Part 8

The Whig National Convention was called to meet at Harrisburg on the 4th of December, 1839, just one year before the Presidential election, and no national convention in the history of our politics ever moved with such extreme caution. It was three days after the convention was organized before a ballot was reached for President, the whole time having been occupied in formal conferences of committees appointed by each delegation to confer in the frankest way as to the best ticket to unite the incongruous opposition elements. Clay had made exhaustive effort to unite the opposition, even if necessary to sacrifice himself. On repeated occasions he publicly declared that his name should not be entertained if it was in any degree an obstacle to success, and in a Buffalo address delivered some time before the convention met, he said: “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 office.”

A Union Pennsylvania convention had been held in Harrisburg in September, embracing representatives of the old National Republicans, anti-Masons, and Whigs. It was largely planned and carried out by Thaddeus Stevens, whose violent anti-Masonic convictions made him the opponent of Clay, and that convention, while highly complimenting Clay, declared that General Harrison was the most available of all the candidates named for President. Governor Barbour, of Virginia, presided over the national convention, and instead of proceeding to ballot for candidates, the convention, after careful consideration, decided that the delegations from the different States should confer with each other, through sub-committees, and if possible reach a conclusion as to the best nomination and report to the convention.

While there is no official record of the action of these committees, it is known that at the start more favored Clay than any of the two other candidates, as one of the known facts relating to their action gave Clay 103 votes to 94 for Harrison and 57 for Scott. This vote is based on the assumption that the entire delegation of each State would vote in harmony with its committee, as the resolution under which the committees were appointed provided that “each State represented shall vote its full electoral vote by such delegation in the committee.” After three days of conference, the joint committees reported to the convention that they had decided in favor of Harrison by a vote of 148 to 90 for Clay and 16 for Scott.

On the following day the convention accepted the report of the committees by adopting a resolution declaring General Harrison the candidate of the convention, and it was unanimously approved amidst great enthusiasm. The friends of Clay gave very prompt and cordial support to the action of the convention, and the friends of Harrison proved their appreciation of the magnanimity of Clay’s friends by unanimously nominating John Tyler, of Virginia, for Vice-President, who was the leader of the Clay forces in the convention. No platform or expression of principles was given in any manner. Indeed, none of the political questions of the day diverted the convention at any time from the supreme purpose of uniting the opposition to Van Buren on a single ticket.

It was the vote of Virginia that finally decided the question of making Harrison the candidate of the convention. The three prominent candidates were all sons of Virginia, and had Clay been available he would doubtless have been preferred. A very earnest effort was made to force the nomination of General Scott when Clay was conceded to be unavailable, and the Virginia delegates long hesitated in making a choice between Harrison and Scott. Both were of Old Dominion birth, and the pride of the Mother of Presidents would have been gratified with the nomination of either.

It was at this stage of the contest that Thaddeus Stevens, who was the leading delegate from Pennsylvania, controlled the Virginia delegation by a scheme that was more effective than creditable. Scott, who was quite too fond of writing letters, had written a letter to Francis Granger, of New York, in which he evidently sought to conciliate the antislavery sentiment of that State. It was a private letter, but Granger exhibited it to Stevens and permitted Stevens to use it in his own way. As the headquarters of the Virginia delegation were the centre of attraction, they were always crowded, and Stevens called there along with many others. Before leaving he dropped the Scott letter on the floor, and it was soon discovered and its contents made known to the Virginians. That letter decided the Virginians to support Harrison and to reject Scott. Either could have been elected if nominated, as the Van Buren defeat of 1840 was one of the most sweeping political hurricanes in the history of the country.

My authority for this is Mr. Stevens himself. He disliked Scott on general principles through his great aversion to all men whose vanity was conspicuous, but he had a much stronger reason for nominating Harrison in his possession of an autograph letter from General Harrison, assuring Stevens that if he, Harrison, was elected President, Stevens would be a member of his Cabinet. After the election Stevens said nothing and made no movement to make himself prominent as a candidate for the Cabinet, as he felt entirely secure, while Josiah Randall, father of the late Samuel J. Randall, and then a prominent Whig, and Charles B. Penrose, grandfather of the present United States Senator Penrose, entered the field aggressively as candidates for a Cabinet portfolio. When the Cabinet was announced, Stevens was dumbfounded to find his name omitted. He never forgave Webster, who was made the head of the Cabinet, for the failure, and he believed until the day of his death that Webster had prevented his appointment.

There was much dissatisfaction with the Van Buren administration. The severe business and industrial depression which came upon the country about the middle of Van Buren’s term was very disastrous, and the financial troubles were largely charged to the arbitrary financial system introduced by Jackson and maintained by Van Buren. Labor was largely unemployed and business was paralyzed. So grave were the financial disturbances that several of the States were swept from their honest moorings by the cheap money craze, and irresponsible banks were created almost without limit or restraint, all of which brought speedy and fearful disaster to the people.

A large portion of the Democratic party had not at any time heartily favored Van Buren, and only their devotion to Jackson made them accept Van Buren as their candidate. The Democratic leaders of a number of the States openly declared that they would not participate in the national convention. A convention was finally called, and met in Baltimore on the 5th of May, 1840, with Connecticut, Delaware, Virginia, South Carolina, and Illinois not represented, while some of the other States had but one or two delegates. Governor William Carroll, of Tennessee, presided over the convention, and Van Buren was renominated by the adoption of a resolution declaring that as he was the unanimous choice of the party and the convention, “he should be presented as the Democratic candidate for the office of President.” Another resolution, offered at the same time and by the same man, Mr. Clay, of Alabama, was as follows: “That the convention deem it expedient at the present time not to choose between the individuals in nomination, but to leave the decision to their Republican Democratic fellow-citizens in the several States, trusting that before the election shall take place their opinions shall become so concentrated as to secure the choice of a Vice-President by the electoral colleges.”

There was positive opposition to the election of Vice-President Johnson in 1836, as was shown by his failure to command a majority of the electoral votes, while Van Buren was elected President, and that opposition seems to have increased rather than diminished. There was much discussion in the convention after it had unanimously adopted the first resolution declaring Van Buren the candidate for President as to what action the convention should take on the Vice-Presidency, and finally the resolution before quoted was unanimously adopted, leaving the party without a formally nominated candidate for the second place on the ticket.

This convention for the first time presented a national party platform as follows:

1. _Resolved_, That the Federal Government is one of limited powers derived solely from the Constitution, and the grants of power shown therein ought to be strictly construed by all the departments and agents of the Government, and that it is inexpedient and dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional powers.

2. _Resolved_, That the Constitution does not confer upon the General Government the power to commence and carry on a general system of internal improvement.

3. _Resolved_, That the Constitution does not confer authority upon the Federal Government, directly or indirectly, to assume the debts of the several States, contracted for local internal improvements, or other State purposes; nor would such assumption be just or expedient.

4. _Resolved_, That justice and sound policy forbid the Federal Government to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of another, or to cherish the interest of one portion to the injury of another portion of our common country; that every citizen and every section of the country has a right to demand and insist upon an equality of rights and privileges, and to complete an ample protection of person and property from domestic violence or foreign aggression.

5. _Resolved_, That it is the duty of every branch of the Government to enforce and practise the most rigid economy in conducting our public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised than is required to defray the necessary expenses of the Government.

6. _Resolved_, That Congress has no power to charter a United States Bank; that we believe such an institution one of deadly hostility to the best interests of the country, dangerous to our Republican institutions and the liberties of the people, and calculated to place the business of the country within the control of a concentrated money power, and above the laws and the will of the people.

7. _Resolved_, That Congress has no power, under the Constitution, to interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several States, and that such States are the sole and proper judges of everything appertaining to their own affairs not prohibited by the Constitution; that all efforts of the Abolitionists or others, made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences, and that all such efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people, and endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any friend to our political institutions.

8. _Resolved_, That the separation of the moneys of the Government from banking institutions is indispensable for the safety of the funds of the Government and the rights of the people.

9. _Resolved_, That the liberal principles embodied by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, and sanctioned in the Constitution, which makes ours the land of liberty and the asylum of the oppressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal principles in the Democratic faith; and every attempt to abridge the present privilege of becoming citizens and the owners of soil among us ought to be resisted with the same spirit which swept the Alien and Sedition laws from our statute book.

The campaign of 1840 was the most unique of our political history. The Democrats, in attempting to belittle General Harrison, declared that he lived in a “log cabin” and drank hard cider. Instead of resenting these expressions, intended to prejudice the public against the Whig candidate, the Whigs at once took up the log cabin as one of the great illustrative features of the contest, and when the battle reached its zenith, and the people gathered by thousands at the mass-meetings, the log cabin was always in the procession as the symbol of the simplicity of the party candidate for President. It was a campaign of speeches and songs, and it developed a new class of campaign orators, of which the then celebrated and long after well-known Buckeye Blacksmith was a type.

It was the first national campaign in which the masses of the people took intense interest, and alike in the cities of the East, the prairies of the West, and the savannas of the South the people were singing and shouting for “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too.” The Whig campaign culminated in a tempest against the Democrats, and resulted in the overwhelming defeat of Van Buren, and General Harrison certainly contributed largely to the result by taking the stump in Ohio in September and October, to vindicate himself against the accusations made that he was a mere puppet in the hands of political leaders and unable to speak for himself. The following was the popular vote for Harrison and Van Buren:

═══════════════════╤═══════════╤═══════════╤════════ STATES. │ Harrison. │ Van Buren.│ Birney. ───────────────────┼───────────┼───────────┼──────── Maine │ 46,612 │ 46,201 │ 194 New Hampshire │ 26,163 │ 32,761 │ 126 Vermont │ 32,440 │ 18,018 │ 319 Massachusetts │ 72,874 │ 51,944 │ 1,621 Rhode Island │ 5,278 │ 3,301 │ 42 Connecticut │ 31,601 │ 25,296 │ 174 New York │ 225,817 │ 212,527 │ 2,808 New Jersey │ 33,351 │ 31,034 │ 69 Pennsylvania │ 144,021 │ 143,672 │ 343 Delaware │ 5,967 │ 4,874 │ ――――― Maryland │ 33,528 │ 28,752 │ ――――― Virginia │ 42,501 │ 43,893 │ ――――― North Carolina │ 46,376 │ 33,782 │ ――――― South Carolina[11] │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ――――― Georgia │ 40,261 │ 31,921 │ ――――― Alabama │ 28,471 │ 33,991 │ ――――― Mississippi │ 19,518 │ 16,995 │ ――――― Louisiana │ 11,296 │ 7,616 │ ――――― Kentucky │ 58,489 │ 32,616 │ ――――― Tennessee │ 60,391 │ 48,289 │ ――――― Missouri │ 22,972 │ 29,760 │ ――――― Arkansas │ 5,160 │ 6,766 │ ――――― Ohio │ 148,157 │ 124,782 │ 903 Indiana │ 65,302 │ 51,604 │ ――――― Illinois │ 45,537 │ 47,476 │ 149 Michigan │ 22,933 │ 21,131 │ 321 ├───────────┼───────────┼──────── Totals │ 1,275,016 │ 1,129,102 │ 7,069 ═══════════════════╧═══════════╧═══════════╧════════

[11] Chosen by Legislature.

There was nothing to quibble about in declaring the count in Congress, as Harrison had nearly three-fourths of the electoral vote, with a very large popular majority. While the Democrats had not nominated any candidate for Vice-President, and as a division of the vote would be of little consequence, the Democratic electors generally voted for Vice-President Johnson for re-election. Virginia, that cast a solid vote against him four years before, gave him 22 of the 23 votes, and South Carolina, while voting for Van Buren, gave its 11 votes to L. W. Tazewell, of Virginia, for Vice-President, leaving Johnson with only 48 of the 294 electoral votes.

The following is the vote as cast in the electoral colleges:

═══════════════╤════════════════════╦══════════════════════════════════ │ PRESIDENT. ║ VICE-PRESIDENT. ├─────────┬──────────╫──────┬────────┬─────────┬──────── STATES. │W. H. │Martin ║John │R. M. │L. W. │James K. │Harrison,│Van Buren,║Tyler,│Johnson,│Tazewell,│Polk, │Ohio. │N. Y. ║Va. │Ky. │Va. │Tenn. ───────────────┼─────────┼──────────╫──────┼────────┼─────────┼──────── Maine │ 10 │ ―― ║ 10 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― New Hampshire │ ―― │ 7 ║ ―― │ 7 │ ―― │ ―― Vermont │ 7 │ ―― ║ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Massachusetts │ 14 │ ―― ║ 14 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Rhode Island │ 4 │ ―― ║ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Connecticut │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― New York │ 42 │ ―― ║ 42 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― New Jersey │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Pennsylvania │ 30 │ ―― ║ 30 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Delaware │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Maryland │ 10 │ ―― ║ 10 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Virginia │ ―― │ 23 ║ ―― │ 22 │ ―― │ 1 North Carolina │ 15 │ ―― ║ 15 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― South Carolina │ ―― │ 11 ║ ―― │ ―― │ 11 │ ―― Georgia │ 11 │ ―― ║ 11 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Alabama │ ―― │ 7 ║ ―― │ 7 │ ―― │ ―― Mississippi │ 4 │ ―― ║ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Louisiana │ 5 │ ―― ║ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Kentucky │ 15 │ ―― ║ 15 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Tennessee │ 15 │ ―― ║ 15 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Missouri │ ―― │ 4 ║ ―― │ 4 │ ―― │ ―― Arkansas │ ―― │ 3 ║ ―― │ 3 │ ―― │ ―― Ohio │ 21 │ ―― ║ 21 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Indiana │ 9 │ ―― ║ 9 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― Illinois │ ―― │ 5 ║ ―― │ 5 │ ―― │ ―― Michigan │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ├─────────┼──────────╫──────┼────────┼─────────┼──────── Totals │ 234 │ 60 ║ 234 │ 48 │ 11 │ 1 ═══════════════╧═════════╧══════════╩══════╧════════╧═════════╧════════

Harrison was in feeble health when he was called from the clerkship of the Cincinnati courts, that he had held for many years, to the highest civil trust of the world, and the intense pressure upon him after his election so impaired his vitality that he died a little more than a month after his inauguration. Harrison’s death was the first break in the Presidency since the organization of the Government. John Tyler was Vice-President, and was living quietly on his farm on the Virginia Peninsula. He could not be reached by railways, and telegraphs were unknown. He had no knowledge that he had become President through the death of Harrison until late the next day, when Webster and another member of the Cabinet finally found their way to his home, partly by water and partly overland, and formally announced to him the death of the President and the new duties which devolved upon him. He hastened to Washington to find a very grave dispute among the leading statesmen of both parties as to whether he became President or simply Acting President. It was important to determine whether he was President with the full title. The question was brought up in Congress, and in the midst of a discussion on the subject a message was received from the Executive Mansion signed “John Tyler, President.” The dispute was at once ended, and the question settled for all time.

THE POLK-CLAY CONTEST

1844

President Tyler wrecked the Whig party and defeated Henry Clay for President in 1844. The Whigs had carried a majority in both Senate and House in the Harrison sweep of 1840, and they confidently expected that the Whig policy of a national bank to take the place of the bungling Sub-Treasury, of aid to public improvements, and of a protective tariff to stimulate our industries, would inaugurate a Whig political system that could be permanently maintained by the American people. President Harrison died only a little more than a month after he had been inaugurated. He was the oldest President at the time of his inauguration that the country has had, either before or since, and he was physically unequal to the severe exactions put upon him by the clamor for political positions. Civil service reform had then no part in the politics of the country, and as Jackson and Van Buren had been vindictively proscriptive in Federal appointments, it was logically expected that there would be a general removal of the Van Buren favorites. Harrison exhausted his vitality by trying to meet his friends and confer with them about political appointments, in addition to the important questions of State which demanded his attention, and he literally wore himself out and died from exhaustion.

John Tyler, who had been one of the most ardent of the Clay Whigs, was confidently expected to maintain the policy of Harrison. The public measures advocated by Clay were well understood by all, and it was reasonable to assume that Tyler, who had been long one of his most earnest supporters, was in entire accord with his chief. A special session of Congress was summoned to meet on the 31st of May, 1841, and the Whigs expected to carry all their political theories into practical effect by national statutes at an early day. To the surprise of some of the leaders, President Tyler exhibited some measure of unsoundness on the question of the United States Bank, but after repeated conferences with him they believed that they could frame a bill that would entirely meet his views and command his approval. The bill was passed by a decided majority in both branches, and the Whigs were dumbfounded by a prompt veto from the President. Other conferences followed, and a new bill was framed, to which the President assented, and although it was passed without amendment, another veto followed. The first veto of the Bank bill brought out very angry criticisms from a number of the Whig leaders, and one of the most earnest and aggressive of Tyler’s critics was John Minor Botts, then a Whig Congressman from Virginia, and one of the most brilliant and erratic of the Whig leaders of his day. It was believed that the irritation of the President, caused by the criticisms of leading Whigs, finally decided the President to veto the second Bank bill.

Thus the Whigs were defeated in one of the cardinal measures of their faith. The Whig Senators and Representatives met in caucus and published an address to the country, in which it was declared that “those who brought the President into power can no longer in any manner or degree be justly held responsible or blamed for the administration of the Executive branch of the Government.” Thus the Whig power was broken and demoralized at the very threshold of its existence, and the chasm between the Whig Senate and House, on the one side, and the President, on the other, steadily widened and deepened until it was admittedly impassable.