The Term OK Was Popularized Due To His Nickname "Old Kinderhook"

William Henry Harrison, the battle veteran made famous by the catchphrases “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” and “Log Cabin and Hard Cider,” ran against incumbent Martin Van Buren in the 1840 election. “O.K.” became the campaign catchphrase of Van Buren's followers. Van Buren earned the moniker “Old Kinderhook” after growing up in the town of Kinderhook in upstate New York. “O.K. Clubs” started to emerge across the nation as a result of the Democratic president's supporters. “OK now could have a double meaning: Old Kinderhook was all right”, writes Metcalf. One of the interesting facts about Martin Van Buren is he and his followers are thus responsible for the phrase “OK” popularity.

Van Buren, however, lost to Whig nominee William Henry Harrison in the 1840 presidential election. Harrison received 234 of the 294 electoral votes and a majority of the popular vote. Van Buren also went by the labels “Little Magician”,“Sly Fox” and “Red Fox of Kinderhoo” due to his political prowess, diminutive size, and reddish-blond hair.