Editing Richard Mentor Johnson (section)

==Vice presidency (1837–1841)==
[[File:Richard Mentor Johnson Portrait by Peale.jpg|thumb|Portrait of a middle-aged Johnson by [[Rembrandt Peale]]]]
Johnson served as vice president from March 4, 1837, to March 4, 1841. His term was largely unremarkable, and he enjoyed little influence with President Van Buren.<ref name=uva /> His penchant for wielding his power for his own interests did not abate. He lobbied the Senate to promote Samuel Milroy, whom he owed a favor, to the position of Indian agent.<ref name=hatfield /> When [[Lewis Tappan]] requested presentation of an [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] petition to the Senate, Johnson, who was still a slaveholder, declined the request.<ref name=hatfield />

As presiding officer of the Senate, Johnson was called on to cast a [[List of tie-breaking votes cast by the vice president of the United States|tie-breaking vote]] fourteen times, more than all of his predecessors save [[John Adams]] and John Calhoun. Despite the precedent set by some of his predecessors, Johnson never addressed the Senate on the occasion of a tie-breaking vote; however, on one occasion, he did explain his vote — via an article in the ''[[Kentucky Gazette]]''.<ref name=hatfield />

After the financial [[Panic of 1837]], Johnson took a nine-month leave of absence, during which he returned home to Kentucky and opened a [[tavern]] and [[spa]] on his farm to offset his continued financial problems.<ref name=hatfield /><ref>McQueen, pp. 19–20</ref> Upon visiting the establishment, [[Amos Kendall]] wrote to President Van Buren that he found Johnson "happy in the inglorious pursuit of tavern keeping&nbsp;– even giving his personal superintendence to the chicken and egg purchasing and [[Watermelon|water-melon]] selling department".<ref name=hatfield />

In his later political career, he became known for wearing a bright red vest and tie.<ref name=meyer310>Meyer, p. 310</ref> He adopted this dress during his term as vice-president when he and James Reeside, a mail contractor known for his drab dress, passed a tailor's shop that displayed a bright red cloth in the window.<ref name=meyer311>Meyer, p. 311</ref> Johnson suggested that Reeside should wear a red vest because the mail coaches he owned and operated were red.<ref name=meyer311 /> Reeside agreed to do so if Johnson would also.<ref name=meyer311 /> Both men ordered red vests and neckties, and were known for donning this attire for the rest of their lives.<ref name=meyer311 />

===Election of 1840===
By 1840, it had become clear that Johnson was a liability to the Democratic ticket. Even former president Jackson conceded that Johnson was "dead wait [sic]," and threw his support to [[James K. Polk]].<ref name=stillman /><ref name=mcqueen20>McQueen, p. 20</ref> President Van Buren stood for re-election, and the Whigs once again countered with William Henry Harrison.<ref name=stillman /> Van Buren was reluctant to drop Johnson from the ticket, fearing that dropping the Democrats' own war hero would split the party and cost him votes to Harrison.<ref name=stillman /> A unique compromise ensued, with the Democratic National Convention refusing to nominate Johnson, or any other candidate, for vice president.<ref name=hatfield /> The idea was to allow the states to choose their own candidates, or perhaps return the question to the Senate should Van Buren be elected with no clear winner in the vice-presidential race.<ref name=stillman />

Undaunted by this lack of confidence from his peers, Johnson continued to campaign to retain his office. Although his campaign was more vigorous than that of Van Buren, his behavior on the campaign trail raised concern among voters. He made rambling, incoherent speeches. During one speech in [[Ohio]], he raised his shirt in order to display to the crowd the wounds that he had received during the Battle of the Thames. Charges he leveled against Harrison in [[Cleveland]] were so poorly received that they touched off a [[riot]] in the city.<ref name=hatfield />

In the end, Johnson received only forty-eight [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral vote]]s.<ref name=mcqueen21>McQueen, p. 21</ref> One elector from Virginia and all eleven from [[South Carolina]] voted for Van Buren for president but selected someone other than Johnson for vice-president.<ref name=hatfield /> Johnson lost his home state of Kentucky again and his home district.<ref name=hatfield />