XV.

THE HARRISON CAMPAIGN.

No other political canvass that has ever taken place in

the United States bears even a near resemblance to the "log-cabin" and "hard-cider" campaign of 1840. It was marked by intense and extraordinary enthusiasm on the part of young men for a candidate who was close upon seventy years of age. The party which won the victory was a party only in name, for its only bond of union was opposition to the administration of the day. It announced no positive principles, it had no definite policy. Yet it triumphed over the closely-organized party which had governed the country since the beginning of the century, unless the four years' term of the second Adams is to be excepted, strongly intrenched in the offices, and using the public patronage without scruple to perpetuate its own power.

Mr. Van Buren's administration was a continuation of General Jackson's. The new President had far more political shrewdness than his predecessor, but far less personal force. His public life was characterized from beginning to end by finesse. He contrived to be on neither side of many of the most important questions of the day,

at least until it had become very evident which view was likely to be the more popular. But when he cast in his fortunes with Jackson, after the failure of the caucus in 1824, he supported his chief zealously and loyally, and he had his reward. The people had, however, begun to tire of Jackson before his second term expired, and Van

Buren was unequal to the task of bringing them back to their allegiance. The great panic of 1837 — the direct result of the reckless financing of Jackson, of the extinction of the Bank of the United States, which had given stability to the currency, of the treasury circular which required the payment of all dues of the United States in coin, and of the distribution of the surplus revenue dealt a blow at the administration in the first year of its existence. Its weakness was shown by its repeated defeats in two successive Congresses, in each of which there was a Democratic majority, upon the President's favorite scheme of establishing that anomalous institution, the Independent Treasury, the one great measure of Mr. Van Buren's administration.

Still, it would be a mistake to suppose either that Mr. Van Buren was abandoned by his party, or that his administration was an unpopular one among Democrats. On the contrary, a very large majority of them believed in him, approved his measures, and desired his re-election. They were in favor of completing the work which Jackson had begun, by divorcing the State altogether from private banking corporations. Mr. Van Buren was then, and to the end of his life, as his "Political History" shows, an enemy of banks as well as of the The Bank, the "monster" which Jackson crushed. It is extremely probable that if the issue in the canvass of 1840 had been made wholly upon the bank question, the result would have shown that the people were with Van Buren. The Whigs were too shrewd to avow friendliness to the bank, or to any bank. They took advantage of the opposition to, and the bad results of, the Jackson-Van Buren fiscal plans, without declaring themselves in favor of restoring what had been destroyed; and they also profited by the Southern hostility to the administration, without promising to reverse

or to modify in any respect the policy of the general government on the subject of State Rights. In short, the Democrats had principles and a policy, right or wrong, as people may think; the Whigs were united only in condemning, and, whatever they may have intended, whatever they may have done or attempted to do when they were in power, they did not venture to declare principles or policy beforehand.

The State elections in 1837 and 1838 resulted unfavorably to the Democrats. In the latter year the most of the elections of members of the twenty-sixth Congress took place; and they were so decidedly adverse to the Democrats that only by extraordinary exertions in the spring elections of 1839 did they succeed in saving any majority at all. So close was the contest that, when the House assembled in December, 1839, there were 119 Democrats, 118 Opposition, and five members from New Jersey whose seats were contested. The certificates were held by Whigs, who were not allowed to participate in the organization. On that occasion Mr. Adams, the ex-President, who had returned to the House of Representatives, prevented anarchy by calling the members to order and persuading them to choose a temporary chairman, — a position which was assigned to Mr. Adams himself.

Long before this, the plans of the Whigs had been forming; and, two days after the assembling of Congress, the National Whig convention met at Harrisburg,— on Dec. 4, 1839. The leaders were resolved on union, and the only question was as to the candidate who would command the largest support. Mr. Clay had the advantage of a very long public service, and of having been a leader in national affairs for almost thirty years; but he also labored under the double disadvantage of being a Freemason, and therefore not acceptable to the faction which

still mustered many followers in the Eastern States, and of having been a conspicuous advocate of the "American system," or protective tariff, which was highly unpopular in the South Atlantic States. General William Henry Harrison was not a great leader; but he had been more or less in the public service, military and civil, for nearly half a century, and was well known throughout the country. Moreover, he had made a gallant run for the presidency in the Northern States in 1836, and was open to neither of the objections urged against Mr. Clay. It was evident that one of these two would be selected to lead the Whig opposition. Each had his strong partisans; but not only they, but the candidates as well, were anxious chiefly that the Whig party should carry the election. Mr. Clay's earnest and laudable ambition to be President was not so great that he would put it before the cause. Moreover, he was aware of the objections which some Whigs entertained to him; and, when the autumn elections of 1839 indicated something of a reaction in favor of the Democrats, and the necessity of a complete union of the Opposition, he wrote, in a letter which was read at the Harrisburg convention, that, "if the deliberations of the convention shall lead them to the choice of another as the candidate of the Opposition, far from feeling any discontent, the nomination will have my best wishes and receive my cordial support." He further begged his friends to "discard all attachment or partiality to me, and be guided solely by the motive of rescuing our country from the dangers which now encompass it." Already, during the preceding summer, he had said in an address at Buffalo: "If my name creates any obstacle to union and harmony, away with it, and concentrate upon some individual more acceptable to all branches of the Opposition." The action of the great "union and

harmony" convention of Pennsylvania, held at Harrisburg on the 4th of September, probably did much to concentrate the Whig forces on Harrison; for, while that convention extolled Clay in extravagant phrases, it expressed the opinion that only General Harrison could unite the anti-Van Buren party.

Delegates appeared at the Whig convention from twenty-two States. South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Arkansas were not represented. On the second day of the convention, an organization was effected by the choice of Governor J. Barbour of Virginia as president. After a long debate, a plan of nomination was agreed upon. As this scheme was very peculiar, and is now quite obsolete, the order of the convention is given entire:

That the delegates from each State be requested to assemble as a delegation, and appoint a committee, not exceeding three in number, to receive the views and opinions of such delegation, and communicate the same to the assembled committees of all the delegations, to be by them respectively reported to their principals. And that thereupon the delegates from each State be requested to assemble as a delegation, and ballot for candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President, and, having done so, to commit the ballot designating the votes of each candidate, and by whom given, to its committee. And thereupon all the committees shall assemble and compare the several ballots, and report the result of the same to their several delegations, together with such facts as may bear upon the nomination. And said delegations shall forthwith reassemble and ballot again for candidates for the above offices, and again commit the result to the above committees; and if it shall appear that a majority of the ballots are for any one man for candidate for President, said committee shall report the result to the convention for its consideration. If there shall be no such majority, then the delegations shall repeat the balloting until such a majority shall be obtained, and then report the same to the convention for its consideration. That the vote of a majority of each delegation shall be reported as the vote of that State.