USA > Alabama > The formative period in Alabama, 1815-1828 > Part 11
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" For a sketch of Clay's career, see Pickett, History of Alabama. 648- 653.
> Southern Advocate, Jan. 12, 1827; Huntsville Democrat, Dec. 29, 1826
LOCAL POLITICS AND FEDERAL RELATIONS, 1824-1828 115
Democrat and Advocate upon the subject of party, when it assumed a more tangible shape. The principal cause of com: plaint, as well as I now recollect, against what was termed the Royal party, was the statute of February, 1818, the combin- ation of certain men to procure its passage, and the aid af- forded by the Huntsville bank to those men, to obtain funds to lend at exorbitant interest."?
This election, in which no question of policy was involved, and in which the two candidates seem to have been so nearly equal in regard to fitness for popular leadership,yet which was waged with so much bitterness of partisan feeling, marks the point at which the popular party, having gained an undis- puted ascendancy, was becoming a prey to factious contests among its leaders. The struggle, though close, resulted in fa- vor of Mckinley.10
But Kelly and the Democrat did not mean to be without an issue of some sort. The fight against the Supreme Court judges was pressed. Kelly brought charges before the legis- lature against three of them on the plea that their decision of 1827 had gone counter to the precedent established by the cas- es of 1824 and that this was an improper application of law on their part. The complaint was not sustained, however, and the judges were exonerated by an overwhelming vote.11 But the matter was not allowed to drop here. A constitutional amendment reducing judicial tenure from the period of good behaviour to a term of six years was passed by the legislature in 1827; approved the next year by popular vote, 12 and incor- porated as the first amendment to the State constitution in 1830.
But while the disintegration of the Crawford faction after 1824 had deprived local politics of a real issue, national ques- tions were coming more to the front. On some of these, such as the tariff, internal improvements, and slavery, the popular mind was well made up. On others, such as Indian policy and state rights, there was much more divergence of opinion. No one in the State had formulated any policies in regard to these questions, nor were there any political divisions along these lines. The legislature had to act from time to time on ques- tions connected with such subjects, but the votes showed no
9 Huntsville Democrat, Oct. 27, 1826.
10 Alabama, Senate Journal. 1826. 20-21.
11 Alabama, Senate Journal, 1826, 193.
12 Alabama, Senate Journal, 1828, 76; Mobile Register, Nov. 21, 1828.
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THE FORMATIVE PERIOD IN ALABAMA
definite alignments and seem to have been dictated by person- al convictions or temporary considerations.
As to the tariff, there was a general and strong conviction that it was wrong to tax the agriculture of one section of the country for the benefit of the manufactures of another. Yet there was a minority, led by the Southern Advocate and the supporters of Adams, which advocated a "competitive" tariff and insisted that the South must develop manufactures.
The interest of Alabama in the Muscle Shoals and the Coosa- Hiwassee canal projects, and the proposed road from Wash- ington to New Orleans, brought about a general demand for internal improvements constructed with Federal aid.13 This threw the State astride on the question of state rights, for it was difficult to support improvements and denounce the tar- iff at the same time; and Randolph and Macon were never tired of warning that to give the Government the right to con- struct public works within the states would give it the right also to free the slaves.
This situation necessitated a certain amount of hedging when it became necessary to formulate general political doc- trines, or to make out a case for favorite presidential aspir- ants. Before the election of 1828, Jackson was questioned as to his views and replied that they were the same as they had been in 1824 when he supported the tariff and internal im- provement measures.1+ The friends of Adams stated that no distinction between the two men could be made on these grounds, and the contention, at this time, was at least reason- able. The preference for Jackson was personal, sectional, and democratic.
But while the position of Alabama was not strictly logical according to the political schools of the time, it was practical and well-defined. Very little sympathy was extended to Troup while he was making his fight against the Administra- tion on the question of the removal of the Creek Indians; and Georgia was roundly denounced for presuming that one state could upset the operations of the National Government.15 The prevalent opinion was that both Troup and Adams had behav-
13 The Southern Advocate for Sept. 19, 1828, published toasts drunk at a dinner given the Congressional delegation of Alabama. Here the tariff was condemned and internal improvements supported.
14 Southern Advocate, April 25, 1828. Jackson's letter is dated Feb- ruary 28, 1828.
15 Southern Adr crte, Oct. 14. 1825, March 16, 1827; Huntsville Dem- ocrat, Sept. 16, 1825, July 29, 1825; Tuscumbian, Nov. 7, 1825.
LOCAL POLITICS AND FEDERAL RELATIONS, 1824-1828 117
ed rashly; that the Government was under obligations to re- move the Indians from the State ; and that Adams had blunder-' ed when he threatened to use Federal troops to enforce his policy, just as Troup had erred in his attitude of uncompro- mising defiance. The original treaty with the Indians, which was later annulled and became the bone of contention, had se- cured a small tract of the Creek lands which lay within the limits of Alabama. Governor Murphy raised the question whether a third party could be deprived of rights under a con- tract even though it were not enforced as to the contracting parties.16 The question was taken up in the legislature and a bill passed extending the jurisdiction of the State over the lands concerned.17 But this was looked upon as merely the testing of a legal proposition, and the matter was carried no further.
A more severe strain upon the loyalty of the State came when the "tariff of abominations" was passed in 1828. There was universal dissatisfaction and even disgust with the policy pursued. It was felt that the interests of the cotton states were being sacrificed to the ambition of the manufacturing district and, whether it was wise, whether it was constitution- al as the Constitution had originally been intended, there is no question but that the planters were right as to the practical bearing of the situation. Protests went up on all sides; the development of home manufactures was urged; and the boy- cotting of imports from the manufacturing states was advocat- ed. It was even urged that it would be possible to lay duties upon such imports, but it was always made clear that all re- sistance was to be peaceable. When forcible resistance was suggested or threatened in resolutions which were brought up before the legislature, the portentous clauses were stricken out by decisive votes;18 and Senator Willam R. King, while con- demning the tariff in an address at Selma, made the following statement :
"With a view, Gentlemen, to effect political objects, a sys- tematic effort has been made to impress the belief upon the people of our country, that the high minded and patriotic in-
16 Alabama, Senate Journal, 1826, 11.
17 Alabama, Sessional Acts, 1826, 32.
18 Alabama, Senate Journal, 1826, 101-102; Ibid., 1828, 207. In the latter instance there were stricken from a resolution condemning the tar- iff the following words: "and that open and unqualified resistance should only be the dernier ressort."
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THE FORMATIVE PERIOD IN ALABAMA
habitants of the South and South West-the advocates and supporters of a most, distinguished and meritorious citizen- . are engaged in planning the dissolution of our union; the de- struction of this federative Government-the legacy of our patriotic and sainted Fathers."19
On this occasion the following toasts were drunk: "The Union of the States -- Palsied be the arm that shall be raised to sever it," and, "The Tariff-Unconstitutional in principle, un- just and unequal in its operation-We will not oppose it with violence and passion, but by relying on our own resources."20 The editor of the Mobile Register, referring to an address of the citizens of Colleton district, South Carolina, wrote: "We will frankly declare, it was not from the State of South Caro- lina that we ever expected a proposition the bare contempla- tion of which must cause the heart of a patriot to sink within him."21
But there was another movement on foot which led in a dif- ferent direction and which was big with meaning for the fu- ture. This movement, though not original in conception, was a new influence in Alabama and it was important at that time only because its leader, who knew what he believed and where he was going, was able to fit his purpose to the material in hand and secure the temporary support of men who did not understand whither he was leading them. This new influence is interesting not only because of its significance for the fu- ture, but for its connection with the past.
Dixon H. Lewis was born, according to Yancey's sketch of him,22 in Hancock County, Virginia, in 1802. His father was among those Virginians who moved to Georgia in the days when upland cotton was coming to supplant tobacco as the main agricultural staple of the South. From Georgia he mov- ed to Autauga County, Alabama, in 1820.
Young Lewis studied law at Cahawba in the office of Henry Hitchcock, a New England man who had come out to Alabama as secretary to the Territorial governor, and who was now At- torney General of the State. The political influence in the life of Lewis was exerted largely by his uncle, Bolling Hall, the Georgia Congressman who had come to Alabama with Tait,
19 Huntsville Democrat, Nov. 7, 1828.
20 Southern Advocate, Nov. 7, 1828.
21 Mobile Register, July 12, 1828.
22 Obituary of Dixon Hall Lewis, MS. Yancey Papers. See also Dixon H. Lewis, by T. M. Williams, in Alabama Polytechnic Institute Histori- cal Studies, 1912.
LOCAL POLITICS AND FEDERAL RELATIONS, 1824-1828 119
Walker, and the other supporters of Crawford. Hall was not only a friend of Crawford, but of Nathaniel Macon, John Tay- lor, and others who had long stood for strict construction of the Constitution.
The views of Lewis were essentially the views of these men, whom Alabama had heard from afar and ignored. But in 1826 the gigantic young lawyer won a spirited election in Montgomery County and went up to the legislature to make his debut in politics. He had not been there more than twenty- four hours when he drew up a set of resolutions condemning the exercise of implied, constructive, and unconstitutional powers on the part of the Federal Government, and had it pre- sented before the Senate by his friend, Matt Clay. These resolutions were passed with but one dissenting vote after there had been stricken from them the following clause :
"Resolved, That we believe the time has again arrived when it is necessary for the States to assert their constitutional rights, and with becoming firmness to resist the increasing progress of federal power."23
In pursuance of his views, Lewis took up the Indian ques- tion and in 1828 presented a report in the House of Repre- sentatives in which it was argued that the State had jurisdic- tion over the natives within her borders and that the United States had no right to interfere between them.2+ Along with the report he presented a bill proposing to extend the juris- diction of the State over the Creeks, and though almost every member of the House at first disapproved the idea, the measure was finally passed, receiving the bulk of its support from the counties bordering the Creek reservation.25
But it was not only on National questions that Lewis had convictions. He had inherited from Bolling Hall and the Crawford men a sincere dislike for the State Bank and, though at this time the foundations of that institution were unassail- able, he began to attack it at vulnerable points. There had been a noisy contest in the legislature over the question as to whether that body was permitted to inspect the private ac- counts of the bank. The cashier refused to show the private books to the visiting committee and the opponents of the in- stitution at once raised their voices in protest. They appar- ently failed in their attempt to cast discredit upon the manage-
23 Alabama, Senate Journal. 1826, 101-102.
'24 Alabama, House Journal. 1828, 220, 223.
25 Ibid., 263.
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THE FORMATIVE PERIOD IN ALABAMA
ment. The procedure of Lewis was less spectacular, but more to the point."" The legislature was in the habit of levying tax- es in excess of disbursements and using the balance for bank- ing purposes. It was this practice which Lewis now attacked and succeeded in stopping.27
The attitude of the new leader on the question of the State Bank brings out his connection with the earlier opponents of the popular party. but the manner in which political ground had shifted is shown by the fact that, when resolutions pro- posing Jackson for the Presidency were to be brought before the legislature in 1827, it was Lewis who was chosen to pre- sent them.
After condemning the existing Administration because it had departed from the principle of strict construction ; because it had accepted internal improvements as a fixed policy-and one destructive of State sovereignty; because of its attitude on the Panama mission ; and because it had adopted the policy of encouraging one industry at the expense of another by pro- hibitory duties ; the resolutions go on to say :
"Another prominent act of Mr. Adams requires particular notice, viz : his threat to employ military force against one of the sovereign members of the confederacy. So great a want of temper, such an entire misconception of the character of the American people, and so extraordinary a claim to power is be- lieved to be unparalleled in the history of any preceding ad- ministration. More forbearance might have been expected from a prince of unlimited powers to one of the most rebel- lious provinces of his dominions. Before any negotiation of a friendly character was attempted, or even a measure of com- promise proposed, the State of Georgia was threatened with the military force of the Union for the purpose of forcing her into an unconstitutional abandonment of substantial rights of sovereignty, secured to her by the solemn stipulation of treaty -This State cannot but share some portion of the responsi- bility thrown upon Georgia in this matter, inasmuch as an en- actment of the last legislature, and a resolution of the same body recognized the principles for which Georgia was then contending. As Alabamians, therefore, the committee feel bound to protest against this violent measure of the President of the United States. To counteract so powerful an
26 Cahawba Press, March 18, 1826.
27 Yancey, Obituary Notice of Lewis, 15; See House Journal, 1826, 223-224, for report on finances.
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LOCAL POLITICS AND FEDERAL RELATIONS, 1824-1828 121
influence, a systematic effort is required of the people, and a concentration of their entire strength on some distinguished individual."28
General Jackson was named as that individual and the res- olutions passed by a vote of fifty-four to eight, but they do not represent the kind of Jacksonism which was characteristic of the earlier supporters of the General. The young lawyer from Montgomery had a remarkable faculty for bringing the legis- lature to his way of thinking when he did not have strong con- victions to overcome, and here was a fine denunciation of Adams. It was gladly accepted because it served the purpose in hand, and no one thought it worth-while to criticise its purely negative support, of Jackson and its very positive sup- port of state rights, to which the majority of the people did not subscribe.
Though Adams electors were nominated, the General car- ried the State almost without opposition29 and soon entered upon the administration that was to see the birth of questions which would divide his followers. In Alabama, under the leadership of Lewis, the planters were to add a plea for the safety of the slave states to their old distrust of mass-govern- ment, and divide the Commonwealth into two distinct, well- defined, and fairly-balanced parties.
28 Alabama, House Journal, 1827, 182 et seq.
29 The Huntsville Democrat for Dec. 5, 1828, gives the vote as follows: Jackson, 13,384; Adams, 1,629.
CHAPTER XIII.
RELIGION, EDUCATION, AND THE PRESS
The press came into Alabama with the settlers and exer- cised a strong influence during the formative period of the State. The little four-page sheets which came out once or twice a week were largely taken up with advertisements and notices. A crude system of classifying advertisements enabl- ed the reader to select readily those in which he was interest- ed. This was accomplished by inserting a small cut indica- tive of the subject-matter; a picture of a tree, for instance, would indicate that the advertiser had land for sale; a cut of a house would show that buildings were for rent or sale; while a negro with a bundle swung over his shoulder at the end of a stick would proclaim the escape of a slave.
That portion of the paper, usually amounting to less than two of the four pages, which was devoted to the news was principally taken up with extracts from the leading papers of the older states. The most of these articles related to political affairs, but foreign news, though much belated, re- ceived relatively more attention than it does now. A florid style was typical of the press of that day, and words were used with especial freedom when a political subject claimed the attention of the editor or contributor. In fact, it seems to have been the universal practice to treat a political oppon- ent as a moral or mental delinquent.
The editors of the Alabama papers confined their remarks to one or two columns, where they expressed their opinions upon National politics, or subjects of local interest. Person- al affairs were never paraded in print, nor was mention ever made of social activities. This was due, not only to ideas of decorum which differ from ours, but also to the conception that the press was strictly a public institution. Letters from subscribers on political matters were frequently published, and these formed an important element in every discussion.
The first newspaper founded in Alabama was the Madison Gazette, established at Huntsville in 1812;1 in 1816 its name
1 Smith and DeLand (Pub.), Northern Alabama, 251.
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RELIGION, EDUCATION, AND THE PRESS
was changed to the Alabama Republican;2 and in 1825 this was consolidated with the Alabamian to become the Southern Advocate.3 John Boardman, a Massachusetts man who allied himself with the "Aristocratic Party" of Huntsville, was editor first of the Republican and later of the Advocate. He sup- ported Adams for the Presidency in 1824 and, though going over to Jackson in 1828, he always opposed the State Bank and its adherents.
In 1823 an opposition paper called the Democrat was found- ed at Huntsville.+ Its editor, Mr. William B. Long, of Ken- tucky, was a supporter of Clay. Claiming to be a leader of "the people" as opposed to "the aristocracy" and the Alabama Republican, he hotly took issue with Boardman on the ques- tion of the State Bank ; and presently came over to the support of Jackson for the Presidency. Crawford men, the Mer- chants' and Planters' Bank of Huntsville, and "aristocrats" in general were the particular antipathies of the Democrat; at the same time it was lenient toward those who combined the support of the State Bank with that of Adams. So bitter was its attitude toward its opponents that the successor of Long, a Mr. Andrew Wills, who had come from Virginia to Huntsville as a school teacher, was shot down on the street by a political enemy.
The storm center of Alabama was in the Tennessee Valley, and the Democrat and the Republican expressed the extreme views of the two factions. In the remainder of the State there was less agitation, the interior towns usually having but one paper which, while expressing its own views, took a mild attitude so as to retain the good-will of all moderate men.
. In Mobile, commercial affairs were given the precedence over politics. The first paper published here,-the Mobile Gazette,- was established in 1816 by a Mr. Cotton.3 In 1821, Mr. John Battelle, having established the Montgomery Repub- lican in the same year, formed a partnership with Mr. J. W. Townsend and founded the Mobile Commercial Register.6 John Battelle was a native of Boston and a member of the Alabama Company which helped to found the town of Montgomery. The Register supported Crawford for the Presidency, and in 1822
2 Betts, History of Huntsville, 80.
3 Southern Advocate, May 6, 1823.
+ Alabama Republican. Oct. 10, 1823.
3 Meek, Romantic Passages, 103-104.
6 Blue, History of Montgomery, 12.
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THE FORMATIVE PERIOD IN ALABAMA
it bought out the Gazette," a move which its enemies attribut- ed to politicai motives. Its principal interest was in com- mercial affairs, and it opposed the establishment of a State Bank upon the plan advocated by Pickens. In 1822, the Mo- bile Argus was founded by Charles A. Henry,s but the follow- ing year the firm of Nicholas and Henry succeeded to the ownership and changed the name to the Mercantile Advertis- er.9 This paper supported Adams for the Presidency, but, like practically all the others of that faith, it claimed "to do justice to all."
The Montgomery Republican, founded by Battelle in 1821, changed its name in 1825 and became the Montgomery Journ- al.10 It supported Adams from the first. The Cahawba Press, founded in 1819 at the State Capital by William B. Al- len,11 a native of Boston, joined the support of Adams with that of Pickens and the State Bank. In 1824, Allen sold his paper to a Mr. Lumpkin, but when the purchaser proceeded to support Crawford, the friends of the State Bank, both Jack- son and Adams men, combined to set Allen up in business again and to give a new lease of life to the Press.12 The fact that Allen, in spite of the competition of Lumpkin and others, was elected State printer as long as the capital remained at Ca- hawba, shows that the support of Adams was not particularly prejudicial to the popularity of an editor so long as he was a friend of "the people's Bank."13
In 1819, there were six papers in Alabama: the Alabama Republican of Huntsville, the Halcyon (established at St. Ste- phens in 1814), the Mobile Gazette, the Cahawba Press, the Blakely Sun, and the Tuscaloosa Mirror. By 1823 the num- ber had risen to ten,14 and the next year it amounted to fif- teen.15 During 1825, there were sixteen or seventeen papers published in the State,16 but the following year saw the num- ber reduced again to ten.17
T Mobile Register, May 9, 1822.
8 St. Stephens Halcyon, Nov. 2. 1822; Cahawba Press, Nov. 22, 1822.
9 Cahawba Press, Nov. 29, 1823.
10 Blue, History of Montgomery, 12.
11 Blue MS., Dallas County, 16.
12 Cahawba Press, Sept. 25, 1824; Tuscaloosa Mirror, Sept. 11, 1824.
13 Alabama, Senate Journal, 1823, 96-97; Ibid., 1824, 38-39; Ibid., 1825,
35. 14 Cahawba Press, June 21, 1823.
15 Alabama Republican, June 11, 1824.
16 Tuscumbian, April 18, 1825.
17 Huntsville Democrat, Sept. 15, 1826.
.
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RELIGION, EDUCATION, AND THE PRESS
The great publishing activity of 1824 was undoubtedly a re- sult of the presidential campaign of that year, and it speaks . much for the political influence of the press at that time. In 1824 it was said that, of the fifteen papers in Alabama, seven, edited by Northern men, were for Adams; but all of these ex- cept the Huntsville Republican, were published in the south- ern part of the State.15 Two years later, when the number of papers had been reduced to ten and the support of Jackson had become almost universal among the people, three publica- tions were said to have remained steadfast in their support of Adams, three or four were said to have opposed him consist- ently, while the rest maintained an uncertain attitude.19 The popularity of the New Englander in the Alabama press can be ascribed primarily to the northern origin of so many of the editors. The combination of the support of Pickens and the State Bank with that of Adams increased the popularity of publications which differed from the majority of their pat- rons on the subject of the Presidency. Nevertheless, there was a tendency among the newspaper men to modify their opinions gradually in order to accomodate themselves to the trend of public sentiment.
The early settlers of Alabama were not indifferent to the problem of education, and the grant of the sixteenth section in each township for local schools afforded a solid foundation upon which to build, but the results were not as favorable as might have been expected. In good agricultural districts, the sixteenth section usually yielded sufficient income to sup- port, or partially support, several schools with fairly well-paid teachers. But in areas where the soil was poor, there was little income from the land, and the zeal of the population was usually not sufficient to make up the deficit.20 Travelers
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