O. K.' and Its Incorrect Etymology

194I, published an article entitled 'The Evidence on 'Its author presented quotations from New York and other newspapers showing that the letters O. K. were in use during the political campaign of I840. He also showed that the 0. K. in this campaign became a watchcry with the Locofocos, and that they organized the Democratic O. K. Club, which had its first public notice on March 23, I840. He then affirmed, with supporting evidence, that the Locofocos or Democrats used the term to mean 'Old Kinderhook,' which was the birthplace of the President, Martin Van Buren. The writer then took one step more, and affirmed that this was the beginning of the expression O. K. as used in the sense of 'all correct,' that is, in our present-day usage. In substance, the argument ran that the 'all correct' meaning began when the Whigs fabricated a story to discredit the Democrats before they (the Whigs) actually knew what the Democrats meant by the expression. According to this Whig story, Andrew Jackson, the Democratic hero, was illiterate and he used the expression O. K. for 011 Korrect, which they said was his way of spelling all correct. This story, although not necessarily told to be believed, had the effect, so the argument went, of supplying a meaning for the mysterious letters O. K. which the Democrats had not yet explained, although they were busy using the letters in headlines and shouting them in the streets. The story connecting Jackson with the expression appeared on March 30, 1840, and, according to the argument, was the first time O. K. had been employed in the 'all correct' sense

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