Chapter IV: Preface (2)

The election of Jefferson ended the line of the succession to the Presidency from the Vice-Presidency. Adams as Vice-President succeeded Washington as President, and Jefferson as Vice-President succeeded Adams, but the Burr fiasco made it impossible for the succession to be maintained, and for many years the line of succession to the Presidency was in the Premiers of the administration. Indeed during the entire century from 1800 to 1900 but one Vice-President has been elected to the Presidency. That single exception was Martin Van Buren, and he started under the Jackson administration as Premier. Madison, who was Secretary of State under Jefferson, succeeded Jefferson to the Presidency; Monroe, Secretary of State under Madison, succeeded Madison as President; John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State under Monroe, succeeded Monroe as President, and since that time Buchanan was the only Secretary of State who reached the Presidency, although Webster, Cass and Blaine, who were Premiers under several administrations, were defeated in Presidential contests.

Madison was generally regarded as the favorite of Jefferson for the succession, and Jefferson’s power at that time was second only to the power of Washington in dictating who should succeed him to the highest honor of the Republic. Irritating opposition to Madison came from his own State of Virginia, where the friends of Monroe were quite aggressive. Two caucuses had been held in the Virginia Legislature, one by the friends of Madison, and the other, much smaller in number, by the friends of Monroe, and both were thus formally presented to the country to succeed Jefferson.

A caucus of the Republican members of both branches of Congress was called to meet on the 23d of January, 1808. It was known that the friends of Madison largely outnumbered the friends of Monroe in Congress, and the active supporters of Monroe earnestly opposed a nomination by the Congressional caucus. The caucus was held, however, and was attended by a majority of the Senators and Representatives, and Madison was nominated on the 1st ballot, receiving 83 votes to 3 for Monroe and 3 for George Clinton. Monroe had a considerably larger strength in Congress, but the result was predetermined, and a number of them did not participate. George Clinton was nominated by substantially the same vote for Vice-President. The caucus system was under fire, and the caucus, in justification of its own act, adopted a resolution declaring that in making the nominations the members had “acted only in their individual characters as citizens,” and because it was “the most practical mode of consulting and respecting the interests and wishes of all upon a subject so truly interesting to the people of the United States.”

It was a considerable time before the friends of Monroe gave a cordial adhesion to the caucus nominations, but Jefferson, who was friendly to both Madison and Monroe, interposed and reconciled the friends of Monroe by the expectation that Monroe would succeed Madison; and as there was practically no serious opposition to Madison presented by the Federalists, the campaign drifted into the general acceptance of Madison’s election long before the election was held. The Federalists did not hold any caucus or formally present candidates, but accepted Pinckney and King, for whom they had voted in the last contest against Jefferson.

In the New England States vigorous contests were made by the Federalists to regain the supremacy they had lost, and New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which had voted for Jefferson, were regained by the Federalists, but the struggle was not made with any hope of defeating Madison for President. There had been no increase in the number of States nor in the vote of the electoral colleges. Madison won an easy and decisive victory, receiving 122 electoral votes to 47 for Pinckney and 6 for George Clinton, who was the regular nominee of the Republicans for Vice-President, and who was elected to that office by 113 electoral votes to 47 for King and 15 scattering. New York was obviously disaffected, as while the Republican caucus had accorded to Clinton of that State the second place on the ticket, and elected him Vice-President, the electoral vote of New York was divided, Madison receiving 13 to 6 cast for Clinton, and in the same electoral college Clinton received 13 votes for Vice-President to 3 for Madison and 3 for Monroe. The votes of North Carolina and Maryland were also divided, but that was not unusual, as after Washington retired the electoral votes of those States were divided, because their electors were chosen by Congressional districts.

There is no intelligent record of the popular vote, and it would be needless to attempt to present it, as outside of New England the States which were contested generally chose their electors by the Legislature. The following is the vote in detail as cast in the Electoral College:

══════════════╤═══════════════════════════╦════════════════════════════════════════
│ PRESIDENT. ║ VICE-PRESIDENT.
├────────┬────────┬─────────╫────────┬────────┬────────┬───────┬─────
STATES. │James │George │C. C. ║George │James │John │James │Rufus
│Madison,│Clinton,│Pinckney,║Clinton,│Madison,│Langdon,│Monroe,│King,
│Va. │N. Y. │S. C. ║N. Y. │Va. │N. H. │Va. │N. Y.
──────────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────╫────────┼────────┼────────┼───────┼─────
New Hampshire │ ―― │ ―― │ 7 ║ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 7
Vermont │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― ║ ―― │ ―― │ 6 │ ―― │ ――
Massachusetts │ ―― │ ―― │ 19 ║ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 19
Rhode Island │ ―― │ ―― │ 4 ║ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 4
Connecticut │ ―― │ ―― │ 9 ║ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 9
New York │ 13 │ 6 │ ―― ║ 13 │ 3 │ ―― │ 3 │ ――
New Jersey │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Pennsylvania │ 20 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 20 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Delaware │ ―― │ ―― │ 3 ║ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 3
Maryland │ 9 │ ―― │ 2 ║ 9 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 2
Virginia │ 24 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 24 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
North Carolina│ 11 │ ―― │ 3 ║ 11 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 3
South Carolina│ 10 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 10 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Georgia │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Kentucky[4] │ 7 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Tennessee │ 5 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Ohio │ 3 │ ―― │ ―― ║ ―― │ ―― │ 3 │ ―― │ ――
├────────┼────────┼─────────╫────────┼────────┼────────┼───────┼─────
│ 122 │ 6 │ 47 ║ 113 │ 3 │ 9 │ 3 │ 47
══════════════╧════════╧════════╧═════════╩════════╧════════╧════════╧═══════╧═════

[4] One Kentucky elector did not attend. The State was entitled to 8 votes.

The battle for Madison’s second election in 1812 began in the early period of our second war with Great Britain. Many complicated foreign questions excited earnest discussion and renewed the partisan bitterness of the earlier national contests, while the struggle for the renewal of the charter of the United States bank convulsed financial and business circles. The bill was lost by indefinite postponement in the House in 1811 by a single vote, and soon thereafter a like bill was rejected in the Senate by the casting vote of the Vice-President. Madison did not possess the breadth of statesmanship so grandly exhibited by Jefferson, and he lacked in the positive qualities needed to meet the grave issues which confronted him. He parried our foreign questions with almost endless diplomatic correspondence, and in the conduct of the war he lacked in the settled purpose and methods which are always necessary to sustain a government in such a crisis.

It was then that Clay came to the front as Commoner of the nation, and it was his able, eloquent, and inspiring utterances and actions, aided by Senator Crawford, of Georgia, that saved the administration when it was apparently threatened with defeat. Madison was unwilling to accept war with England until it became clearly evident that he must declare war or give the Federalists a restoration to power, and it was only after he had been very earnestly appealed to by the men upon whom he had most to depend, that he sent a message to Congress pointing out the necessity of a declaration of war, to which both branches in secret sessions gave their approval.

It was not until after Madison had decided upon an aggressive war policy with England that the Congressional caucus was called to nominate Republican candidates for President and Vice-President. The caucus met on the 12th of May apparently without objection, and Madison was renominated by a unanimous vote, only one member present declining to vote. Clinton had died in office, and a new nomination had to be made for Vice-President. John Langdon, of New Hampshire, who was the first Senator to be President _pro tem._ of the body, was nominated for Vice-President, receiving 64 votes to 16 for Elbridge Gerry and 2 scattering. Langdon declined the nomination, and the second caucus was convened when Gerry was nominated by a vote of 74 to 3 scattering. While the proceedings of the caucus were apparently very harmonious, there was significance in the fact that some 50 Republican Senators and Representatives did not attend, only one being present from New York State.

The reason for the New York members declining to attend the caucus was soon developed by a counter movement, made in New York, to bring out DeWitt Clinton, who was the leader of the Republicans of that State, as the candidate in opposition to Madison. The Federalists had no part in making him the competitor of Madison, but they were quite willing, in their utter helplessness, to support any bolt against the omnipotence of the Republican caucus. Many of the Republicans thought that the administration was not sufficiently aggressive in its opposition to England, and many others opposed Madison and were ready to support Clinton or any other promising candidate who was entirely opposed to the war. Had Clinton acted in harmony with the Republicans and supported Madison, he would have been a very formidable competitor of Monroe for the succession, but in allowing himself to be made a candidate of the opposition, he entirely lost his position as a Republican leader.

Madison had been nominated by the Republican Congressional caucus on the 12th of May, and on the 29th of May a caucus of the Republican members of the New York Legislature was held, at which 91 of the 93 members were present, and they unanimously nominated Clinton as a candidate for President, and the Federalists gradually dropped into his support. The Federalists took no formal action for the selection of candidates until September, when a conference of the leaders of that party was held in New York, with representatives from 11 States, and that conference nominated Clinton for President with Jared Ingersoll for Vice-President.

The campaign logically drifted into a square issue between the war and the peace parties, and even with all the factional hostility to Madison in the Republican ranks, such an issue could result only in the success of the party that sustained the Government in its war with England. The Federalists carried a solid New England vote for Clinton with the exception of Vermont, that broke loose from her Federal moorings and cast her entire electoral vote for Madison. New York, with the largest electoral vote of any State, was carried chiefly by Clinton’s personal popularity, and New Jersey was lost to Madison in disregard of the popular vote of the State by a Federal Senate and House that was successful against a Republican majority by reason of the peculiar shaping of the legislative districts. The Legislature repealed the law for the choice of electors by a popular vote, and elected Federal electors by the Legislature. Had the popular vote of New Jersey prevailed, the vote between Madison and Clinton in the Electoral College would have been 136 for Madison to 81 for Clinton. The following is the vote as cast by the electoral colleges:

═══════════════╤═════════════════════╦══════════════════════
│ PRESIDENT. ║ VICE-PRESIDENT.
├──────────┬──────────╫──────────┬───────────
STATES. │ James │ DeWitt ║ Elbridge │ Jared
│ Madison, │ Clinton, ║ Gerry, │ Ingersoll,
│ Va. │ N. Y. ║ Mass. │ Penn.
───────────────┼──────────┼──────────╫──────────┼───────────
New Hampshire │ ―― │ 8 ║ 1 │ 7
Vermont │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ――
Massachusetts │ ―― │ 22 ║ 2 │ 20
Rhode Island │ ―― │ 4 ║ ―― │ 4
Connecticut │ ―― │ 9 ║ ―― │ 9
New York │ ―― │ 29 ║ ―― │ 29
New Jersey │ ―― │ 8 ║ ―― │ 8
Pennsylvania │ 25 │ ―― ║ 25 │ ――
Delaware │ ―― │ 4 ║ ―― │ 4
Maryland │ 6 │ 5 ║ 6 │ 5
Virginia │ 25 │ ―― ║ 25 │ ――
North Carolina │ 15 │ ―― ║ 15 │ ――
South Carolina │ 11 │ ―― ║ 11 │ ――
Georgia │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ――
Kentucky │ 12 │ ―― ║ 12 │ ――
Tennessee │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ――
Louisiana │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ――
Ohio │ 7 │ ―― ║ 7 │ ――
├──────────┼──────────╫──────────┼───────────
Total │ 128 │ 89 ║ 131 │ 86
═══════════════╧══════════╧══════════╩══════════╧═══════════

Louisiana was admitted into the Union on the 8th of April, 1812, and participated in the Presidential election, making 18 States. It will be seen that there was but one State that cast a divided electoral vote. Maryland continued to choose all but the electors at large by Congressional districts, and gave 6 votes to Madison and 5 to Clinton. North Carolina changed her method of electing by districts to the choice of electors by the Legislature, thus making her electoral vote solid. Gerry, the candidate for Vice-President on the ticket with Madison, received 3 more votes in the Electoral College than were given to Madison, one of which came from New Hampshire and two from Massachusetts.

THE MONROE ELECTIONS

1816–20

The election of James Monroe to the Presidency in 1816 and his re-election in 1820 did not rise to the dignity of political contests. The Federal party was practically overthrown by the success of the war with England, and after the close of the war Federalism never asserted itself as a political factor in national affairs. There were murmurings of discontent in the Republican organization, but the Federalists were then in the unenviable attitude of having sympathized with the enemy in a foreign war, and the prejudices of the patriotic people of the country were intensified against the action of the Hartford convention, for which the Federalists were held responsible.

Whether justly or unjustly, it was believed by the Republicans throughout the country that the Hartford conventionists had given “blue-light” signals to the enemy’s ships, and thereby hindered the escape of American vessels which were blockaded. The overthrow of Federalism was so complete that the party never again formally presented candidates for President and Vice-President, and the first Monroe election of 1816 would probably have been as unanimous in the Electoral College as was his second election but for the fact that the three Federal States which voted against Monroe did not hold popular elections for President at all, but chose their electors by the Legislature. Massachusetts, the home of Adams, that had always chosen Presidential electors by popular vote, repealed the law in 1816, so that there was not a single elector chosen by the people against Monroe.

While Monroe’s two elections and administrations are now pointed to as the “era of good feeling,” that has never been repeated in this country. Monroe himself did not reach the Presidency by the rosy path that would now be naturally accepted for him in his journey to the highest civil trust of the nation. The usual Congressional caucus was called on the 10th of March, 1816, asking the Republican Senators and Representatives to meet on the 12th for the purpose of nominating candidates for President and Vice-President. Only 58 of the 141 Republican members attended this meeting, and, instead of taking action, a resolution was passed calling a general caucus for the 16th, and at that caucus 118 members appeared. There were strong and widespread prejudices against the Congressional caucus system, and it was denounced by many prominent Republicans as “King Caucus” that sought to control the people in the selection of the highest officers.

Senator Crawford, of Georgia, who had been the leading Senator, as Clay was the leading Representative, in the support of the war during the Madison administration, was an aggressive candidate for President, and was more popular with the politicians generally throughout the country than was Monroe. Great anxiety was felt about the probable action of the caucus, as it was feared that Monroe might be overthrown, notwithstanding the fact that he was favored by both Jefferson and Madison. When the caucus met with twenty-three Republican absentees, the majority of whom absented themselves because they were positively opposed to the caucus system, Mr. Clay offered a resolution declaring it inexpedient to nominate candidates, but his proposition failed. He thus put himself on record as early as 1816 against the caucus system, and he rejected and took the field against it as a candidate in 1824.

The canvass between Monroe and Crawford was very animated, and Monroe succeeded by only 11 majority, the vote being 65 for Monroe and 54 for Crawford. Governor Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, was nominated for Vice-President, receiving 20 votes more than were given to Monroe. The Crawford sentiment was strong in New York and New Jersey, as well as in North Carolina, Kentucky, and his native State of Georgia, and public meetings were held in different sections of the country after the nominations had been made, denouncing the caucus system, at one of which Roger B. Taney, who later became Chief Justice, was one of the aggressive opponents.

Had there been a formidable Federal party, it is doubtful whether Monroe’s election might not have been seriously imperilled, but the war feeling was too fresh in the minds of the people to tolerate anything that was in sympathy with that expiring political organization. The Republicans who were opposed to Monroe had to choose between falling in with the caucus nomination, and giving Monroe a unanimous support, or making a square fight as a bolting Republican faction, without permitting the aid of the Federalists. As that was impracticable, the Republican discontent gradually subsided and the election of Monroe was conceded by all.

The Federalists made no nomination, but supported Rufus King, one of their old national candidates, and scattered their few votes for Vice-President, no two of the three States voting for the same candidate. Indiana had adopted a State Constitution in June, but was not formally admitted to the Union until the 11th of December, after the Presidential election had been held. The State, however, had voted for President, and elected three Republican electors for Monroe, but an animated dispute arose in Congress about counting the vote, because of the alleged ineligibility of Indiana to vote for President when not formally admitted into the Union, even though the people had adopted a State Constitution several months before the election. The two bodies separated, to enable the House to decide the issue, but finally the question was postponed by a nearly unanimous vote, and the Senate invited to return, when the vote was declared as follows:

══════════════╤═════════════╦═══════════════════════════════════════════
│ PRESIDENT. ║ VICE-PRESIDENT.
├───────┬─────╫─────────┬───────┬─────┬─────────┬─────────
STATES. │James │Rufus║Daniel D.│John E.│James│John │Robert G.
│Monroe,│King,║Tompkins,│Howard,│Ross,│Marshall,│Harper,
│Va. │N. Y.║N. Y. │Md. │Penn.│Va. │Md.
──────────────┼───────┼─────╫─────────┼───────┼─────┼─────────┼─────────
New Hampshire │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Vermont │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Massachusetts │ ―― │ 22 ║ ―― │ 22 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Rhode Island │ 4 │ ―― ║ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ 4 │ ――
Connecticut │ ―― │ 9 ║ ―― │ ―― │ 5 │ ―― │ ――
New York │ 29 │ ―― ║ 29 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Jersey │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Pennsylvania │ 25 │ ―― ║ 25 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Delaware │ ―― │ 3 ║ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 3
Maryland │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Virginia │ 25 │ ―― ║ 25 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
North Carolina│ 15 │ ―― ║ 15 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
South Carolina│ 11 │ ―― ║ 11 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Georgia │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Kentucky │ 12 │ ―― ║ 12 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Tennessee │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Louisiana │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Ohio │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Indiana │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
├───────┼─────╫─────────┼───────┼─────┼─────────┼─────────
Total │ 183 │ 34 ║ 183 │ 22 │ 5 │ 4 │ 3
══════════════╧═══════╧═════╩═════════╧═══════╧═════╧═════════╧═════════

Monroe’s re-election in 1820 presents the singular political spectacle of his success without having been formally nominated by any party, and without a single electoral vote being chosen against him. That had occurred in Washington’s two elections, but it was not believed possible that, with the bitter partisan disputes which immediately followed Washington’s retirement, any man could ever be chosen for the Presidency without more or less of a contest. Monroe’s administration had no serious political or diplomatic problem to confront it, and the country was rapidly recovering from the war and proud of the achievements of the American army and navy in the second contest with the English.

Monroe was naturally cautious and conservative. There was nothing aggressive in the policy of his administration, and really no occasion to invite aggression. The Federal Party was practically extinct, and the Republicans were in thorough accord with the Monroe administration. A feeble movement was made early in 1820 to supersede Monroe, but it never attained importance, and even those who attempted it denied responsibility for it. The usual Republican Congressional caucus was called, and very few members took the trouble to attend it, as there was really nothing to do; and it was deemed better for the party to accept Monroe and Tompkins for re-election than to have formal nominations made by a very few representatives of the party. Monroe and Tompkins were thus accepted without any formalities whatever as the Republican candidates for President and Vice-President, and no opposing candidates were presented in any way whatever of which I can find any record or tradition. Monroe thus ran in 1820, as Washington did at both his elections, without opposition, and every electoral vote of the nation was chosen for him.

Five new States had been admitted and participated in the election of 1820. Mississippi came in December, 1817; Illinois in December, 1818; Alabama in December, 1819; Maine in March, 1820, and Missouri had adopted a Constitution in July, 1820, and although not formally admitted into the Union until August, 1821, the vote of that State was counted, as was the vote of Indiana in 1816. The following is the official vote as announced by Congress:

═══════════════╤═══════════════════╦══════════════════════════════════════════════
│ PRESIDENT. ║ VICE-PRESIDENT.
├───────┬───────────╫─────────┬─────────┬─────────┬───────┬────────
STATES. │James │John Quincy║Daniel D.│Richard │Robert G.│Richard│Daniel
│Monroe,│Adams, ║Tompkins,│Stockton,│Harper, │Rush, │Rodney,
│Va. │Mass. ║N. Y. │N. J. │Md. │Penn. │Del.
───────────────┼───────┼───────────╫─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────┼────────
Maine │ 9 │ ―― ║ 9 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Hampshire │ 7 │ 1 ║ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ ――
Vermont │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Massachusetts │ 15 │ ―― ║ 7 │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Rhode Island │ 4 │ ―― ║ 4 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Connecticut │ 9 │ ―― ║ 9 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New York │ 29 │ ―― ║ 29 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Jersey │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Pennsylvania[5]│ 24 │ ―― ║ 24 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Delaware │ 4 │ ―― ║ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 4
Maryland │ 11 │ ―― ║ 10 │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ ――
Virginia │ 25 │ ―― ║ 25 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
North Carolina │ 15 │ ―― ║ 15 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
South Carolina │ 11 │ ―― ║ 11 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Georgia │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Alabama │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Mississippi[5] │ 2 │ ―― ║ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Louisiana │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Kentucky │ 12 │ ―― ║ 12 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Tennessee[5] │ 7 │ ―― ║ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Ohio │ 8 │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Indiana │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Illinois │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Missouri │ 3 │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
├───────┼───────────╫─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────┼────────
Total │ 231 │ 1 ║ 218 │ 8 │ 1 │ 1 │ 4
═══════════════╧═══════╧═══════════╩═════════╧═════════╧═════════╧═══════╧════════

[5] One elector in each of the States of Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Tennessee died after appointment, and before the meetings of the electors.

It will be seen that a single electoral vote was cast against Monroe in the New Hampshire Electoral College. The whole 8 electors were chosen as Monroe men, and would have voted for him had it been necessary to elect him, but one of the New Hampshire electors gave as his reason for voting for John Quincy Adams for President and Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-President, that he was unwilling that any other President than Washington should receive a unanimous electoral vote.

Monroe’s administrations were uneventful beyond the assertion of what has ever since been known as the Monroe Doctrine, that was evolved by Monroe and John Quincy Adams, his Secretary of State, and the first serious contest in Congress over the Slavery issue, growing out of the admission of Missouri as a State. After the admission of Louisiana as a State the remainder of the territory embracing the Louisiana purchase was organized as the Territory of Missouri, and in 1818 the portion of the territory now embraced in the State of Missouri applied for admission into the Union as a State. In 1819 the House passed a bill for the admission of Missouri, with a clause prohibiting slavery, but it was not accepted by the Senate.

In 1820 the Senate sent a bill to the House for the admission of Maine, and authorizing the organization of the State of Missouri. The House had already passed a bill for the admission of Maine, but it refused to accept the Senate’s provision relating to Missouri. There was very violent agitation on the Slavery question for some time, and many feared that it would end in the disruption of the Union; but Clay became the pacificator, and chiefly by his efforts what has ever since been known as the Missouri Compromise was accepted, admitting Missouri as a slave State, but prohibiting slavery in all of the Louisiana territory north of 36 degrees and 30 minutes north latitude. This compromise did not fully satisfy either side, but it was accepted, and on the 10th of August, 1821, President Monroe proclaimed the admission of Missouri into the Union.

Monroe had the most unruffled period of rule ever known in the history of the Republic. Washington, with all his omnipotence, was fearfully beset by factional strife and the wrangles of ambition on every side, and there was no period of his two administrations in which he was not greatly fretted by the persistent and often desperate disputes among those who should have been his friends; but Monroe had an entirely peaceful reign, with the single exception of the slavery dispute over the Missouri question, and at the close of his term he retired to his home in Virginia entirely exhausted in fortune. For several years he acted as a Justice of the Peace, but his severely straitened circumstances finally compelled him to make his home with his son-in-law in New York, where he died in 1831, and, like Jefferson and Adams, on the 4th of July.

THE ADAMS-JACKSON-CRAWFORD-CLAY CONTEST

1824

With the re-election of Monroe in 1820, the Federal party had perished as a political factor; “King Caucus,” as the Congressional caucus for nominating national candidates had been generally designated, had fulfilled its mission, and none pretended that it could be revived to name the successor of Monroe. As Federalism was unfelt and unfeared, and as the Congressional caucus had lost its prestige and power, the Presidential field of 1824 invited a free-for-all race, and the discussion of the succession began actively as early as 1822. It seems unaccountable that the Republicans, after having had the benefit of the Congressional caucus to concentrate their vote on national candidates, did not conceive the idea of a general conference of representative Republicans from the different States to unite them on candidates for President and Vice-President, but no national convention was ever held by any party until the anti-Masons inaugurated it in Philadelphia in 1830, two years before the Presidential election of 1832.

As there was practically no Federal party, none but Republicans were discussed for the succession to Monroe. It is a common but erroneous idea that John Quincy Adams was in harmony with the Federal sentiment of his State and New England generally. After having filled a number of important offices, principally in diplomatic circles, he was elected to the United States Senate as a Federalist by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1802, but he heartily supported the administration of Jefferson, resulting in instructions passed by the Legislature demanding that he should change his political policy. He refused to obey the Legislative instructions, but resigned his seat in the Senate, and thenceforth he acted uniformly with the Republicans, and was Secretary of State during the eight years of Monroe’s administration.

While very many candidates were discussed for the succession, when the time came for concentration only six names remained, and three of those were members of the Monroe Cabinet. They were John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State; John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War; William H. Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury; Henry Clay, of Kentucky, who had been Speaker of the House; Ex-Governor De Witt Clinton, of New York, who was not then in official position, and General Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, who had been Senator, Representative, and Supreme Judge. Mr. Clay was presented to the people as a candidate for President by the Kentucky Legislature as early as the 18th of November, 1822, or two years before the election, and the Missouri Legislature also adopted a resolution about the same time recommending Mr. Clay. During the year 1823 the Legislatures of Illinois, Ohio, and Louisiana had also formally favored Clay.

General Jackson was first formally named for the Presidency by a mass-meeting in Blount County, Tenn., early in 1823, and that was followed up by various mass-meetings and local conventions in different parts of the Union. Mr. Adams, although not in sympathy with the Federalists, having earnestly supported the war with England against the Federal sentiment of his State, was presented as a candidate by the Legislature of Massachusetts, and it was seconded by most of the New England States during the early part of the year 1824.

Clinton was nominated by local mass-meetings in New York and Ohio. Calhoun was presented by the Legislature of South Carolina, and Crawford by the Legislature of Virginia. It is worthy of note that while Adams was the Premier of the administration, Crawford was obviously the favorite candidate of President Monroe, as the Legislature of Virginia recommended Crawford, and Virginia voted for him at the election.

All of these candidates were opposed to the Congressional caucus excepting Crawford, who had been the competitor of Monroe in the caucus in 1816. His friends made earnest effort to get the prestige of a caucus nomination, and 6 Senators and 5 Representatives from different States called a caucus to meet on the 14th of February, 1824, “to recommend candidates to the people of the United States for the office of President and Vice-President.” That call was met by a card signed by 24 Republican Senators and members declaring that of the 261 Senators and Representatives there were 81 who were opposed to the caucus. The caucus was held, however, but only 66 members appeared, a majority of whom were from 4 States, and 8 States were not represented at all. A motion to adjourn to meet some weeks later was opposed by Mr. Van Buren and rejected. A ballot was then had for President, when Crawford received 64, Adams 2, Jackson 1, and Macon 1. Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania, was also nominated for Vice-President.

The caucus nomination was certainly a hindrance rather than a help to Crawford, as it concentrated his opponents to a very large extent. The caucus system had become very odious, and with 5 of the 6 candidates openly hostile to the caucus, it placed Crawford at a decided disadvantage. Gallatin, who was of foreign birth, was bitterly assailed, and a month before the election he withdrew his name as a candidate, but no attempt was made to give formal nomination to a successor for him on the ticket.

Strange as it may appear, Pennsylvania, the home of Gallatin, did not cordially respond to his nomination, and there was a decided preference in that State in favor of Calhoun for Vice-President. Calhoun and Clinton, being without any large measure of support, gradually dropped out of the Presidential contest, leaving Adams, Jackson, Crawford, and Clay to make the scrub race. There were 24 States to participate in the election, and New York, Vermont, Delaware, South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana chose their electors by their Legislatures, while Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois, and Kentucky chose electors by districts, and in the other States popular elections were held and electors chosen by general ticket.

An incident that occurred in the selection of electors by the Legislature of New York resulted in making Clay the fourth candidate in the Electoral College instead of the third. There were 3 of the electors chosen by the Legislature who were elected as Clay men by a combination between the Clay and Adams men, who in the Electoral College divided their votes between Adams, Crawford, and Jackson, and had they voted for Clay, as it was expected they would, Clay would have had 40 votes in the electoral colleges and Crawford only 38. As only the three highest candidates in the Electoral College could be returned to the House from which a choice had to be made, Crawford was thus returned instead of Clay, and if Clay had been returned, it is probable that Adams would not have been chosen President. The New York Legislature had a protracted contest in choosing electors. The combined strength of the candidates in the two Houses as shown by the 1st ballot was 60 for Crawford, 57 for Adams, and 39 for Clay. Finally a combination was made between the friends of Adams and Clay, and divided electors were chosen, by which Adams received 26 votes, Crawford 5, Clay 4, and Jackson 1. In Delaware the electors were divided by a like dispute in the Legislature.

The contest was not one of great bitterness, and in some States there was practically no contest at all. Massachusetts and Virginia, for instance, did not poll half their votes, as they were really not contested, one being conceded to Adams and the other to Crawford. The following is the popular vote of the States except where the electors were chosen by the Legislature, as nearly as it can be ascertained after the most exhaustive investigation of the records:

═════════════════╤═════════╤═════════╤═════════╤═════════
STATES. │ Jackson.│ Adams. │Crawford.│ Clay.
─────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Maine[6] │ ―――――― │ 10,289 │ 2,336 │ ――――――
New Hampshire │ 643 │ 4,107 │ ―――――― │ ――――――
Vermont[7] │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ――――――
Massachusetts[6] │ ―――――― │ 30,687 │ 6,616 │ ――――――
Rhode Island │ ―――――― │ 2,145 │ 200 │ ――――――
Connecticut │ ―――――― │ 7,587 │ 1,978 │ ――――――
New York[7] │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ――――――
New Jersey │ 10,985 │ 9,110 │ 1,196 │ ――――――
Pennsylvania │ 36,100 │ 5,440 │ 4,206 │ 1,609
Delaware[7] │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ――――――
Maryland[6] │ 14,523 │ 14,632 │ 3,646 │ 695
Virginia │ 2,861 │ 3,189 │ 8,489 │ 416
North Carolina │ 20,415 │ ―――――― │ 15,621 │ ――――――
South Carolina[7]│ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ――――――
Georgia[7] │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ――――――
Alabama │ 9,443 │ 2,416 │ 1,680 │ 67
Mississippi │ 3,234 │ 1,694 │ 119 │ ――――――
Louisiana[7] │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ ――――――
Kentucky[6] │ 6,455 │ ―――――― │ ―――――― │ 17,321
Tennessee │ 20,197 │ 216 │ 312 │ ――――――
Missouri │ 987 │ 311 │ ―――――― │ 1,401
Ohio │ 18,457 │ 12,280 │ ―――――― │ 19,255
Indiana │ 7,343 │ 3,095 │ ―――――― │ 5,315
Illinois[6] │ 1,901 │ 1,542 │ 219 │ 1,047
├─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Totals │ 153,544 │ 108,740 │ 46,618 │ 47,136
═════════════════╧═════════╧═════════╧═════════╧═════════

[6] By districts.

[7] By Legislature.

The popular vote as given in the foregoing table does not fully represent the relative strength of the opposition candidates to Jackson. There were what were called “Opposition” tickets, “People’s” tickets, and “Convention” tickets voted in different States. It will be seen that Jackson received no votes in New England excepting a few in New Hampshire, and in most of those States electoral tickets were known as “Opposition” designed to concentrate all the opposition to Adams, and in North Carolina the Jackson ticket was voted as the “People’s” ticket, but no more intelligent and satisfactory presentation of the popular vote can be gathered from the records than that presented.

The following is the vote of the Electoral College:

═══════════════╤══════════════════════════════════╦═════════════════════════════════════════════════════
│ PRESIDENT. ║ VICE-PRESIDENT.
├────────┬──────┬─────────┬────────╫────────┬────────┬─────────┬────────┬──────┬─────────
STATES │Andrew │J. Q. │ W. H. │H. Clay,║John C. │ Nathan │Nathaniel│ Andrew │M. Van│H. Clay,
│Jackson,│Adams,│Crawford,│ Ky. ║Calhoun,│Sanford,│ Macon, │Jackson,│Buren,│ Ky.
│Tenn. │Mass. │ Ga. │ ║ S. C. │ N. Y. │ N. C. │ Tenn. │ N. Y.│
───────────────┼────────┼──────┼─────────┼────────╫────────┼────────┼─────────┼────────┼──────┼─────────
Maine │ ―― │ 9 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 9 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Hampshire │ ―― │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ ――
Vermont │ ―― │ 7 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Massachusetts │ ―― │ 15 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 15 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Rhode Island │ ―― │ 4 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Connecticut │ ―― │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― ║ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 8 │ ―― │ ――
New York │ 1 │ 26 │ 5 │ 4 ║ 29 │ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
New Jersey │ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ 8 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Pennsylvania │ 28 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ 28 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Delaware │ ―― │ 1 │ 2 │ ―― ║ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 2
Maryland │ 7 │ 3 │ 1 │ ―― ║ 10 │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ ――
Virginia │ ―― │ ―― │ 24 │ ―― ║ ―― │ ―― │ 24 │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
North Carolina │ 15 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ 15 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
South Carolina │ 11 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ 11 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Georgia │ ―― │ ―― │ 9 │ ―― ║ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 9 │ ――
Alabama │ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Mississippi │ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Louisiana │ 3 │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Kentucky │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 14 ║ 7 │ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Tennessee │ 11 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ 11 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Missouri │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 3 ║ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 3 │ ―― │ ――
Ohio │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ 16 ║ ―― │ 16 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Indiana │ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― ║ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
Illinois │ 2 │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― ║ 3 │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ―― │ ――
├────────┼──────┼─────────┼────────╫────────┼────────┼─────────┼────────┼──────┼─────────
Total │ 99 │ 84 │ 41 │ 37 ║ 182 │ 30 │ 24 │ 13 │ 9 │ 2
═══════════════╧════════╧══════╧═════════╧════════╩════════╧════════╧═════════╧════════╧══════╧═════════

Jackson led the popular vote, as was generally expected, and next to him is Adams, with Clay third and Crawford fourth. While all of the 4 candidates were regarded as Republicans as between Federalism and Republicanism, the friends of Adams in a number of the States fought the battle under the title of National Republicans, and the supporters of Jackson, who represented the more Democratic element of the opponents of Federalism, entitled themselves in some States the Democratic Republicans. As was generally expected, there was no choice for President, as no one of the 4 candidates had a majority of either the popular or electoral votes, but Calhoun was elected Vice-President by a large majority, having received the support of the Adams men generally in New England, and of the Jackson men in Pennsylvania, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and indeed in all of the Southern States, excepting Georgia, Kentucky, and Missouri.

Thus for the second time in the history of the Republic the Presidential election was remanded to the House for final decision, and the names of Jackson, Adams, and Crawford, the three highest in the Electoral College, were returned to that body from which a choice had to be made by a majority of the States. Although Clay had received less votes than Crawford, he was a very much more potent factor in deciding the contest between the three candidates than Crawford could have been, and it soon became evident that the friends of Clay were in much closer accord and sympathy with Adams than they were with the friends of either Crawford or Jackson. Clay certainly had no love for Jackson, as Jackson was not accredited with any great qualities of statesmanship, and it was the general apprehension that Clay would control the election in favor of Adams that made the friends of Jackson publish the accusation of “bargain and sale” between Adams and Clay, by which Clay was to make Adams President and receive the position of Premier under the administration. Although the Legislature of Kentucky had requested the Congressmen from that State to vote for Jackson, there were well-known reasons, both public and personal, why Clay could not favor Jackson, and on the first ballot in the House Adams received the votes of 13 States, with 7 for Jackson and 4 for Crawford. The majority of the delegation of each State decided how the vote should be cast, and the following table shows not only how the vote of each State was given, but the divisions in the different delegations in deciding between the three candidates:

═══════════════╤═════════╤═════════╤═════════╤═══════════
STATES. │ Adams. │ Jackson.│Crawford.│ Vote for—
───────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────────
Maine │ 7 │ ―― │ ―― │ Adams.
New Hampshire │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ Adams.
Vermont │ 5 │ ―― │ ―― │ Adams.
Massachusetts │ 12 │ 1 │ ―― │ Adams.
Rhode Island │ 2 │ ―― │ ―― │ Adams.
Connecticut │ 6 │ ―― │ ―― │ Adams.
New York │ 18 │ 2 │ 14 │ Adams.
New Jersey │ 1 │ 5 │ ―― │ Jackson.
Pennsylvania │ 1 │ 25 │ ―― │ Jackson.
Delaware │ ―― │ ―― │ 1 │ Crawford.
Maryland │ 5 │ 3 │ 1 │ Adams.
Virginia │ 1 │ 1 │ 19 │ Crawford.
North Carolina │ 1 │ 2 │ 10 │ Crawford.
South Carolina │ ―― │ 9 │ ―― │ Jackson.
Georgia │ ―― │ ―― │ 7 │ Crawford.
Alabama │ ―― │ 3 │ ―― │ Jackson.
Mississippi │ ―― │ 1 │ ―― │ Jackson.
Louisiana │ 2 │ 1 │ ―― │ Adams.
Kentucky │ 8 │ 4 │ ―― │ Adams.
Tennessee │ ―― │ 9 │ ―― │ Jackson.
Missouri │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ Adams.
Ohio │ 10 │ 2 │ 2 │ Adams.
Indiana │ ―― │ 3 │ ―― │ Jackson.
Illinois │ 1 │ ―― │ ―― │ Adams.
├─────────┼─────────┼─────────┤
│ 87 │ 71 │ 54 │
═══════════════╧═════════╧═════════╧═════════╧═══════════

The administration of John Quincy Adams will be regarded by the careful and dispassionate student of American history as the model government of the Republic. He was the most accomplished scholar who ever filled the position, and surpassed all others in general and accurate intelligence. He was a tireless student until the day of his death, and he had no taste and no fitness for political manipulation. He removed but two men from office during his four years in the Presidency, and they were dismissed for very good cause, and in the discharge of his official duties he looked solely to what he conceived to be the interests of the nation.

He made no efforts to popularize himself personally; was regarded as austere and unapproachable, but he was always courteous, and the arts of the demagogue had no place in the Executive Mansion. He was the real author of the Monroe Doctrine, and earnestly attempted to accomplish what Blaine struggled to accomplish three-quarters of a century later—that is, the unity of the South American governments in sympathy with our Government. His Cabinet was not in political harmony, but as he regarded politics as entirely outside of Cabinet duties, he never took note of political disagreements. He aimed to win a re-election solely by deserving the considerate approval of the American people. After his defeat he returned to his home in Massachusetts, but was soon elected to Congress, where he continued until his death in 1848.

As an illustration of the careful methods of his life my own experience in obtaining his autograph serves a good purpose. A few weeks before his death, when I was the editor of a village newspaper and ambitious to have the autographs of the celebrated men of the country, I wrote him asking for an autograph letter. I received no reply, and after his death was announced I assumed that the letter had gone into the waste basket; but three months after his death I received a letter franked by Louise Catharine Adams (widows of Presidents were then accorded the franking privilege), and the envelope contained only the autograph of John Quincy Adams, clipped from a public document that he had franked. The pressure of duties had prevented him from answering my letter, but the fact that it was answered by his wife so long after his death is evidence that many letters had accumulated, all of which were answered by Mrs. Adams. He fitly died in the Capitol of the nation. He was stricken with paralysis during a session of the House, and died on the following day, having written, as I believe, the most lustrous political record of any of our statesmen, with the single exception of Abraham Lincoln.

THE JACKSON-ADAMS-CLAY CONTESTS

1828–32

The election of Jackson to the Presidency in 1828 was not in any sense a revolution as to the general policy of the Government, but it was a decided revolution in the political methods of our national administrations. Madison, Monroe, and Adams were not confronted by the spoils system. They never entertained the question of removing men from office to reward political friends or to punish political enemies.

The civil service system of the Government under those administrations was an ideal system, but the Jackson leaders openly inspired the followers of their favorite to earnest political action by the declaration that “to the victors belong the spoils.” That slogan was first heard in the Jackson-Adams campaign of 1828, and when Jackson succeeded, for the first time Washington was overrun with a countless host of greedy spoilsmen, clamoring for the dismissal of every man who had not supported Jackson.

Jackson himself was thoroughly committed to the policy of political proscription, and from that day until the present time it has been generally accepted that a change of politics in the national administrations means a general change of the now enormous army of Federal officers, excepting as it is feebly restrained by all parties professing devotion to a civil service system with none honestly maintaining it.

When it is remembered that Jackson was defeated by Adams in 1824, although having more popular and electoral votes than Adams, it is not surprising that the friends of Jackson became intensely embittered, and they opened the campaign of 1828 immediately after the inauguration of Adams in 1825. In the Southwest, where Jackson lived and had his chief strength outside of Pennsylvania, the cockpit, the race-course and the gaming-table were favorite amusements, and the people were strongly prejudiced against what they regarded as the aristocratic power that had been maintained by the Virginia Presidents and continued by Adams. They had a candidate who enthused his followers to the uttermost, and the quiet citizens of Washington, long used to the delectable and cultivated official circles which had prevailed from Washington to the second Adams, were shocked at the mob of Democratic place-hunters who crowded into the Capitol when Jackson became President, and had access to the White House regardless of conventionality, where Jackson is reported to have smoked his corn-cob pipe during his greeting of visitors. With Jackson came the spoils system that has done so much to demoralize the politics of the Republic.

Jackson held a very strong position before the nation, not only because of his triumph over the British at New Orleans, but because of the high civil positions which he had filled with reasonable credit, but without displaying any high standard of statesmanship. He aided in framing the Tennessee Constitution in 1796, and was elected as the first Representative in Congress by the people after the admission of the State, then entitled to only one member.

He had been an ardent supporter of Jefferson in his first contest with the elder Adams, and in 1797 he was elected to the United States Senate, but he resigned a year later to become a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, where he served until 1804, and was again elected Senator in 1823. He had filled all those important civil positions before he had attained any military distinction. He had served in the last year of the war of the revolution as a boy, and the only thing notable that is preserved of his military record of that day is the tradition that after he had been captured by the British he was wounded by an English officer because he refused to clean the officer’s boots.

It is not likely that he ever would have been a prominent candidate for President but for the fact that he defeated the English in the battle of New Orleans on the 8th of January, 1815. Had there been steamships, cables, and telegraphs at that time Jackson could never have commanded the hero worship that twice elected him President and made him practically political dictator.