closed, he became the first Whig presidential hopeful to learn the outcome: "My [political] friends are not worth the powder and shot it would take to kill them."

### Balloting

The state-by-state roll call was printed in the Farmer's Cabinet newspaper on December 13, 1839:

## Campaign

### Hard cider and log cabins (December 1839 to March 1840)

Harrison accepted his nomination in a letter dated December 19, 1839. At age 66 then (67 by the election), he was the oldest presidential candidate to that point. He pledged to serve only one term, but was vague about other stances, writing that his public career made stating his positions unnecessary. There was no party platform; most Whigs did not favor binding candidates to a legislative plan. If the Whigs did not leave Harrisburg completely united, they achieved this within weeks of the convention. A testimonial dinner to Senator Clay in Washington on December 11, attended by convention delegates and other politicians, healed many wounds, and a series of huge public meetings, held to ratify the nominations of Harrison and Tyler, showed the Whigs willing to put the nomination fight behind them.

The Democratic press was unimpressed by Harrison's nomination, and attacked him for not publishing his views on the main issues of the day, dubbing him "General Mum". The New York Herald mocked the aging general, "Mrs. Harrison of Ohio is undoubtedly a very excellent matron for her time, but if we must take a woman president, let's have youth and beauty, and not age and imbecility." John de Ziska, Washington correspondent for the Baltimore Republican (a Democratic paper) who wrote under the initial Z, alleged that one particularly embittered Clayite had wondered how to "get rid of" Harrison, and the paper printed Z's suggestion: "Give him a barrel of hard cider, and settle a pension of two thousand a year on him, and my word for it, he will sit the remainder of his days in his log cabin by the side of a 'sea coal' fire, and study moral philosophy." This gibe was quickly reprinted by other Democratic papers.

The taunt hit home in an America where the log cabin was seen as part of the national heritage; though relatively few lived in one by 1840, many had resided in one earlier in life, or had parents who had. Alexis de Tocqueville, the French diplomat who toured America in the 1830s, chronicled them as the pioneer's first dwelling. Hard cider was seen as a drink of the common man. The Whigs decided to take pride in the cabin and cider the Democrats had derided. The origins of how this came to be are uncertain, though the most commonly rendered version of events has, in January 1840, Pennsylvania Whig operative Thomas Elder coming up with the idea of making log cabins a symbol of the Harrison/Tyler campaign. Robert Gray Gunderson, in his account of the 1840 election, described how one was displayed at a Harrisburg ratification meeting on January 20, and "within the month, cabins, [rac]coons, and cider became symbols of resurgent Whiggery." John Gasaway, in his doctoral thesis on communications in the 1840 campaign, noted that Harrison was called the "log cabin and hard cider candidate" in one paper as early as December 20, 1839, and that images of Harrison and humble abodes he was deemed to have protected date as far back as the War of 1812.

An early casualty of Harrison's 1840 campaign was Democratic Michigan Congressman Isaac Crary who on February 14, 1840, as the House of Representatives debated funding for the Cumberland Road, essayed an attack on Harrison's record as an Indian fighter, deeming him a bogus hero. Crary sat down to applause from his fellow Democrats. But the next day, Ohio's Thomas Corwin, known as a humorist, rose in the House, and depicted Crary, a militia general in his home state, having to deal with the terrors of the militia's parade day, until afterwards, safe with the survivors, "your general unsheathes his trenchant blade ... and with an energy and remorseless fury he slices the watermelons that lie in heaps around him." As word reached newspapers in February and March, there was much amusement across the nation; Crary failed to be renominated to Congress.

By the time of the Ohio Whig Convention in Columbus on February 22, the theme and enthusiasm had taken full hold. Tens of thousands of delegates and spectators filled the streets as a mile-long parade featured log cabins on wheels, with the builders drinking hard cider on the roof, and giant wooden canoes with the image of Old Tippecanoe, though General Harrison was not in attendance. Many of those who came to Columbus dressed as pioneers, in buckskins with coonskin cap. Barrels of hard cider were provided on every corner. Serious business was accomplished; the national ticket was endorsed and Congressman Corwin nominated for governor. Thirty thousand people attended; "no political rally like this had ever taken place in America."

The 1820s and 1830s had seen a large increase in the franchise in the United States, which by 1840 was granted to many white males, even poor men, and the Whigs sought to recruit among new voters. There was concern that the Harrison campaign would not be able to keep up momentum, but supporters proved inventive. Some Clevelanders who had journeyed to Columbus had made a gigantic paper ball, 10 foot (3.0 m) in diameter, with pro-Harrison and anti-Van Buren slogans written on it. As a newly coined phrase went, they kept the ball rolling, taking it from town to town. This inspired a Harrison supporter from Zanesville, Ohio, Alexander Coffman Ross to write new lyrics to an old minstrel song called "Little Pigs", which immediately became a huge hit. In so doing, Ross coined what Shafer called "the first—and the most famous—slogan of any presidential campaign", for the song began,

> What has caused this great commotion, motion, motion Our country through? It is the ball a-rolling on, For Tippecanoe and Tyler too, Tippecanoe and Tyler too...

### Keeping the ball rolling (April to August 1840)

The campaign was generally administered by a group of Whig congressmen in Washington, including Clay, who pooled their mailing lists; there were organizations in each county tasked with running the local campaign and getting out the vote. Much work was also done by the new political bosses, like Thurlow Weed of New York, who also took charge of much of the fundraising. Greeley, by then editor of the widely circulated Harrison campaign journal, The Log Cabin, worried that the constant demands for money would drive the wealthy from politics; this did not occur. Much of the money came from those, such as land speculators, who would benefit from the internal improvements to transportation that were backed by the Whigs. Funding for local operations was expected to be raised locally, sometimes through arrangements like kickbacks from Pennsylvania canal contractors, something implemented by Thaddeus Stevens. Erie Canal workers were expected to pay a toll to Weed to finance Whig operations. Feeling every hand was needed to defeat Van Buren, Whig leaders allowed women to help: although they could not vote, they could influence men. This was the first time an American political party included women in campaign activities on a widespread scale.

In April, the Whigs used the House of Representatives for an attack on President Van Buren. Charles Ogle of Pennsylvania, a law student and political disciple of Thaddeus Stevens, utilized a debate on White House renovations to spend three days accusing Van Buren of living in luxury at considerable public expense: "If he is vain enough to spend his money in the purchase of rubies for his neck, diamond rings for his fingers, Brussels lace for his breast, filet gloves for his hands, and fabrique de broderies de bougram à Nancy handkerchiefs for his pocket—if he chooses to lay out hundreds of dollars in supplying his toilet with 'Double Extract of Queen Victoria', Eau de Cologne, Corinthian Oil of Cream ... if, I say, Mr. Van Buren sees fit to spend his cash in buying these and other perfumes and cosmetics for his toilet, it can constitute no valid reason for charging the farmers, laborers and mechanics of this country with bills for HEMMING HIS DISH RAGS, FOR HIS LARDING NEEDLES, LIQUOR STANDS, AND FOREIGN CUT WINE COOLERS." Democrats called Ogle's address the "Omnibus of Lies"; Whigs called it the "Gold Spoons speech" and reprinted it in large numbers, attempting to paint Van Buren, who was in fact of far more humble birth than Harrison, as an aristocratic dandy being challenged by a man of the people.

The 1840 Democratic National Convention opened at Baltimore's Music Hall on May 4, 1840. A subdued affair, it was greatly overshadowed by a huge "Whig Young Men" gathering that took place in Baltimore at the same time, featuring speeches by Senators Clay and Webster. President Van Buren was nominated for a second term, but the convention made no endorsement for vice president. The incumbent, Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky was controversial because he had lived with an African American woman and had tried to introduce their children into society, and the influential former president, Andrew Jackson, insisted that Johnson be dumped from the ticket. Johnson, who had fought under Harrison during the War of 1812, was popular in the western states as an Indian fighter (he was alleged to be the one who killed Tecumseh), and Van Buren stalled. The lack of an endorsement left the matter up to state parties, and Johnson's rivals soon withdrew, leaving him as the de facto vice presidential candidate.

The huge crowds that Harrison's campaign events attracted were unprecedented, though Jackson's campaigns for the presidency had seen rallies on a smaller scale. These gatherings both promoted the Whig ticket and were themselves entertainment for the participants, thus attracting even more attendees; as New York Governor William H. Seward, a Whig, put it, "nothing attracts a crowd so rapidly as the knowledge that there is a crowd already." The Democrats were shocked by the outpouring of support, with Pennsylvania Senator James Buchanan noting that the people had "abandoned their ordinary business for the purpose of electioneering". As the log cabin theme took hold, alternative nicknames for Harrison such as "Old Buckeye" were dropped, and Whigs, heretofore more associated with the wealthier classes, sought to appeal to the humbly-born. Senator Webster, in his speeches, regretted that he was not born in a log cabin (his older siblings were), but he told of annual pilgrimages to the old cabin with his children to instill its values in them.

Former Postmaster General Amos Kendall, who managed Van Buren's re-election campaign, instructed that Democrats should not try to defend the administration but attack the opposition's candidate. By the end of May 1840, Harrison had made no public appearances that year. Even though there was a custom that presidential contenders did not campaign, he was still mocked by the Democratic press. One article alleged he had been shut up in an iron cage with a mug of hard cider, and that he was seeking help from the abolitionists to get released. As was usual for candidates of that era, he made his views known by answering letters from citizens, knowing some would be reproduced in newspapers. Harrison, however, felt the need to speak out and accepted an invitation to make an address at the June 13 commemoration of the 1813 Siege of Fort Meigs, where he and his troops had held out against British and Native American forces. En route to Perrysburg, when leaving his hotel in Columbus, he made what Shafer called "the first presidential campaign speech in history", speaking to a small crowd of supporters, and defending his record against what he deemed personal attacks. In his Fort Meigs speech, Harrison told the crowd, "See that the Government does not acquire too much power. Keep check upon your rulers. Do this, and liberty is safe." Harrison had planned additional speeches, but his swing was cut short when news arrived of the death of his son Benjamin from tuberculosis. He returned home to take care of his wife, Anna Harrison, and did not make another speech until July 28.

Lines had been hardening on the matter of slavery, and Democrats accused Harrison of being an abolitionist because of his membership, a half century earlier, in the Richmond Humane Society, an anti-slavery group; he had posted a mixed record on the issue while in Congress. On August 20, he gave a speech on the slave question at Carthage, Ohio, saying what happened regarding slavery in a state was that state's business alone. He ignored the question of slavery in the District of Columbia and in the territories, both under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The general had pledged that his door would always be open to his old soldiers, but others came as well, and he hosted an unending series of guests. This was especially difficult for him on Sundays, when Anna Harrison forbade political discussion. The economy continued to be poor in 1840, a fact the Whigs never ceased to press, arguing that Van Buren had done little and Harrison's inauguration was needed to put a stop to the hard times.

### Final days (September to November 1840)

Harrison's health was a minor campaign issue; it was presented by the Whigs as robust, and by Democrats as decrepit. The campaign released a letter from his doctor, testifying to his good health; this was a presidential election first. Another testament to Harrison's health was his speeches: he gave 24 addresses between June and October, all in Ohio and lasting up to three hours; Van Buren did not give any. Harrison did not have the campaign trail to himself; Vice President Johnson told Van Buren the President should "go out among the voters as I intended doing". Democrats tried to paint Johnson as the true hero of the Battle of the Thames, but the Vice President refused to criticize Harrison's conduct in combat. Nevertheless, Johnson spoke with such enthusiasm that he may have set off a riot in Cleveland, and was followed onto the trail late in the campaign by John Tyler, who had difficulty staying on message and resorted to telling questioners, "I am in favor of what General Harrison and Mr. Clay are in favor of."

Clay and Webster were at the head of perhaps 5,000 Whig speakers who criss-crossed the nation in Harrison's cause. Clay was unenthusiastic about the idea of being a stump speaker, but warmed to it as he sought to boost himself to be Whig presidential candidate in 1844 (Harrison had promised to serve only one term), and spoke widely, especially in the South, though he mentioned Harrison infrequently. Another prominent speaker was a Whig state assemblyman from Illinois and candidate for presidential elector from that state, Abraham Lincoln, who spoke to a crowd of 15,000 in Springfield, Illinois, wearing jeans. The aristocratic South Carolina former congressman, Hugh Legare also spoke widely, and took to wearing a coonskin cap on the campaign trail, drinking hard cider as he partied with the "Log Cabin Boys". John Bear, the "Buckeye Blacksmith", from South Bloomfield, Ohio, was a prominent Whig speaker. After making a hit in his first speech outside his home town at the February Columbus rally, the Whigs sent him on the road as a person who could appeal to the tradesmen and farmers who made up much of the electorate. He also got to associate with the elite, meeting Harrison at North Bend and attending a party at the Washington home of former president John Quincy Adams. Bear made 331 speeches, the most of any Whig surrogate, and inspired other craftsmen like Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, the "Natick Cobbler", who would rise to the vice presidency under Grant.

The Democrats had seen the Whigs build log cabins, drink huge amounts of hard cider, hold outsized conventions and publish subsidized newspapers; they asked where the money was coming from to provide such expensive operations. There were no campaign finance disclosure laws in 1840, and the Democrats noted that prominent Whig speakers were paid, "from Daniel Webster down to the traveling Bear". Webster had gone to Britain in 1839, and he was accused by one Democratic newspaper of colluding with the British to spend \$5 million given to him to subvert American liberties. Columbus editor Sam Medary wrote to Van Buren that "were it not for the secret influence of money, there would be no contest at all."

The Whigs did well in the state elections held in September, capturing the governorship in traditionally Democratic Maine. On October 14, Jackson weighed in on the race, with a public letter published, "it is my serious belief that if General Harrison should be elected President it will tend to the destruction of our glorious Union and Republican system." Jackson made speeches through his home state of Tennessee on behalf of Van Buren. The Baltimore Republican, originator of the "log cabin" gibe, alleged that Maryland's slaves believed a Harrison victory would see their immediate emancipation.

## Election 1840: Whig victory

There was no nationwide election day in 1840, and many states, by the time they held the presidential vote, had already conducted balloting in local races and for the House of Representatives. One state, South Carolina, did not have a popular vote for president, with electors chosen by the legislature. These state and federal elections, from March to October 1840, led to Whig victories in all but a few states, mainly Democratic strongholds like New Hampshire. Among the victories was that of Whig Governor-elect Corwin in Ohio. The first presidential balloting began on October 29, in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the polls ended with Rhode Island on November 23. Monday, November 2 was the largest polling day, as twelve states, including New York, voted. As those states compiled the vote, citizens scanned partisan and unreliable newspapers, trying to discern a trend. Even though Harrison led in ten of the first eleven states to report, former president Jackson wrote to Van Buren, "do not believe a word of it. Nor will I believe that you are not elected until I see all the official returns." But when the Whigs took New York by 13,000 votes, it was clear that Harrison and Tyler had won the election.

Harrison won 19 of the 26 states, including New York (home to Van Buren), Kentucky (to Johnson) and Tennessee (Jackson). Van Buren did win in Virginia, the state of birth of both Whig candidates, and in Illinois, with Lincoln defeated for elector. The electoral vote count was 234 for Harrison and 60 for Van Buren, with the popular vote closer at 1,275,390 for Harrison to 1,128,854 for Van Buren. Twelve of the Van Buren electors did not vote for Johnson: eleven (all from South Carolina) chose Littleton W. Tazewell for vice president and one (from Virginia) favored Governor James K. Polk of Tennessee. Turnout was 81 percent of eligible voters, setting a record since surpassed only in 1860 and 1876. The Whigs took both houses of Congress, and a majority of state governorships.

Of the Northern states, Harrison lost only Illinois and New Hampshire; he won his home state of Ohio, and also his home county (Hamilton). Voters in the Kentucky district Johnson once represented in the House of Representatives had backed Van Buren by 1,600 votes in 1836, but favored Harrison by 251 votes in 1840. Both major parties saw an increase in vote, in part because 51 percent more people voted in 1840 than in 1836. The Democrats alleged that Harrison had won the popular vote with bribed and ineligible voters; the Whigs responded by accusing their rivals of being unwilling to accept the will of the people.

## Aftermath ("... and Tyler Too")

Even before the returns were in, office seekers descended on North Bend, forcing Harrison to put up with their importunities even at his dinner table. Noted New York Congressman Millard Fillmore, a future Whig president: "I understand they have come down upon General Harrison like a pack of famished wolves, and he has been literally driven from his CASTLE and forced to take refuge in Kentucky." Harrison found Kentucky no haven; he apparently hoped to avoid meeting with Clay, but, as writer Gail Collins put it in her biography of Harrison, the senator "ran him to ground, lassoed him, and took him off to Ashland, his estate". Clay had no desire to be in the Harrison administration himself, but expected to run the government from the Senate, and the visit went pleasantly. The two parted on excellent terms, with Clay under the impression several of his designees would be placed in the new cabinet.

Inauguration of the first Whig president would give that party the opportunity to fill federal jobs for the first time. This proved complicated, and Harrison was called to Washington in mid-January, nearly two months before his March 4, 1841 inaugural date, to be at hand. He made a very public progress from Ohio to Washington, getting little rest along the way: even those Whigs who were not seeking government employment wanted to see and meet the President-elect and celebrations often surrounded his hotel all night. He reached Washington on February 9, his 68th birthday. After consultation with Whig politicians, he filled his cabinet, to the disappointment of some, like Henry Clay, who saw his nominees passed over, and Thaddeus Stevens, who believed he had been promised the position of Postmaster General.

Harrison allowed Secretary of State-designate Daniel Webster to edit his inauguration speech, but he nevertheless spoke for an hour and 45 minutes, setting a record for verbosity that still stands. As the public was not excluded from the White House, there was no relief from the swarms of office seekers even after March 4, and relations with Clay broke down to such an extent President Harrison banned him from the White House. Clay left town, never to see the President again. Harrison, despite the office seekers, liked to walk to the market each morning but on March 24 got caught in the rain and soon fell ill. The primitive treatment he received, possibly influenced by his own medical training a half-century old, did nothing to improve his condition, and he died in the early morning hours of April 4. Vice President Tyler had returned to his home in Virginia once the Senate adjourned, and Secretary of State Webster sent his son Fletcher to inform Tyler of Harrison's death.

Tyler was not only the first vice president to succeed to the presidency, at age 51 he was the youngest president to that point. One of the main political principles he was guided by was states' rights, and he opposed a national bank, which the Whigs wanted to help develop the country, but which Tyler saw as an imposition on the sovereignty of the states. Tyler vetoed two bills to establish a national bank. Whig leaders, who wanted such a bank, saw political advantage in a breach with him. In September 1841, most of Tyler's cabinet resigned and Whig congressional leaders expelled him from the party.

## Assessment

Harrison's 1840 campaign was one of firsts. It featured the first presidential candidate to speak for himself, the first to have a grassroots campaign involving the mass of the people (including many women, who could not then vote), and according to Shafer, "the beginning of presidential campaigning as entertainment". Gunderson noted, "for the first time, a presidential candidate abandoned a customary Olympic seclusion for the fervid clamor of the arena." In her biography of Harrison, Collins deemed the candidate's speechmaking as symbolic of "the erasing of the barrier between common Americans and their Chief Executive". Having been born in a log cabin, or in some other humble dwelling, remained a staple of presidential campaign biographies well into the 20th century.

Collins saw the 1840 campaign as "perhaps the last in which the parties focused on converting the newcomers rather than turning out the base and trying to tack on added support from the uncertain middle". Holt concurred that 1840 marked such a transition, "After 1840 political leaders could predict how most men would vote. The question was whether they voted at all." To ensure they did, politicians began to stress the conflict between the parties, trying to ensure voters would come to the polls even if they did not greatly care about the issues or candidates. The coalition that elected Harrison remained the foundation of the Whig Party until it dissolved amid sectional tensions over slavery in the 1850s.

Shafer saw Harrison's log cabin campaign as "the first image advertising campaign for a presidential candidate, establishing forever a basic tactic of political campaigns. It is called lying ... The rollicking run of Tippecanoe and Tyler Too changed presidential campaigns forever". K. R. Constantine Gutzman, who penned the American National Biography piece on Harrison, concurred: "The Whig campaign of 1840, in which Benjamin Harrison's son was portrayed as the occupant of a log cabin and a man of the people, is remembered derisively by historians (as it was derided by Democrats at the time) as the 'Log Cabin and Hard Cider' campaign. 'Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too' (the slogan that converted a controversial battle into a rousing victory in American popular memory) is supposed to have swayed a drunken electorate. In fact, as Henry Clay lamented, it was a Whig election cycle, and virtually anyone nominated as a Whig would probably have defeated Van Buren."

Gasaway disagreed that the Whigs deceived the voters, "The 'fable' of 1840 tells us that the Whigs triumphed over baffled and listless Democrats by convincing voters that Harrison lived in a log cabin and that he was a great war hero when, so the legend goes, neither claim was true. [But] Whigs did not say that Harrison lived in a log cabin and in fact went into great detail describing his actual house. The 'log cabin' was much more symbol than claim." Gasaway suggested that the 1840 campaign gained a poor reputation because Harrison and the Whig Party soon vanished from the scene, and many of those who had supported both in 1840 saw the election as a squandered opportunity: "Add to this the fact that the poor man died only thirty days into an administration launched by what was perhaps the most exciting election campaign in the nation's history up to that time and we are confronted ... with an undeniable and almost irresistible touch of opera bouffé."

Shafer saw the lasting legacy of Harrison's campaign:

> The tactics pioneered by the Tippecanoe and Tyler Too campaign of 1840 live on to this day. Every four years, presidential candidates put up their tents and become ringmasters of a three-ring circus of hoopla, high-wire hijinks, and political promises. Perhaps the most positive effect of the 1840 campaign is that subsequent presidential candidates have had to appeal to grassroots Americans. Today's candidates go among the people to make speeches and, unlike Harrison, to spell out their positions. Women have become increasingly involved in presidential politics—as activists, voters, and candidates ... Give today's presidential candidates a choice between a new type of positive campaign ... or the traditional slash-and-burn attacks on their opponents, and, realistically, what is the likely response?Keep the ball rolling. Huzzah. Huzzah.

## Popular and electoral vote

Source (Popular Vote): Source (Electoral Vote):

<sup>(a)</sup> The popular vote figures exclude South Carolina where the electors were chosen by the state legislature rather than by popular vote.

United States presidential campaign


Mitch McGary

Mitchell Neil William McGary (born June 6, 1992) is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Chesterton, Indiana, McGary declared for the NBA draft after completing his sophomore season for the 2013–14 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. He was drafted 21st overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2014 NBA draft.

At the time of his National Letter of Intent signing with Michigan Wolverines basketball, ESPN.com and Scout.com ranked McGary as the number two player in the United States high school class of 2012, while Rivals.com ranked him as the number three prospect. He was not only the consensus top power forward recruit in the nation, but also the top big man according to most sources at the time. After his signing, however, McGary fell down in the rankings as his underdeveloped offensive skills became apparent.

At Michigan, McGary became the sixth man as well as the leading shot blocker and rebounder for the 2012–13 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. During the season, he was twice named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. He became the regular starter during the 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and earned South All-Regional Team and NCAA All-Tournament Team recognition as he helped the team reach the championship game. He led all Big Ten freshmen in rebounding.

## Early life

Mitch McGary was born on June 6, 1992, and grew up in the Chesterton, Indiana, area. He played in YMCA and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball leagues as a youth, and his father, Tim, who had never played organized sports, coached him until fourth grade. McGary's mother is named Valerie. When McGary was younger, his father thought his athletic future was in baseball. McGary played on the 2007–08 Chesterton High School junior varsity team as a freshman, while eventual three-time Michigan Wolverines captain Zack Novak was a senior on the varsity team. That year he also was a 6-foot-6-inch (1.98 m), 190-pound (86 kg) freshman tight end on the high school football team, but his father made him quit football as he continued to grow. His local Indiana SPY Players AAU basketball team included future Michigan teammates Max Bielfeldt and Glenn Robinson III, son of Glenn Robinson. McGary joined the varsity basketball team the following season and played two years. McGary is afflicted with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He eventually transferred to Brewster Academy, a prep school in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, to repeat his junior year because his parents thought the discipline would be good for him. Before transferring to Brewster, McGary was the tallest kid in his school and in the basketball conference that he played in. McGary shoots left-handed.

As late as March 2011, McGary ranked 92nd in the national class of 2012 by Rivals.com. During the LeBron James Skills Academy in July, McGary stood out as the best player in attendance. He was invited to participate in the 5th annual Nike Global Challenge the following month. Due to an ankle injury he did not participate. However, later that month, he participated in the Boost Mobile Elite 24 event, where he shattered a backboard. His other 2011 summer camps included Pittsburgh Jam Fest, the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 camp and the Under Armour Best of the Best Camp, where he was the most valuable player. McGary scheduled his official Michigan visit for the beginning of September. McGary completed his official campus visits to University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, and Duke University, in that order, by October 4. However, due to injuries suffered a few weeks earlier while shattering the backboard, he only played pick-up games at Duke. He also made an unofficial visit to Florida prior to these official visits.

His reported best friend, Robinson had committed to Michigan on September 14, 2010. In a press conference broadcast on ESPNU on November 3, 2011, McGary announced his verbal commitment to Michigan over his other two finalist Florida and Duke. Within hours of the commitment, ESPN ranked Michigan's recruiting class the fifth best in the nation. After several other schools announced their commitments, Michigan, which had been outside the top 25 at the end of October, ranked the number 7 class in the nation, according to ESPN. He waited until November 9 to sign his National Letter of Intent so that his parents, who were still living in Indiana, could be present. Both of his parents had liked head coach Mike Krzyzewski and had hoped that he would choose Duke. At the time of their November 2011 National Letter of Intent signings, Nik Stauskas, Robinson and McGary gave Michigan a consensus top 10 entering class for its 2012 class.

McGary was technically eligible for the 2012 NBA draft. Brewster entered the 2012 NEPSAC Class AAA Boys' Basketball Tournament undefeated and ranked number 1 in the nation according to the Five-Star Basketball Rankings published in Sports Illustrated, but lost in the semifinals of the tournament to Northfield Mount Hermon School, who was led by future teammate Spike Albrecht, in overtime on March 2. In the overtime period, McGary missed a game-tying free throw with 17.3 seconds remaining. His Brewster team defeated Massanutten Military Academy and Notre Dame Prep to reach the March 7 championship game in the National Prep Championship against Hargrave Military Academy. Brewster won the National Prep Championship Game. The 2011–12 Brewster team was reported to have eight future Division I basketball players, including Florida State commit Aaron Thomas, Xavier commit Semaj Christon, NC State commit T. J. Warren, and JaKarr Sampson. JaKarr Sampson earned both the 2012 National Prep Championship MVP and New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) AAA Player of the Year, leaving McGary with a supporting role.

McGary was invited to participate in the four-team All-American Championship along with future teammate Robinson in New Orleans on April 1, 2012. Six days later, McGary represented USA Basketball at the 15th annual Nike Hoops Summit as part of the 2012 USA Junior National Select Team. Following the season, he was named as one of 40 Parade All-Americans.

During his senior season, scouts became aware that McGary was less polished offensively than he had appeared. By January, his ranking had been reduced from number 2 overall to about number 20. He eventually settled between 26th and 30th by Scout.com, ESPN and Rivals.com in the final class of 2012 overall rankings.

## College career

The 2011–12 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team had been co-champions of 2011–12 Big Ten Conference, but lost both of its co-captains, Zack Novak and Stu Douglass, to graduation and three players as transfers. The team was returning a nucleus of All-Big Ten players Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr.

### Freshman

In the third game of the season and the third of his career, McGary posted a game-high 9 rebounds in 17 minutes of play off the bench against Cleveland State on November 13. McGary also went 3-for-3 on his field goals. McGary reached double figures in scoring for the first time December 4 against Western Michigan (Michigan's eighth game of the season) when he scored 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting in 14 minutes of play off the bench. He had his first 10-rebound game on December 11 against the Binghamton Bearcats. On December 20, he posted his first double-double with a then career-high 11 rebounds and 10 points as well as a then career-high 3 steals in just 18 minute of play against Eastern Michigan. On December 24, he was recognized as Big Ten Freshman of the Week. On January 6, McGary tied then career high with 11 rebounds, tied a then career high 2 assists and set a career high with 3 blocked shots against Iowa. On January 28, Michigan was ranked number one in the AP Poll with 51 of the 65 first place votes. It marked the first time Michigan ranked atop the AP Poll since the Fab Five 1992–93 team did so on December 5, 1992.

McGary played a career-high 29 minutes, tallying then career highs of 14 points and 4 steals, along with 6 rebounds, on February 5 in an overtime victory against Ohio State. For his efforts in two overtime games during the week, McGary earned his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor on February 11. On February 12 in Michigan's 25th game of the season, McGary made his first appearance in the starting lineup in the rivalry game against Michigan State. Michigan lost 75–52 with McGary posting a team-high 4 rebounds. On March 14, in the first round of the 2013 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament against Penn State, McGary posted his second career double-double, reaching 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, but only adding one more rebound in the second half.

Prior to the 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com named Michigan with McGary first among tournament teams in terms of having the most future NBA talent on its roster (in the absence of Kentucky who was relegated to the 2013 National Invitation Tournament). As a number four seed, Michigan defeated its first NCAA tournament opponent, South Dakota State, 71–56 on March 21 with McGary making his third start of the season and contributing 13 points and 9 rebounds. The 27th victory of the season gave the team its most wins in 20 years and matched head coach John Beilein's career high. Two days later McGary made his fourth career start, adding career highs of 21 points on 10-for-11 shooting and 14 rebounds against VCU in a 78–53 victory. His 10–11 (90.9%) field goal percentage is the best shooting performance by a Wolverine in the NCAA Tournament (min 10 attempts). In the first two tournament games combined, he shot 16-for-20. On March 29 against Kansas, McGary earned his third consecutive start and 5th start of the season. He scored a career-high 25 points and career-high tying 14 rebounds, marking his second consecutive and fourth career double-double. He shot 12-for-17 in the game. McGary joined Blake Griffin (2009) as the only two players in the last 15 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments to achieve 14 or more rebounds and 21 or more points in back-to-back games. With his tournament run, McGary became the Big Ten Conference leader in field goal percentage (although he slipped just below Victor Oladipo at the end of the season). In the regional finals on March 31 against Florida, McGary contributed 9 rebounds and 11 points, including 8 points as Michigan opened up a 13–0 lead to start the game. McGary also added a career-high 5 steals during his fourth consecutive start. 5 steals tied Ricky Green (1977) and Tom Stanton (1977) as the best single-NCAA Tournament game performance in school history, but was surpassed by Derrick Walton in 2018. McGary and Stauskas joined Most Outstanding Player Trey Burke on the 5-man South All-Regional team. Following the regional championship postgame prayer and with Mrs. Beilein's consent, McGary and Tim Hardaway Jr. gave head coach John Beilein a gatorade shower. In the April 6 national semifinal against Syracuse, McGary contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds along with a career-high 6 assists. Two nights later, Michigan lost in the championship game to Louisville by an 82–76 margin as McGary contributed 6 points, 6 rebounds, a steal, a block and an assist. McGary made the 7-man All-Tournament team (which was revised multiple times) along with teammates Burke and Albrecht. In his six NCAA Tournament starts, he averaged a double-double with 14.3 points and 10.8 rebounds. McGary finished the season as the Big Ten conference freshman leader in rebounding and placed second to Victor Oladipo in field goal percentage (59.87% vs. 59.82%).

#### 2013 NBA draft

Prior to the Final Four, McGary stated that he would not enter the 2013 NBA draft, but a few days later said he had been caught off guard and would prefer to respond after he has time to reflect on his season. On April 9 before boarding the airplane to return from the NCAA Final Four, Beilein met with Burke, Hardaway, Robinson and McGary to direct them to seek the advice of the NBA advisory committee. The draft board has until April 15 to develop each individual report and the players have until April 28 to enter the draft. On April 12, ESPN journalist Myron Medcalf described McGary's likelihood of entering the draft as "borderline," noting that his NCAA tournament performance may have given him a sudden chance to be a lottery selection. Several sources regarded him as a likely first round draft choice in the NBA Draft, so there was much speculation about him entering his name into the draft. On April 18, he and Robinson held a joint press conference to announce that they would not enter the draft. This came after Burke and Hardaway entered the draft on the 14th and 17th, respectively.

### Sophomore

#### Preseason

On April 30, ESPN's Eamonn Brennan named him a first team 2013-14 pre-offseason All-American selection. In June 2013, Sporting News Mike DeCourcy named McGary the best center for the upcoming season. McGary declined an invitation to try out for the USA Basketball team that competed at the 2013 Summer Universiade, opting instead to attend the Nike Skills Academy for big men featuring Amar'e Stoudemire and Anthony Davis and the LeBron James Skills Academy.

On September 6, Sporting News named McGary to its preseason All-American first team (along with Doug McDermott, Marcus Smart, Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins), as well as the best overall player in the Big Ten Conference after he led Michigan to the championship game by averaging 14.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in the tournament. NBC Sports named him a second team selection. Later that month, McGary joined McDermott, Smart, Wiggins and Julius Randle as first team preseason All-Americans by USA Today Sports 2013-14 College Basketball Preview Magazine. However, USA Today sports staff later selected him as second team. Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook named McGary a preseason second team All-American. Lindy's Sports selected McGary to the preseason All-Big Ten second team and named him the nation's second best power forward. Athlon Sports selected McGary to its preseason All-American second team and preseason All-Big Ten first team. CBS Sports selected McGary as a second team preseason All-American. Dick Vitale selected McGary to his All-Solid Gold preseason first team (along with McDermott, Smart, Russ Smith and Aaron Craft). On November 4, McGary was named first team preseason All-American by the Associated Press along with Mcdermott, Smart, Wiggins and Smith. McGary was on the 50-man Naismith Award and Wooden Award preseason watchlists.

In September, McGary experienced an unspecified lower back condition that impaired his basketball activity. He sat out the first exhibition game on October 29 against Concordia University. McGary was a preseason All-Big Ten selection in both the official media poll released by the Big Ten Conference and the unofficial media poll released by the Big Ten Network. He was also on the 15-man Oscar Robertson Trophy Preseason Watch List.

#### Regular season

McGary sat out the season opener on November 8 due to his back problems. By November 11, head coach Beilein stated that McGary had begun participating in limited full-speed workouts. After missing the preseason and first two regular season games, McGary returned to play against Iowa State on November 17 posting 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. McGary posted a 14-point and 12 rebound double-double in his third game, which was the November 22 Puerto Rico Tip-Off semifinal against Florida State. With leading scorer Stauskas sidelined with an injury, the November 29 contest against Coppin State was McGary's first start of the season. On December 3, McGary had 15 points and 14 rebounds against Duke. McGary tied his career high with 6 assists as Michigan defeated Houston Baptist by the 54 points on December 7. On December 21, McGary sat out against Stanford due to assorted ailments. On December 27, McGary announced that he would have back surgery. On January 3, the surgery date was announced as January 7. By March 15, he had progressed to running on hardcourt surfaces, after some time spent running on an underwater treadmill. He was nearing jumping activities. The 2013–14 team advanced to the elite eight round of the 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament before being eliminated by Kentucky on March 30. He ended his career with a 67.9% NCAA Tournament career field goal percentage, which is a school record (min 20 attempts).

## Professional career

### 2014 NBA draft

Following the season, McGary, who had slipped from a projected 2013 first round selection to a projected 2014 second round selection, stated that he had to evaluate whether he was mentally and physically ready to pursue a professional career. Many in the press felt he should return to "rebuild his draft stock". Upon learning that he had tested positive for marijuana following the Sweet Sixteen victory over Tennessee and was facing a one-year suspension, McGary declared for the draft, following teammates Stauskas and Robinson who had declared ten days earlier. Of Michigan's prior 14 early NBA draft entrants, 10 were selected in the first round and 3 in the second. McGary was tested 18 days before the NCAA decided to reduce the automatic punishment for marijuana use to a half a season and his appeal for lenience was unsuccessful. During his two years with Michigan, the school enjoyed its winningest two-year stretch in school history marked by a total of 59 wins. McGary signed with sports agent Mark Bartelstein (along with teammate Stauskas).

### Oklahoma City Thunder (2014–2016)

McGary was drafted 21st overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder. With teammates Stauskas and Robinson also being drafted, it marked the first time Michigan had at least three draft picks since the 1990 NBA draft. With Burke and Hardaway having been drafted the year before, every player that started in the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game was drafted either in the 2013 or 2014 NBA draft.

On July 5, 2014, McGary signed with the Thunder and joined them for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On October 8 during training camp, McGary fractured the second metatarsal of his left foot, causing him to be sidelined for an estimated six weeks. This occurred three weeks before the team's October 29 season opener and meant McGary was expected to miss the first 14 games of the season. After missing the first 14 games, he began to be a limited participant in practices. McGary debuted with the Thunder on December 14 with 4 rebounds and 3 points in seven minutes of play against the Phoenix Suns. Subsequently, McGary was sidelined for 2–3 weeks with periostitis (inflammation) in his left tibia. On February 8, in his third NBA game, McGary posted a double double with 19 points and 10 rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers. He was one of the finalists for NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month during March. On March 13, McGary made his first start against the Minnesota Timberwolves in place of an injured Serge Ibaka, scoring 12 points in 22 minutes. On March 16, McGary established a new career high by nabbing 11 rebounds in his first 6 minutes of play before going on to post a double double with 13 rebounds and 12 points in 17 minutes against Dallas Mavericks. In the April 15 season finale against the Minnesota Timberwolves, McGary posted a season-high 4 blocked shots in just 14 minutes of play. During his rookie and sophomore seasons, he had multiple assignments with Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder's D-League affiliate.

On October 16, 2015, McGary suffered a loose ball collision with Matt Barnes of the Memphis Grizzlies that resulted in concussion-like symptoms. On October 21, the Thunder exercised their third-year team option on McGary's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season. On October 26, he was cleared for the October 28 season opener. However, McGary did not appear in the game. He went on to play limited minutes in 20 games before leaving the team prior to the end of the season for "personal reasons".

On July 8, 2016, McGary was suspended for five games by the NBA for a failed drug test. Two months later, he was suspended an additional 10 games for non-compliance with the league's drug policy, bringing the number of regular season games he is suspended without pay for to 15. On October 24, 2016, following preseason, McGary was waived by the Thunder.

## Post-basketball career

By 2017, McGary returned to bowling, a sport of his youth and that his mother competed at for 29 years, but still felt more basketball might be in his future.

## NBA career statistics

### Regular season

\|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2014–15 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Oklahoma City \| 32 \|\| 2 \|\| 15.2 \|\| .533 \|\| .000 \|\| .625 \|\| 5.2 \|\| .4 \|\| .5 \|\| .5 \|\| 6.3' \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2015–16 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Oklahoma City \| 20 \|\| 0 \|\| 3.6 \|\| .478 \|\| .000 \|\| .400 \|\| .9 \|\| .2 \|\| .1 \|\| .1 \|\| 1.3 \|- class="sortbottom" \| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"\| Career \| 52 \|\| 2 \|\| 10.7 \|\| .527 \|\| .000 \|\| .580 \|\| 3.5 \|\| .3 \|\| .3 \|\| .3 \|\| 4.4

## Personal life

McGary's father is a Chesterton High School alumnus and his mother worked there as the school treasurer. McGary is an avid skateboarder, with a set of skateboard ramps built by his father in his backyard.

American basketball player (born 1992)

Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players

Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)

Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area


Skyfall

Skyfall is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villain, with Judi Dench returning as M. Directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan, the film has Bond investigating a series of targeted data leaks and co-ordinated attacks on MI6 led by Raoul Silva. It sees the return of two recurring characters, Miss Moneypenny (played by Naomie Harris) and Q (played by Ben Whishaw), after an absence of two films. Ralph Fiennes, Bérénice Marlohe and Albert Finney are among the supporting cast.

Mendes was approached to direct after the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008. Development of the film was suspended throughout 2010 after Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which caused screenwriter Peter Morgan to leave the project. Production resumed in December 2010 after Purvis, Wade, and Logan were hired and a November 2012 release date was announced in January 2011. Principal photography began that November after the film's title was revealed and lasted until March 2012, with filming locations including London, Shanghai, Istanbul, and Scotland.

Skyfall premiered at the Royal Albert Hall on 23 October 2012, and was released theatrically in conventional and IMAX formats in the United Kingdom three days later and in the United States on 9 November, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962). Skyfall received praise for Mendes's direction, cast performances, action sequences, cinematography, and musical score. The film was nominated for five awards at the 85th Academy Awards, winning two, and received numerous other accolades. Skyfall grossed \$1 billion worldwide, the fourteenth film to do so, and became the then-seventh-highest grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing James Bond film, the second-highest grossing film of 2012, and the then-highest grossing film released by Sony or MGM. The next film in the series, Spectre, was released in 2015.

## Plot

In Istanbul, MI6 agents James Bond and Eve Moneypenny pursue mercenary Patrice, who has stolen a hard drive containing details of undercover agents. As Bond and Patrice fight atop a moving train, M orders Moneypenny to shoot Patrice, despite not having a clear shot; Moneypenny inadvertently hits Bond, who falls into a river. Bond is presumed dead and Patrice escapes with the hard drive.

Three months later, due to a public inquiry into M's handling of the stolen hard drive, she is pressured to retire by Gareth Mallory, the chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament and a former SAS officer. Although she claims she is still useful, MI6's servers are hacked, and M receives a taunting computer message moments before the MI6 building explodes. Bond, who used his presumed death to retire, learns of the attack and returns to service in London. He fails a series of physical, medical, and psychological examinations, but M approves his return to the field, ordering him to identify Patrice's employer, recover the hard drive, and kill Patrice. He meets Q, MI6's new quartermaster, who gives him a radio beacon and a Walther PPK pistol.

In Shanghai, Bond follows Patrice and witnesses him killing a target. The two fight and Patrice falls to his death before Bond can learn his employer's identity. Moneypenny joins Bond in his investigation on orders from Mallory. Bond finds a casino token Patrice intended to cash in for the assassination, leading him to a casino in Macau. There, Bond is approached by Sévérine, Patrice's accomplice. Recognising her tattoo, he concludes she was a sex slave "rescued" by a criminal who now employs her, a man Bond wishes to meet. She warns him he is targeted by her bodyguards, but promises to help if Bond kills her employer. Bond thwarts the attack and joins Sévérine on her yacht, the Chimera. They travel to an abandoned island off the coast of Macau, where the crew captures and delivers them to Sévérine's employer, Raoul Silva. Once an MI6 agent, Silva turned to cyberterrorism and orchestrated the attack on MI6. Silva kills Sévérine, but Bond alerts MI6 reinforcements who capture Silva for rendition to Britain.

At MI6's new underground headquarters, Q attempts to decrypt Silva's laptop, but inadvertently gives it access to the MI6 servers, allowing Silva to escape. Q concludes Silva wanted to be captured as part of a plan to kill M, whom he hates for disavowing and betraying him to the Chinese government during the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, leaving him to be tortured and disfigured by a suicide attempt by cyanide pill. Silva escapes his cell and Bond chases him through the London Underground and thwarts Silva's attack at a Parliament inquiry where M is present.

Instructing Q and Bill Tanner to leave an electronic trail for Silva to follow, Bond uses his Aston Martin DB5 to take M to Skyfall, his childhood home in the Scottish Highlands. They meet Skyfall's gamekeeper Kincade, and together the trio set up a series of booby traps throughout the house. When Silva's men arrive, Bond, M, and Kincade kill most of them, but M is wounded. Silva arrives by helicopter with more men and heavy weapons, so Bond sends M and Kincade through a priest hole to hide in a nearby chapel, and rigs propane tanks to explode. As the house and the helicopter are destroyed, Bond escapes down the same tunnel.

Silva survives the destruction of the house, following Kincade and M to the chapel. Confronting M, Silva forces his gun into her hand and presses his temple to hers, begging her to kill them both. Bond arrives and kills Silva by throwing a knife into his back. M then succumbs to her wounds and dies in Bond's arms.

Following M's funeral, Moneypenny formally introduces herself to Bond and tells him she is retiring from fieldwork to become secretary for Mallory, the newly appointed M. Bond meets with Mallory, and tells him he is ready to get back to work.

## Cast

## Production

### Development

Development of Bond 23 began in 2009 but was suspended throughout 2010 because of MGM's financial troubles. Preproduction resumed following MGM's exit from bankruptcy on 21 December 2010, and in January 2011, the film was officially given a release date of 9 November 2012 by MGM and the Broccoli family, with production scheduled to start in late 2011. Subsequently, MGM and Sony Pictures announced that the UK release date would be brought forward to 26 October 2012, two weeks ahead of the US release date, which remained scheduled for 9 November 2012. The film's budget is estimated to have been between US\$150 million and \$200 million, compared to the \$200 million spent on Quantum of Solace. Skyfall was part of year-long celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Dr. No and the Bond film series.

### Pre-production

After the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008, producer Barbara Broccoli commented that Skyfall, untitled at the time, may continue the plot of the Quantum organisation, introduced in Casino Royale and continued in Quantum of Solace.

In August 2011, the Serbian newspaper Blic stated that Bond 23 would be titled Carte Blanche and would be an adaptation of the recent continuation novel by Jeffery Deaver. On 30 August, Eon Productions officially denied any link between Bond 23 and Carte Blanche, stating that "the new film is not going to be called Carte Blanche and will have nothing to do with the Jeffery Deaver book". On 3 October 2011, fifteen domain names including jamesbond-skyfall.com and skyfallthefilm.com were reported to have been registered on behalf of MGM and Sony Pictures by Internet brand-protection service MarkMonitor. Skyfall was confirmed as the title at a press conference on 3 November 2011, during which co-producer Barbara Broccoli said that the title "has some emotional context which will be revealed in the film". The title refers to the name of Bond's childhood home, "Skyfall", and the setting for the film's finale.

#### Casting

The main cast was announced at a press conference held at the Corinthia Hotel in London on 3 November 2011, fifty years after Sean Connery had been announced as James Bond in the film Dr. No. Daniel Craig returned as James Bond for the third time, saying he felt lucky to have the chance. Mendes described Bond as experiencing a "combination of lassitude, boredom, depression [and] difficulty with what he's chosen to do for a living". Judi Dench returned as M for her seventh and final time. Over the course of the film, M's ability to run MI6 is called into question, culminating in a public inquiry into her running of the service.

Javier Bardem was cast as the principal villain, Raoul Silva, a cyberterrorist seeking revenge against those he holds responsible for betraying him. Bardem described Silva as "more than a villain", while Craig stated that Bond has a "very important relationship" to Silva. Mendes admitted that he had lobbied hard for Bardem to accept the part, and saw potential for the character to be recognised as one of the most memorable in the series. He wanted to create "something [the audience] may consider to have been absent from the Bond movies for a long time", and felt that Bardem was one of the few actors able to become "colourless" and exist as more than just a function of the plot. In preparing for the role, Bardem had the script translated into his native Spanish, which Mendes cited as a sign of his commitment. Bardem dyed his hair blond for the role, after brainstorming ideas for a distinct visual look with Mendes, which led some commentators to suggest a resemblance to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Bérénice Marlohe was cast as Séverine, saved from the Macau sex trade by Silva and now working as his representative. Marlohe described her character as being "glamorous and enigmatic", and that she drew inspiration from GoldenEye villain Xenia Onatopp (played by Famke Janssen).

Ralph Fiennes was cast as Gareth Mallory, a former lieutenant colonel in the British Army and now Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, which regulates MI6. At the end of the film, Mallory becomes the head of MI6, assuming the title of 'M'. During production, Fiennes stated that he could not say anything specific about the role other than that it was a "really interesting part which is really quite fun". Fiennes had previously been considered to play Bond during the casting of GoldenEye. Naomie Harris was cast as the returning character of Miss Moneypenny. Harris's role was initially presented as that of Eve, an MI6 field agent who works closely with Bond. Despite media speculation that Harris had been cast as Miss Moneypenny, this was not confirmed by anyone involved in production, with Harris herself dismissing claims that Eve was in fact Moneypenny. According to Harris, Eve "[believes] she is Bond's equal, but she is really his junior". Another returning character was Q, played by Ben Whishaw. Mendes had initially declined to confirm which part Whishaw would play, and later said the idea of the re-introduction was his, saying, "I offered ideas about Moneypenny, Q and a flamboyant villain and they said yes". To play the part of Kincade, Mendes cast Albert Finney. The producers briefly considered approaching Sean Connery to play the role in a nod to the 50th anniversary of the series, but decided not to as they felt Connery's presence would have been seen as stunt casting and might disengage the audience.

#### Crew

Mendes first signed on to direct the project shortly after Quantum of Solace was released, and remained as a consultant during the uncertainty surrounding MGM's financial situation. Mendes, who had previously worked with Craig on Road to Perdition, was approached after seeing Craig in A Steady Rain, meeting after a performance, where Craig broached the subject of directing a Bond film for the first time. He was at first hesitant, as the job had little appeal to him, but he did not reject the offer immediately because of Craig's involvement and enthusiasm; Mendes described Craig's casting and performance in Casino Royale as being what he felt the Bond franchise needed. He agreed to direct after meeting producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and seeing the early direction the film was going to take. Media speculation was that Mendes had commissioned rewrites of the script to "[remove] action scenes in favour of 'characterful performances'" with the hope of securing an Academy Award. Mendes denied this, saying that the action scenes were an important part of the film.

Roger Deakins signed on as cinematographer, having previously worked with Mendes on Jarhead and Revolutionary Road. Dennis Gassner returned as production designer, the costume designer was Jany Temime, Alexander Witt was director of the second unit, the stunt co-ordinator was Gary Powell and Chris Corbould supervised the special effects, while the visual effects supervisor was Steve Begg. All had worked on previous Bond films. Daniel Kleinman returned to design the title sequence after stepping aside to allow graphic design studio MK12 to create the Quantum of Solace sequence.

#### Writing

Peter Morgan was originally commissioned to write a script, but left the project when MGM filed for bankruptcy and production of the film stalled; despite his departure, Morgan later stated that the final script was based on his original idea, retaining what he described as its "big hook". Mendes denied this as "just not true", insisting that Morgan's approach had been discarded once he had agreed to direct. Robert Wade later said that "Neal and I were pretty steeped in Fleming. I think Peter was more interested in Le Carré. It just didn't work." Morgan cowrote the treatment Once Upon a Spy with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, which had M being blackmailed by a Russian oligarch, who would be a former KGB agent she had an affair with while stationed in West Berlin during the Cold War. The script would have ended with Bond being forced to kill M. Mendes disliked most of the script but asked to keep the ending with M's death.

Purvis and Wade then wrote a new script drawing from You Only Live Twice (1964) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1965), in which Bond is presumed dead after an accident and travels back to London to an uncertain MI6. The original screenplay would have more closely followed the literary series' story arc with Bond becoming an amnesiac and unknowingly impregnating his lover Lily in Turkey, who would have tracked him down to London after he returned to MI6. It would have featured Bond tracking down a Francisco Scaramanga-esque villain into the Andes Mountains, and would have had a "Heart of Darkness feel." The screenplay was delayed because of MGM's financial problems. At the end of 2010, Purvis and Wade completed a draft titled Nothing is Forever in which a villain called Raoul Sousa kills M with a bombing aboard the Barcelona Metro and leaves a bureaucrat named Mallender as the new M. They still disliked the third act, and so later revised it to include the ending in Scotland. The final script was rewritten by John Logan, who kept most of Purvis and Wade's basic story. Logan recounted being brought into the project by his long-time friend Mendes, describing the process between Mendes and the writers as "very collaborative", and that writing Skyfall was one of the best experiences he had had in scripting. British playwright Jez Butterworth also provided uncredited contributions.

#### Location scouting

In April 2011, Mendes and Broccoli travelled to South Africa for location scouting. With the film moving into pre-production in August, reports emerged that shooting would take place in India, with scenes to be shot in the Sarojini Nagar district of New Delhi and on railway lines between Goa and Ahmedabad. The production crew faced complications in securing permission to close sections of the Konkan Railway. Similar problems in obtaining filming permits were encountered by production crews for The Dark Knight Rises and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Permission was eventually granted to the Bond production crew; the production ultimately did not shoot in India.

### Filming

Principal photography was scheduled to take up to 133 days, although actually took 128. It began on 7 November 2011 in London, with Deakins using Arri Alexa digital cameras to shoot the entire film. It was the first Bond film to be shot digitally. Scenes were shot in London Underground stations, Smithfield car park in West Smithfield, the National Gallery, Southwark, Whitehall, Parliament Square, Charing Cross station, the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, Cadogan Square and Tower Hill. St Bartholomew's Hospital was used for the scene in which Bond enters MI6's underground headquarters, while the Old Vic Tunnels underneath Waterloo Station served as the MI6 training grounds. The meeting between Q and Bond was filmed when the National Gallery was closed at night.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change offices were used for the scene near the end, when Bond stands on the roof. Vauxhall Bridge and Millbank were closed to traffic for filming the explosion at the MI6 headquarters at Vauxhall Cross. Unlike for The World Is Not Enough, which featured an explosion at the building filmed at a large-scale replica, this explosion was added digitally during post-production. The finale was planned for Duntrune Castle in Argyll, but shortly after filming began the location was changed to Glencoe. Although supposedly in Scotland, Bond's family home was constructed on Hankley Common in Surrey using a plywood and plaster full-scale model of the building.

Production moved to Turkey in March 2012, with filming continuing until 6 May. Adana stands in for the outskirts of Istanbul. Some Turkish teenagers infiltrated a closed set in railway sidings in Adana, during film rehearsals of the fight on top of a train, before they were caught by security. The train scene depicted in trailers showed the Varda Viaduct outside Adana, during which Bond stunt double Andy Lister dived backwards off the 300-foot (91 m) drop, with a crane on a train carriage holding a safety line. Parts of Istanbul—including the Spice Bazaar, Yeni Camii, the Grand Post Office, Sultanahmet Square and the Grand Bazaar—were closed for filming in April. Affected store owners were reportedly allowed to open their shops, but not allowed to conduct business, instead being paid TRY750 (\$418) per day as compensation. Production was criticised for allegedly damaging buildings while filming a motorcycle chase across rooftops. Wilson denied this, pointing out that the crew had removed sections of rooftop before filming, and replaced them with temporary replicas. The production team negotiated with 613 part-owners of Calis Beach in Fethiye to film along the coastline.

Mendes confirmed that China would feature in the film, with shooting scheduled for Shanghai and "other parts" of the country. Logan asserted that they deliberately sought locations that were "in opposition" to London, with an exotic quality as "places for Bond to be uncomfortable". Scenes with the principal actors were not filmed on location in Shanghai, but in the UK. The Virgin Active pool in London's Canary Wharf acted as Bond's hotel pool, Ascot Racecourse stood in for Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and London's Broadgate Tower was used as the entrance and lobby of the Shanghai office building. The Golden Dragon casino in Macau was constructed on a sound stage at Pinewood Studios, with 300 floating lanterns and two 30-foot-high dragon heads lighting the set. The production received permission to shoot second unit aerial footage of Shanghai from a helicopter loaned by the Chinese government. The first official image from the film was released on 1 February 2012, showing Craig on set at Pinewood within a recreation of a Shanghai skyscraper.

The lair of villain Silva was inspired by Hashima, an abandoned island off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan. In the film, the fictionalized island is located near Macau. Mendes explained that the sequence was created with a combination of large sets of the city streets and computer-generated establishing shots. The Hashima setting was included after Craig met with Swedish film-maker Thomas Nordanstad while shooting The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Stockholm. Nordanstad, who produced a short 2002 documentary on the island entitled Hashima, recalled Craig taking extensive notes during the meeting, but was unaware of his interest in it until Skyfall was released.

The film was later converted into the IMAX format for projection in IMAX cinemas. Deakins was unaware that the film was to be released on IMAX until after he had made the decision to shoot the film with the Arri Alexa cameras, and was unhappy with the IMAX tests made from his footage as the colours "didn't look great". After exploring the IMAX system further and discovering that the IMAX Corporation was using their proprietary re-mastering process, Deakins had further tests made without the process and found that "the images looked spectacular on the big IMAX screen", quelling his doubts about the format.

### Music

Thomas Newman, who had previously worked with Mendes as composer for American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead and Revolutionary Road, replaced David Arnold as composer,[^1] becoming the ninth composer in the series' history. When asked about the circumstances surrounding his departure from the role, David Arnold commented that Newman had been selected by Mendes because of their work together, rather than because of Arnold's commitment to working with director Danny Boyle as composer for the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The soundtrack album was released on 29 October 2012 in the United Kingdom and on 6 November 2012 in the United States.

In October 2012 British singer-songwriter Adele confirmed that she had written and recorded the film's theme song with her regular songwriter, Paul Epworth. She later posted the cover for the "Skyfall" sheet music on Twitter, crediting the songwriting to herself and Epworth, with arrangements to both Epworth and orchestrator J. A. C. Redford. The song was released online at 0:07 am BST on 5 October 2012, a day dubbed "James Bond Day" by the producers as it marked 50 years to the day of the release of Dr. No.

The song was nominated for and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was the first time a Bond song had won, and the fourth time one had been nominated. "Skyfall" also won the Brit Award for Best British Single at the 2013 BRIT Awards.

The film also features Charles Trenet's 1938 song "Boum !" during scenes in which Silva shows Bond around his abandoned island, and The Animals' 1964 cover of John Lee Hooker's song, "Boom Boom" when Silva assaults Skyfall in the film's finale.

## Release and reception

The premiere of Skyfall was on 23 October 2012 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The event was attended by Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Charles asked that money raised at the premiere be donated to charities that served former or serving members of the British intelligence agencies. The film was released in the UK three days later on 26 October and into US cinemas on 8 November. Skyfall was the first Bond film to be screened in IMAX venues and was released into IMAX cinemas in North America a day earlier than the conventional cinema release.

Skyfall attracted some criticism from the US Sexual Violence Resource Center which, without having screened the film, expressed concern that Bond "abuses his power and authority" in a scene that suggests Bond initiates sexual intercourse with Sévérine, a former victim of sex trafficking.

### Box office

Skyfall earned \$1.109 billion worldwide, and at the time of its release was the highest-grossing film worldwide for Sony Pictures and the second-highest-grossing film of 2012. On its opening weekend, it earned \$80.6 million from 25 markets. In the UK the film grossed £20.1 million on its opening weekend, making it the second-highest Friday-to-Sunday debut ever behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. It also achieved the second-highest IMAX debut ever behind The Dark Knight Rises. The film set a record for the highest seven-day gross with £37.2 million, surpassing previous record holder Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (£35.7 million). By 9 November 2012 the film had earned over £57 million to surpass The Dark Knight Rises as the highest-grossing film of 2012, and the highest-grossing James Bond film of all time in the UK. After 40 days of release the total UK gross stood at £94.28 million, making Skyfall the highest-grossing film in the UK, surpassing the £94.03 million of Avatar. By 30 December 2012, it had become the first film to gross more than £100 million (\$161.6 million) in the UK. Skyfall's box office receipts made it only the 14th film and first Bond film to gross over \$1 billion, the seventh-highest-grossing film ever made at the time, pushing it past the inflation-adjusted amount of \$1.047 billion earned by Thunderball.

Skyfall set an opening weekend record in Switzerland (\$5.3 million) and recorded the second-largest opening weekend of the year for a Hollywood film in India after The Amazing Spider-Man (\$5.1 million), as well as grossing \$14.3 million on its opening weekend in France. In Austria, it achieved the second-highest opening weekend ever (\$3.4 million) behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, while in Finland, it scored the largest opening weekend when excluding previews (\$1.47 million).

In North America, the film opened in 3,505 cinemas, the widest opening for a Bond film. The film earned \$2.4 million from midnight showings on its opening day and a further \$2.2 million from IMAX and large-format cinemas. Skyfall went on to gross \$30.8 million on its opening day in the US and Canada, and \$88.4 million in its opening weekend, the biggest debut yet for a Bond film. By the end of its theatrical run, the film earned \$304.4 million in the United States and Canada, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2012 in these regions.

### Critical response

Skyfall received "generally positive reviews from critics and fans", according to the GlobalPost. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 92% based on 384 reviews, with an average rating of 8.20/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Sam Mendes brings Bond surging back with a smart, sexy, riveting action thriller that qualifies as one of the best 007 films to date." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade filmgoers gave the film was an "A" on an A+ to F scale.

A number of critics, including Kate Muir, reviewing for The Times, Philip French, writing in The Observer, IGN's Daniel Krupa and the reviewers for the Irish Independent and the Daily Record, all asked whether Skyfall was the best Bond film. The Daily Telegraph's film reviewer, Robbie Collin, considered Skyfall to be "often dazzling, always audacious", with excellent action sequences in a film that contained humour and emotion. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter thought that Skyfall was "dramatically gripping while still brandishing a droll undercurrent of humor", going on to say that it was a film that had "some weight and complexity to it". Variety's Peter DeBruge suggested that the film's greatest strength lay in its willingness to put as much focus on characterisation as it did action set-pieces, allowing the two to co-exist rather than compete for the audience's attention, while Manohla Dargis, reviewing for The New York Times, considered Skyfall to be "a superior follow-up to Casino Royale" which is "opulent rather than outlandish and insistently, progressively low-key".

Kim Newman, reviewing the film for Empire, concluded, "Skyfall is pretty much all you could want from a 21st Century Bond: cool but not camp, respectful of tradition but up to the moment, serious in its thrills and relatively complex in its characters but with the sense of fun that hasn't always been evident lately". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, describing it as "a full-blooded, joyous, intelligent celebration of a beloved cultural icon". Reviewing for the New Statesman, Ryan Gilbey saw that "nostalgia permeates the movie", going on to say that "sometimes the old ways are the best".

A number of reviewers praised Daniel Craig's lead performance. Roger Ebert believed that in Skyfall, "Daniel Craig [takes] full possession of a role he earlier played well in 'Casino Royale,' not so well in 'Quantum'"; Philip French commented that "Craig manages to get out of the shadow of [Sean] Connery"; while Daniel Krupa thought Craig's Bond was a "defining performance" for "a great actor". Edward Porter, writing in The Sunday Times, considered that "Craig has developed an authoritative Bond persona, dry and intelligent". Ryan Gilbey thought Craig had "relaxed into Bond without losing any steeliness".

The supporting cast also received praise. Roger Ebert reflected that Skyfall "at last provides a role worthy of Judi Dench, one of the best actors of her generation. She is all but the co-star of the film, with a lot of screen time, poignant dialogue, and a character who is far more complex and sympathetic than we expect in this series". Jenny McCartney, writing in The Sunday Telegraph, agreed, describing Dench as "compellingly luminous" in the film, and the one that "the camera caresses most meaningfully and often". McCartney thought Javier Bardem played Silva "with worrisome élan", while Henry K Miller considered his character "the most authentically Bondian Bond villain in decades". A number of critics noted the strength of the supporting cast; Kim Newman found the "warmth and gravitas" of Finney's performance noteworthy, while other reviewers, including Edward Porter, Daniel Krupa and The Playlist's Oliver Lyttelton, singled out Ralph Fiennes as Mallory and Ben Whishaw as Q.

Ann Hornaday, writing for The Washington Post, thought Sam Mendes had reinvigorated the series, with Skyfall being "sleek, crisp, classy ... exhibiting just the right proportion of respect for legacy and embrace of novelty". Henry K. Miller of Sight & Sound agreed, and praised Mendes, who he thought was worthy of directing more Bond films. Kim Newman also praised Mendes's direction of the action sequences. The work of cinematographer Roger Deakins also received praise: Newman commented that he "delivers the most impressive visuals this series has had since the 1960s", and Miller described the film as "dazzlingly photographed".

The film did not escape criticism, with reviews pointing to its two and a half-hour running time, and the final third of the film being "protracted", and not matching the first two thirds in its momentum as the underlying flaws in the film. Xan Brooks of The Guardian, in an otherwise positive review, criticised the "touchy-feely indulgence" of "the bold decision to open Bond up – to probe at the character's back-story and raise a toast to his relationship with M". Daniel Krupa also singled out Naomie Harris as "awkward" and having "virtually non-existent chemistry" with Craig. Similarly Philip French in The Observer tempered his praise for the film by highlighting "some lazy repetition" and argued, "the badinage is often perfunctory and Bond is as usual captured too easily and too easily escapes". Edward Porter, writing in The Sunday Times, considered that while aspects of the film were "achieved with wit and panache", he found that the climax to the film was slightly disappointing, although the "weaknesses in the final stages are not serious, however, and the film's brief epilogue is wonderful".

### Home media

Skyfall was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital HD in the US and Canada on 12 February 2013, and in the UK on 18 February 2013.

It was later released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on 22 October 2019 along with the other three Daniel Craig Bond movies in a 4K boxset, with this release itself being released standalone 25 February 2020 by 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment.

### Accolades

At the 85th Academy Awards, Skyfall received nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Mixing; and won Best Original Song (the first Bond theme to be so honoured) and Best Sound Editing. The film's other nominations include eight British Academy Film Awards (winning two), seven Critics' Choice Movie Awards (winning three), and a Golden Globe Award (which it won).

## See also

- Happy and Glorious'', a short film starring Daniel Craig as James Bond produced for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
- List of films featuring home invasions
- Outline of James Bond

[^1]: {{cite news\|title=Newman on Board For Skyfall'\|url= Productions\|date=9 January 2012\|access-date=10 January 2012\|archive-date=23 November 2012\|archive-url=

2012 James Bond film

Films that won the Best Original Song Academy Award

Films that won the Best Sound Editing Academy Award

Films with screenplays by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade