A log cabin was a modest home that was used as a symbol in many political campaigns. Six U.S. presidents were born in log cabins.

In the campaign of 1840, a newspaperman wrote that William Henry Harrison was only fit to sit by his log cabin with a barrel of cider. The insult became his campaign slogan. Voters liked the idea of a president from humble beginnings, and Harrison was elected.

Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson also campaigned and won the presidency using the symbol of a log cabin. The log cabin remained a strong symbol even after the Civil War.

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