History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916, Part 2

Author: Stoll, John B., 1843-1926
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : Indiana Democratic Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1104

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Madison was, however, re-nominated in 1812 by the Congressional caucus, though the discontent in his own party was so great that fifty members absented them- selves. George Clinton, after serving nearly eight years as Vice-President, had died in office and been buried at Wash- ington, whence his remains were removed

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to New York one hundred years later. So the caucus nominated John Langdon of New Hampshire, the first president pro tem. of the Senate, for Vice-President, but he declined and a second caucus named Elbridge Gerry of "gerrymandering" fame in Massachusetts.

The re-nomination of Madison was fol- lowed by the first "bolt" in our national politics. The Republican members of the New York Legislature nominated their party leader in the State, DeWitt Clinton, as an opposition candidate. The Federal- ists made no nomination for President, but at a conference the leaders agreed to support Clinton and named Jared Inger- soll of Pennsylvania for Vice-President.

Thus the Republican party was divided, with the Federalists generally supporting Clinton. But the war he had been so averse to waging rallied to support Madi- son and he was elected by a vote of 122 to 89. DeWitt Clinton afterward took part in the organization of the Whig party, and as Governor of New York State achieved a national reputation and wonderfully aided the development of his own State and of the great West by the construction of the Erie Canal.

It is interesting to note in regard to the "war of 1812" that owing to the slowness of communication in those days, some of the events of the greatest political impor- tance connected with it actually took place after the treaty of peace had been signed. The signatures were affixed De- cember 24, 1814. The Hartford Conven- tion was then in session, and early in January passed the resolutions denounc- ing the war, which sealed the fate of the Federalists. Under a proclamation of President Madison, January 12 was ob- served as a day of fasting and prayer for peace, and more than all, on January 8, General Jackson, with 7,000 volunteers, defeated 10,000 British veterans, and won the battle of New Orleans, which victory made him President later on.

While the two elections of James Mon- roe have, because of the lack of opposi- tion, been termed the "era of good feel- ing," his path to the first nomination was by no means easy. He was not personal- ly popular. William H. Crawford, a Sena- tor from Georgia, was an aggressive candidate, and the Congressional caucus for nominating was already so unpopular that only 58 of the 141 Republican mem- bers attended on the first call. The in- fluence of Jefferson and Madison, how- ever, brought 118 to a second meeting, and Monroe, through the same influence, obtained eleven majority over Crawford. Daniel D. Tompkins of New York was named for Vice-President.

For a time the discontent seemed omi- nous. Public meetings were held in various parts of the country denouncing "King Caucus that seeks to control the people in the selection of their highest officers." At several of these meetings bitter addresses were made by Roger B. Taney, afterward Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Had there been a strong opposition party, Monroe might have been defeated; but the Federalists were so utterly discredited by the part some of their leaders had taken at the Hartford Convention that their open assistance would have been an in- jury to any candidate. The result was that no nomination was made against Monroe, and no national contest waged. The presidential electors of Connecticut, Delaware and Massachusetts, 34 in all, cast their votes for Rufus King of New York and Monroe received the remaining 183-of which Indiana furnished three.

This State had adopted a Constitution in June, 1816, and the Legislature had chosen presidential electors later on; but it was not admitted into the Union until December 17. At first an animated dis- cussion was held as to whether the votes should be counted, and the two houses of Congress separated to enable the House of Representatives to settle the question

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of eligibility. No action was taken, how- ever, but when the two houses again met the result was announced, including the vote of Indiana, which thus cast her first presidential vote for a Jeffersonian Re- publican candidate.

Madison retired to his farm in Virginia and interested himself in agricultural pur- suits. He took no active part in politics, but when the South Carolina nullifiers were quoting his Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of 1798 in justification of their nullification and secession doctrines, he wrote several powerful letters to demon- strate the fallacy of their reasoning. He died six days before the Fourth of July, 1836.

Monroe made John Quincy Adams his Secretary of State. During his adminis- tration of eight years, two moderately protective tariffs were passed, Florida was annexed, the first slavery conflict was adjusted by the Missouri Compromise, and the famous "Monroe Doctrine" in re- gard to European interference with America was promulgated. It was a period of recovery from war and of gen- eral growth and prosperity. Naturally cautious and conservative, Monroe had aroused no personal antagonisms during his first term. A general assent to the principle of two terms shut out ambitious competitors in his own party, and the utter disintegration of the Federalists had destroyed outside opposition. The regu- lar congressional caucus was called in 1820, but so few attended it that no nomi- nation was made, and Monroe repeated the experience of Washington in securing a unanimous electoral vote-with the ex- ception of one-without either nomina- tion or election contest. Tompkins was re-elected Vice-President.

In this election, following the Indiana precedent, the electoral vote of Missouri was counted, the State having adopted its constitution, though not having been ad- mitted into the Union.

Unlike some modern statesmen, Monroe had served his country so unselfishly that he had absorbed his private fortune, and he left the office of the presidency without means of support. For a time he served as justice of the peace in Virginia, and then found a home with his son-in-law in New York, where he died July 4, 1831. He was buried without ostentation, and his grave was left unmarked until a few years ago.

The presidential campaign of 1824 was a personal rather than a political contest. All the candidates were members of the Republican party, and there was no declaration of principles, as it was as- sumed that any of them would carry out the policy of previous administrations. While many candidates were discussed, only six were favorably presented. They were named by mass meetings and State Legislatures, and one, William H. Craw- ford, by the discredited Congressional caucus. Of the six, DeWitt Clinton of New York, who had run against Monroe in 1816, withdrew, and John C. Calhoun was transferred to the list for Vice-Presi- dent. The four that remained through the campaign were John Quincy Adams, Sec- retary of State; William H. Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury; Henry Clay, who had been Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Andrew Jackson, who had been United States Representa- tive and Senator, and Supreme Court Judge in his State, but who, above all, was "the Hero of New Orleans."

The contest did not develop any great bitterness, and resulted in no choice for President, though Calhoun was almost unanimously elected Vice-President. The electoral vote stood: Jackson, 99; Adams, 84; Crawford, 41; Clay, 37. The election accordingly went to the House, as between the three highest candidates. There the friends of Clay helped to elect Adams. Clay was made Secretary of State, and the Jackson men charged that there had

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been a "deal" in connection with the elec- tion. The charge was denied and is not now believed to have been well founded. But the bitterness aroused made a lasting break between Jackson and Clay, though both still belonged to the same political party. In this election the vote of Indiana both in the Electoral College and in the House of Representatives was cast for the idolized hero of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson.

The administration of John Quincy Adams conformed to the highest type of statesmanship. He treated the office as a public trust and not as either a personal or party perquisite. He made only two dismissals from office, and both for good cause. He favored internal improvements more than did his predecessors, but that was because the opening and developing of the West had created greater need for them. In fact, Jackson, when in Con- gress, by his votes sustained measures the same in principle. It should not be for- gotten that John Quincy Adams was not a Federalist, but a consistent and earnest supporter of Jefferson and his policies. Soon after his retirement from the Presi- dency he was elected to the House of Rep- resentatives, where he continued to serve his country until his death in 1848. He literally died in service, having been stricken with apoplexy at his seat in the House.

The presidential campaign of 1828 be- gan almost as soon as Adams had been inaugurated, when the Legislature of Ten- nessee presented the name of Jackson as his successor. Criticisms of Adams' ad- ministration revived much of the asperi- ties and resentments of the old Republican and Federalist campaigns. Mass meet- ings and resolutions of Legislatures fol- lowed one another in rapid succession, on the one hand urging the election of Jack- son and on the other recommending the re-election of Adams.

The campaign soon developed into a contest between the old party leaders who had managed affairs, chosen the candi- dates and held the offices, and a newer, more uncouth, but more vigorous element that had been developed with the growing country.

The name Republican was still retained by all, but with qualifying adjectives. The supporters of Adams called themselves National Republicans, while many of those of Jackson, probably having never heard of the obnoxious societies thirty or forty years before, took the name "Democratic- Republican." There were, however, no national conventions, no platforms of principles, no declarations of policy. The contest, like that of 1824, was personal, and the more common designations were "Adams men," or "Jackson men." The Jackson men won by an electoral vote of 178 to 83, and Calhoun was elected Vice- President on the same ticket. Indiana had cast her vote for Jackson and Calhoun.

Verification of the statement that po- litical alignments during that period were more personal than partisan is found in the fact that Indiana gave a majority for Jackson in three successive presidential elections. In 1824. the popular vote of In- diana was 7,343 for Jackson, 5,315 for Clay, 3,095 for Adams. In 1828 the vote was recorded 22,237 for Jackson, 17,652 for Adams. In 1832 Jackson had 31,552 and Clay 15,472. When, four years later, in 1836, the contest was between Jackson's favorite, Martin Van Buren, and William Henry Harrison, the latter carried the State quite decisively-41,281 for Harri- son and 32,480 for Van Buren. The same candidates were pitted against one an- other in 1840, and Harrison's majority over his competitor was greater than in the preceding election, the vote being 65,- 362 for Harrison and 51,695 for Van Buren. The fact that General Harrison had been Territorial Governor of Indiana prior to its admission into the Union

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doubtless had much to do with this par- tiality for the military candidate. The fact that Van Buren was "Jackson's man" in both of these elections did not have sufficient weight with the voting element to secure for him a majority of the State's electorate. In 1824 Jackson carried the State by a plurality of only 1,928, while four years later his majority over Adams was 4,585. In 1832 Jackson beat Clay by more than two to one-to be exact, by a majority of 16,080. The increase of the vote at each succeeding presidential elec- tion bears eloquent testimony to the re- markable growth of population of the State.

The election of Jackson was partly the result and partly the cause of a thorough revolution in the politics of the country. It was the culmination of a change in po- litical conditions that had been going on since the foundation of the government, but more especially since 1810, when the younger element took control of Madison's administration. In the older States suf- frage had originally been limited to prop- erty qualifications. In the new States it. was granted to every white male of twen- ty-one. In earlier years presidential elec- tors were chosen by the State Legisla- tures, but the broadening of the suffrage had led to a demand that the electors be chosen directly by the people; so that in 1828 they were so elected in all the States but one, and that one, South Carolina. In the earlier years, candidates were named by persons already holding office, or by cliques of self-constituted leaders, but Jackson's nomination had been started in mass meetings. In the earlier years office holding had been confined to the cultured, aristocratic class, and though the term was not employed there was virtually a merit or civil service system of terms of office. Jackson's followers openly de- manded a share in the offices, and many of the more active came on to Washington to secure them. New men had also been

elected to Congress and the various State offices, and they were present everywhere, to the horror and disgust of the old party leaders, who spoke derisively of the "tri- umphant reign of king mob" and the "mil- lennium of the minnows"-small-fry. To such there seemed a fearful chasm be- tween the life of 1820 and that of 1829. As one disgusted "patriot" expressed it, "Political affairs had fallen into the hands of John Holmes, Felix Grundy and the devil." There was a general change of federal office holders all over the country. The test was not of party faith or allegi- ance, for all were Republicans. No Fed- eralist had held an office for a dozen years. The shibboleth for the incumbent applied alike to the country postmaster and the highest federal appointee, was: "Is he a Jackson man?" If "Yes," he stayed; if "No," he left or was removed. The prin- ciple, "To the victors belong the spoils," which Jackson proclaimed and vigorously applied, has no doubt been grievously mis- used to the great detriment of the coun- try, but it wrought a benefit at the time by bringing the government into closer sympathy with the mass of the people.

The truth is that in 1829 the people first assumed control of the governmental ma- chinery, which up to that time had been held in a sort of trust for them by political leaders; and the administration which then came into power was the first in our history which represented the people without restriction and which, therefore, presented not only the virtues but the faults of the people. Hence, in every es- sential this administration was Demo- cratic-the people ruling.

This was the origin of the great Demo- cratic party of the nation. It sprang, in- deed, as did the Whig party a little later, from the old Republican party of Jeffer- son, and for a time bore the hyphenated name, "Democratic-Republican."

The formal assumption of the single name, "Democrat," did not, however, take

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place for several years-not, indeed, until most of the old Jeffersonian Republicans had retired from active political life. In the campaign of 1832 the Democratic-Re- publicans supported Jackson, and the Na- tional Republicans Henry Clay. An Anti- Masonic party was also in the field, with William Wirt of Maryland as its candi- date. Jackson received 219 electoral votes; Clay, 49; Wirt, 7, and South Caro- lina cast 11 for John Floyd of Virginia, who had not been a candidate. Wirt got his 7 votes from Vermont.

In 1836 the Democratic-Republicans nominated Martin Van Buren, who had been Vice-President during Jackson's sec- ond term. The Anti-Masons and part of the Whigs named William Henry Harri- son; another portion of the Whigs nomi- nated Daniel Webster, and Judge Hugh L. White of Tennessee was put forward as an anti-Jackson Democratic-Repub- lican. The opposition to Van Buren con- solidated on one candidate in each State. The result was 170 for Van Buren, 113 for the other three, and South Carolina again casting her 11 votes for a man who had not been a candidate, William P. Mangrun of North Carolina. Indiana, unmindful of the fact that Van Buren was Jackson's choice, voted for William Henry Harrison.

By 1840 the opposition to the Demo- cratic-Republicans had been consolidated into the Whig party. The former re- nominated Van Buren, and the latter again named Harrison.

For popular enthusiasm the campaign resembled that of 1828, only this time the enthusiasm was for the Whigs. Harrison

had 234 and Van Buren 60 electoral votes, the former carrying every Northern State except Illinois and New Hampshire-In- diana thus going with the Whigs.

The National Convention of 1844 made the first formal use of the name "Demo- crat" for the party really formed by Jack- son sixteen years before, and that name has ever since been retained. It popular- ly, and very properly, reverts back to Jackson's administration. Samuel J. Til- den, moreover, continued the use of the name Democratic-Republican so long as he was chairman of his party's State com- mittee prior to his election as Governor of New York in 1874. In the following pages the Democratic party of Indiana will be treated as dating from 1828, though as a matter of fact Jefferson will ever be cherished as the founder and exponent of American Democracy. Although it has sometimes severely suffered from the folly or selfishness of leaders it had trusted, and although it has changed the details of its policy to meet changing conditions in the country's development, it has ever re- mained fundamentally true to Jefferson's liberal teachings and Jackson's unfalter- ing confidence in the common people.

History has been termed collated biog- raphy. As this introductory chapter has told of the political actors and their deeds in leading up to the formation of the Na- tional Democratic party, so the history of Indiana's Democracy will be prefaced by a sketch of the activities of the political leaders during the twelve years that In- diana did her part in the old Jeffersonian Republican Party.

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[CHAPTER II.] INDIANA'S PIONEERS

THEIR STRUGGLES, TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS-PRIVA- TIONS BRAVELY ENDURED-BUT SUCCESS EVENT- UALLY CROWNS THEIR HEROIC EFFORTS

HE work of the pioneers was T the work of conquest. It was a struggle with matter whose subservience to mind was to bring life into solitude and make homes for future thou- sands. It was a hand-to-hand conflict with nature, who, with her tempt- ing hoards just beyond reach, has set men on the long and perilous road toward perfection. Their mission was peaceful and constructive, their immediate goal a mere existence. Moved by visions of ulti- mate victory, they cheerfully made every sacrifice and dedicated their lives to the long and doubtful struggle. Making roads, draining swamps and clearing land for agricultural purposes made the years one long stretch of hardship and toil. The seasons brought no respite, but added, each in turn, to the difficulties yet to over- come. The conquest of the soil, the dis- arming of unseen hostile forces were for them gigantic enterprises against which their meager equipment could but slowly avail. Meadow and swamp were infested with venomous snakes and poisonous in- sects. Malaria and insidious fevers un- dermined the health of the strongest. Physical suffering and unrelieved pain aroused terrors in the most confident and the bravest. For every inch of ground the wilderness exacted its toll of human energy and life. Through pain and suf- fering, childhood, youth and maturity learned stern lessons and the irrevocable laws of nature.

An accurate delineation of the persever- ance and the determination of the pioneers and their faith in final success would re-

veal a heroism as great as was ever dis- played on the battlefield. Forest, swamp and unbroken prairie led them to conflicts as fierce as any knight ever waged in sup- port of his honor and his prowess. Prac- tically exiled from all known civilization, they worked unselfishly for the develop- ment of territory that only future genera- tions could enjoy. Money, as a medium of exchange, was almost unknown. The products of the field and dairy went beg- ging for a market. The housewife was forced to spin and weave in order to pro- vide clothing for her family. The forced existence in a narrow sphere with its lim- ited activities was not without its advan- tages. While it exacted the most strenu- ous physical toil, it sharpened the wits and challenged the intellect to keener action. Close contact with nature and the stress of spiritual conflicts developed char- acter and heart as easier conditions could never have done. Mutual helpfulness and unselfishness relieved the rigors of priva- tion and softened the grief of sickness and death. Never in the history of mankind has ideal communism become so nearly a reality : a man's word was his bond; a verbal compact stood above the medium of legal execution. Piety was a common vir- tue and the love of God the lever of moral- ity.

A fine sense of citizenship and civic duty grew out of the individual's attitude toward work. Every blow of the ax in- voluntarily set echoes ringing in strong and loyal hearts. The love of country grew with the consciousness of every hard- won possession. Every struggle with matter proclaimed an inner growth that

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meant new life and new responsibilities. The pioneers grew in numbers, in strength and in comprehension. From actual ex- perience they learned the rules of incipient statehood. They anticipated the needs of future society and produced men as strong and capable as the world has ever seen. Community interests resolutely met tested them as social, economic and moral forces. Time has proven their loyalty as citizens and established their record as heroes and benefactors of mankind.

Need any one wonder that these people, undergoing hardships incomprehensible to the present generation, became strong- ly attached to one another and refused to permit differences of opinion as to what was then termed "politics" to disturb their peaceful relations ?

LIFE IN THE LOG CABIN.

The simple life of the Indiana pioneers was many years ago happily described in an enterprising newspaper published in the southeastern part of the State. "There were no churches in those days," wrote the author. "The meetings were held at private homes. The people then did not go to church to display their finery. The men at these private home meetings wore jeans, while the women wore flannel. A calico dress was a rarity indeed. The preachers were muscular Christians, who pointed men to salvation through love of their race rather than because they re- ceived a good salary for doing so. Their salaries were but $50 to $75, and on these meager sums they endured great hard- ships with Christian fortitude. Often they sacrificed their lives in their work. In those days the Indian squaws took a deep interest in the household affairs of the whites and they made the lives of the housewives miserable by begging for cu- cumbers. The houses of the first settlers were log cabins, with generally but one room. The man who could live in a hewed log house was considered an aristocrat.

These rough homes boasted of but few window lights and greased paper was used instead of glass."

SIMPLICITY NOT THEIR ONLY VIR- TUE.

Many characterizations of the early set- tlers have been penned and printed. Glow- ing tributes are the rule; carping criti- cisms the exception. Among those who have enjoyed excellent opportunities to institute comparisons there is substantial agreement that as a portrayal of pioneer life in Indiana this picture, drawn by David Turpie, stands unrivalled and un- excelled :

"What may be called the modern history of our State began on the day when Gen- eral Clark set out from the falls of the Ohio upon his famous expedition against Vincennes. That expedition and its for- tunate result first revealed to the people of Virginia and the Atlantic States the resources of the immense region, well- watered, fertile and arable, that lay in the territory of the Northwest. The country was not known before, but it was un- noticed. The exodus, long continued, which followed this revelation, attested its value and reality. The migration to Indiana during the closing years of the eighteenth and the beginning of the next century, in some respects has had few parallels in the world's history. It was not like that of the ancient Phenicians to Carthage and northern Africa, or that of the Greeks to the shores of the Euxine, or of the Romans to Spain and Britain- still less did it resemble that of the Eng- lish to the tidewater regions of Massachu- setts, Virginia and the Carolinas.

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History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916, Part 2

Author: Stoll, John B., 1843-1926 Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Indianapolis : Indiana Democratic Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Stoll, John B., 1843-1926
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : Indiana Democratic Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1104