USA > Maine > Maine; a history, Volume II > Part 2
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Buren. The Whig remarked that this was not strange, since the one was a miniature of the other. After his governorship he held the office of Com- missioner of Customs from 1853 to 1858 and that of Sixth Auditor in the Treasury Department from 1866 to 1869. He died on May 31, 1881, at the age of eighty.
Now that Anderson had been nominated, every effort was made to pla- cate the friends of Kavanagh. The Age said in a lengthy editorial, which was copied by the Argus, that Anderson had been in the field for a long time, while Kavanagh had only been brought forward since he was acting- governor," and that the support he received under such circumstances was another proof, though perhaps an unnecessary one, of the regard in which he was held by the Democrats of Maine. The Age stated that it had reason to know that "Mr. Kavanagh in allowing his name to be used rather acquiesced in the wishes of his friends than indulged his own, and that he regards the result with pleasure and satisfaction."
The Argus copied an article from the Christian Mirror denying that Kavanagh had been defeated because he was a Catholic. The Mirror claimed that if this circumstance lost him some votes among the Protestants it gained him others. It stated that it had heard Baptists and Congrega- tionalists express the hope that he would be nominated lest his defeat should be ascribed to his religious opinions, and that after the convention persons of the same denominations had regretted the result because of the prejudice the Whigs had attempted to excite among the Catholics.12
The "prejudice" was only partly removed by these assurances. A meet- ing of Irish Democrats at Augusta voted to oppose the regular nomination and appointed a committee to state the reasons for their action. The con mittee reported that a large number of the Kennebec voters did not approve the nomination, but felt that their interests and principles would be better preserved by the re-election of the present Governor, that Mr. Anderson would probably not receive the support of his own county and that it was a duty to secure the election of Mr. Kavanagh, a man free from cabals and of unspotted character. A convention was held in Waldo which de- clared for Kavanagh. Kavanagh himself withheld his approval from the movement in his favor. In reply to a letter from the Augusta committee, he said that he had repeatedly stated that he would "support Anderson with great pleasure." At the close of the campaign the Argus manifested an intention notwithstanding this statement to hold Kavanagh answerable for the bolting of his friends. It said: "No one who desires him to stand well with the party, for its future confidence, and honors, will vote for him next Monday.""
"This was not quite correct. Fairfield in his letter to Van Buren written in January said that Anderson and Kavanagh were rivals for the nomination; (and a correspondent of the Argus in a letter written the middle of February spoke of Anderson and Kavanagh as the two men having the best chance for the nomination). 12Tri-Argus, July 12, 1843.
"Tri-Argus, Aug. 28, 1843.
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The Whigs renominated Edward Robinson, though not without opposi- tion, Waldo presenting the name of William G. Crosby, an esteemed and highly cultivated citizen of Belfast. Robinson, however, was nominated on the first ballot by a vote of 710 to 141 for Crosby, and 24 scattering. The campaign, at least as far as the two leading parties were concerned, was a listless one. The Argus said that such indifference had not been seen for sixteen years. The Kennebec Journal declared that the Whigs were under the perfect command of General Apathy.
Election day showed a falling off even from the light vote of the previ- ous year, of between 8,000 and 9,000 votes; the smaller parties or factions, however, made a good showing, and although Anderson led Robinson by over 11,000 votes, he came within less than 500 of failing of a majority, and hence of an election by the people. The official returns gave Anderson 32,029 votes, Robinson 20,973, Appleton (Liberty) 6,746, Kavanagh 3,221, scattering 170.
President Tyler continued his efforts to build up a party in Maine but with small success. The Democrats were willing to use him against their enemies, but would do nothing more. On April 21 the Argus said: "As Captain Tyler is now at work among the Clay Whig office-holders, we invite his attention to Maine, where scarcely a Democrat has been suffered to remain in office, and where we believe not one has received an appointment from his hands. The Officers (offices) in this State are generally held by his bitterest political opponents, the Clay Whigs." So keen was the feeling against Tyler that men of both parties were glad to avoid extending the usual social courtesies to the President. Mr. Tyler came to Boston, in June, 1843, to attend the ceremonies at the completion of Bunker Hill monu- ment. The Argus wished Portland to invite the President to visit the city, and the office-holders made strenuous efforts to induce the municipal authori- ties to do so, but in vain. Apparently but one paper, the Bath Enquirer, seconded the Argus. The Argus cited this refusal, and with reason, as proof that the President had no party in Maine. Its own position it thus defined. "While we are a Democrat, and in favor of another for the next presidency, we are disposed to treat Mr. Tyler with the respect due to him as a high- minded Virginia gentleman, and the Chief Magistrate of the United States; and we regret that he has not been invited to visit our State. But so it is."
The Democratic State convention bluntly refused a Tyler alliance, though not committing itself as to action in the future. It resolved "That the principles and success of the Democratic party of the country will not be benefitted by any amalgamation of its members at this time with either the Tyler or Clay factions of the Whig party."
The Clay Whigs of Maine, who made up the great bulk of the party in the State, were ready not only to separate from but to insult the Presi- dent. The Kennebec Whigs passed a resolution uniting the names of Arnold, Iscariot and Tyler (did they dare to imply that Tyler was worse
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than Judas?) and reminding "John Tyler" "that the meed of a traitor is 'a life of blushing and a death of shame'!"
The Democrats of Maine made ready for the battle for the Presidency in 1844, forgetful for the most part of the differences of the preceding June. At first the defeated faction had been very sore and a few men had attempted to keep up the fight by declaring that Van Buren would proscribe his opponents, but they met with little success, and when Anderson became Governor he endeavored to distribute his appointments in such a manner as to show that opposition to Van Buren had not affected their party standing.
To an outsider it might have appeared that Van Buren's nomination was almost certain, but some politicians who feared that they would be neglected by him or who supported Cass or Buchanan, others who thought that Van Buren could not be elected, and very many Southerners who ardently desired the annexation of Texas, were quietly working for his defeat.
The question of annexation had now reached a critical stage. Texas had revolted from Mexico, had defeated the Mexican army at San Jacinto and captured President Santa Ana, and had been recognized as an inde- pendent nation by Jackson in 1837. Mexico could not subdue her, but Texas was also quite unable to take the offensive. It was reported that England was preparing to intervene and secure the recognition of Texas by Mexico, if Texas would promise to remain independent, and give Eng- land trade privileges. It was said that the abolition of slavery might also be made a condition. The South was naturally much excited. Tyler and Calhoun (who had been appointed Secretary of State) had negotiated a treaty of annexation with Texas and it was now awaiting ratification by the Senate. It was very doubtful, however, if the necessary two-thirds vote could be obtained.
A member of Congress from Mississippi, William H. Hammett, wrote to Van Buren, asking his opinion on the Texas question. Van Buren after some delay prepared a reply and sent it to his intimate friend and political ally, Senator Silas Wright, of New York. Wright consulted his messmates, among whom was Senator Fairfield, and Benton was then asked his opinion. All three highly approved the letter. It was taken to Hammett and then hurried to the office of the Washington Globe before he had time to read it, lest the all-important declaration should be too late for the next issue.
The letter pronounced against annexation mainly because it would not consist with the honor and high reputation of the United States to intervene between Mexico and Texas. But it also declared that should England attempt to control Texas the American people would interpose with great unanimity. Immediately on the publication of the letter, there was a tre- mendous outburst against Van Buren. The South alarmed for slavery, the West eager for expansion, were both strongly in favor of annexation, and politicians who wished to turn against Van Buren but who had been afraid
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to do so, joyfully seized on the letter to Hammett as an excuse for deser- tion. A month after the appearance of the letter, the Democratic National Convention met. Only ten less than a majority of the delegates had been instructed for Van Buren. Unless these instructions were broken his vote was sure to exceed on the first ballot that of all other candidates taken together. To defeat him, it was moved that the requirement of a two-thirds vote to nominate, established by the convention of 1832, and continued by that of 1836, but not made part of its rules by the convention of 1840, be again adopted. Though it was perfectly clear that this would result in the defeat of Van Buren, the motion was carried. Among the ayes were the votes of sixteen delegates who had been instructed to support him. These men have been severely blamed for their action, but it may be urged in their defense that the letter to Hammett had changed the situation, and that in substance, though not in form, they represented their constituents. When the first ballot for a candidate for President was taken, Van Buren received 26 more than half the votes, on the second he obtained less than a majority, and during that day his vote steadily declined. The next day he made an unimportant rally on the first ballot, but on the second the New York dele- gation, fearing the nomination of Cass, withdrew Van Buren's name and threw their votes for James K. Polk, of Tennessee, who was unanimously nominated.
Silas Wright was nominated for Vice-President, but refused to accept. The convention then seemed to be turning to Senator Fairfield, of Maine. On the ballot following the declination of Wright, he received 107 votes, his nearest competitor, Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, obtaining only 44, but a question was raised as to Fairfield's orthodoxy in the matter of Texas, a Georgia delegate told the convention that when Governor of Maine he had refused to surrender a captain and mate whose extradition had been demanded by Georgia for "slave-stealing," that is, carrying away negroes on their vessels, and Fairfield was dropped. On the next ballot he received only 30 votes, while George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania, was given 260 totes and was nominated.
Polk had been chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means and Speaker of the National House; Dallas had served part of a term in the United States Senate and had been Minister to Russia, but neither of them was well known to the country, a circumstance of which the Whigs did not fail to take advantage in the ensuing campaign. Their candidate was cer- tainly well known, both as a statesman and an aspirant for the presidency. After their experience with Tyler, the Whigs had no further wish for availabilities and half-and-half men, and their convention nominated Henry Clay unanimously and enthusiastically. For Vice-President they nominated Theodore Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, a man whose Puritan nature would make him very acceptable to New England.
Clay had already stated that he was opposed to the annexation of Texas,
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because it would injure the reputation of the United States, involve the country in war with Mexico and provoke serious dissension at home. He argued that annexation would be injurious to the South because the North would then demand Canada, and that the United States would be better off with Texas and Canada independent republics than it would if these exten- sive territories were incorporated into the Union. The convention made no reference to Texas or Oregon.
In Maine the decisions of the conventions were well received by the respective parties. Before the Democratic convention met, the Argus had endorsed Van Buren's letter, but had made it as pro-annexation as possible. It said : "We consider the tone and argument of the letter decidedly friendly to the annexation, whenever it can be done, without injustice to Mexico, and in accordance with the wishes of the American people, and the people of Texas." The Argus claimed that Clay opposed annexation because the Bos- ton Atlas and other rabid Whig prints, in order to win part of the abolition votes, had declared that they would oppose any man who did not come out flat-footed against it. It said that the "Federalists" were against annexa- tion under any circumstances, and that Clay was driven to take his present stand in order to retain their support. "His recent definition of his posi- tion contrasts to great disadvantage with the full, clear, and straight-for- ward, manly and independent letter of Mr. Van Buren."
A few days later the Argus said that the annexationists of Maine heartily responded to Van Buren's views and that no one opposed to them could get the vote of the State. On May 13 it declared that the open opposition to Van Buren in Maine silenced by the choice of the delegates to the convention had been revived by the Texas letter which had enlisted a few recruits. "This new explosion will be a nine days' wonder, and no more." After the convention had repudiated Van Buren and his policy, the Argus had little to say about Texas. It quoted a long article from the Demo- cratic Review, asserting that the slaves in the United States would be sent to Texas and then to Central America, and that the country would thus finally be rid of slavery. It also declared that Texas was not a party ques- tion, and even claimed that Polk was not opposed to the doctrines of the Hammett letter, nor in favor of immediate annexation !
The Argus had earnestly supported Mr. Van Buren, but when another was chosen to lead the party, the paper, with its customary loyalty, followed the new standard-bearer. "The nominations are now made," it said, "and we must sacrifice all private feelings and wishes on the altar of our coun- try." It gave the same reason for the Van Buren men in the convention finally deserting him that one of their leaders did, in writing to Van Buren himself, had they not done so there was great danger of the nomination of Cass. It also said that Polk had been nominated for the sake of harmony and in order to defeat the Whigs.
The Whigs of Maine were embarrassed by no surprises or changes that ME .- 21
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might be hard to defend. The nomination of Clay had long been a fore- gone conclusion, and while Maine, like other States of New England, might have preferred John Davis, of Massachusetts, for Vice-President, Freling- huysen was a New Englander by character, if not by birth. The Bangor Whig had said the year before that if the West had the President, the East should have the Vice-President, and that Davis should be the man. But it now declared that the nomination of Frelinghuysen, though not expected, was received in "this city and vicinity, with enthusiastic delight."
Each party was very uncomplimentary in speaking of the candidate of its opponents. In the previous year, the Argus had said of Clay: "The man whose hands are still red with the blood of HON. JONATHAN CILLEY, a distinguished and murdered citizen,"" and whose political principles would plunder her agriculture and commerce for the benefit of a few mercenary and private speculators, can never, under any circumstances, receive the vote of Maine for the presidency." After the Whig nominations were made, the Argus said: "Mr. Frelinghuysen is a man of moderate talents, far inferior to either John Sargent or John Davis (who had been candi- dates for the nomination for Vice-President). He is of an irreproachable moral character, and in this respect there is a very strong contrast between him and Mr. Clay. Mr. Frelinghuysen was the head of the party that undertook about fifteen years ago, to stop the Sunday mails, and travelling on the Sabbath. He is an enemy to gambling, lasciviousness, horse-racing, and duelling." All of which were charged against Clay. The Argus pointed out that Clay had taken the oath as a United States Senator before he was thirty, the minimum age required by the Constitution for holders of that office, and that in 1841, when he was over sixty, he had, as a result of a quarrel with Senator King of Alabama, been put under bonds to keep the peace.
Sergeant S. Prentiss revisited his old home during the campaign and made a powerful speech advocating the election of Clay. In reply the Argus attacked Prentiss personally, saying: "He departed from the stern prin- ciples of New England morality, and among other errors became a duellist, and shot and wounded his man badly, though not mortally." It is said that the Democrats sent men throughout the State to urge religious people not to vote for a man for President whom they could not vote to admit to church membership.
Polk was a church member, and his private life offered small oppor- tunity for attack, but, like Dallas, his public career had not given him a national reputation, and when pitted against Henry Clay he seemed, to the Whigs at least, like a dwarf claiming equality with a giant. The Port- land Advertiser said: "Three-fifths of the 'Democratic' voters of this
"Clay, like the other representatives of Kentucky in Washington, had been con- sulted by Wise, he had drawn the challenge in its final form, somewhat moderating the draft before him, and he had advised the acceptance of Cilley's choice of weapons and manner of fighting, saying that no Kentuckian could back out from a rifle.
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State will ask in perfect ignorance, 'Who is this Mr. Polk? and five-sixths of them if not more will demand, Who is this Mr. Dallas'?" The Bangor Whig said: "Against such men as Polk and Dallas the Whigs can walk over the course in triumph." The Whig State convention called Polk and Dallas great politicians on a small scale and declared that their nomination was "a compromise without conciliation, and a union without harmony."
Here as in New York and other States, the "Liberty" men refused to vote for Clay notwithstanding his opposition to the annexation of Texas. General Fessenden, one of the leading anti-slavery men in Maine, published a letter stating that neither he nor General Appleton (the Liberty candidate for Governor in this and the preceding year) would support Clay, and that he was firmly convinced that Clay had done more than any other man in the United States to extend slavery, by securing the passage of the Mis- souri Compromise, and that his present opposition to annexation was for selfish political purposes, "nor," said General Fessenden, "can I feel any assurance that he will not sacrifice on the altar of slavery every principle of the Whig party, with as much facility, and as little reluctance, as he did the interests of the North by the Compromise Tariff of 1832[3]" Another insuperable objection to Clay, in General Fessenden's opinion, was that he was a duellist.
The reference to Clay's alleged betrayal of the manufacturing interests sounds strangely now when the protectionists regard him as their hero and defender, but he was, in fact, more moderate on the tariff question than such men as Lawrence of Massachusetts and Clayton of Delaware. Clay had recently made what was, perhaps, the least "protective" of all his tariff speeches. Addressing a great meeting at Augusta, Georgia, he had declared that his policy was to avoid ultraism. A Georgia paper, in summarizing the speech, said that Mr. Clay "dwelt in detail upon the advantage of a revenue tariff, with incidental protection as contrasted with the miscalled system of free trade." The Argus asked the Portland Advertiser, Kennebec Journal and Bangor Whig and Courier, how they liked "Mr. Clay's incidental, hori- zontal protection. Speak out, neighbors, and let your opinions on the sub- ject be known."
If Clay's views of the tariff appeared to change some with the latitude in which his speeches were delivered, the Democratic trumpet also gave forth an uncertain note. Polk wrote a famous letter to John G. Kane of Pennsylvania, in which he stated that he had voted for duties giving a moderate, incidental protection, and the Argus claimed that there was little difference between the views of Polk on the tariff and those of Clay. It also said that the Democrats did not intend to repeal the existing tariff, that of 1842, but only to modify it and remove inequalities. Usually, how- ever, the Maine Democrats took ground against the tariff. The York county Democratic convention resolved that the compromise tariff of 1833 ought never to have been repealed. The Democrats had much to say of the duties
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on iron and sugar, declaring that the interests of Maine were sacrificed to those of Pennsylvania and Louisiana, and this argument proved very effective.
Each side made special appeals to the Catholics. The Democrats accused Mr. Frelinghuysen of active opposition to them. Some very serious anti-Catholic riots had recently occurred in Philadelphia, and the Demo- cratic papers laid the blame on the Whigs. The Whigs denied the charges, pointed to the refusal of the Democrats the preceding year to renominate Governor Kavanagh, and twitted their opponents with the fact that New Hampshire, the most reliable "loco-foco" State in the Union, forbade the election of any Catholic to the office of Governor, Councillor or Represen- tative.
Both parties obtained the services of out-of-the-State speakers. As has been said above, Sergeant S. Prentiss addressed the Whigs of Portland. For the Democrats, Levi Woodbury spoke at Bangor on the Fourth of July, attacking the tariff. Benjamin Hallett of Massachusetts spoke at the same place. He discussed the tariff in a rather ambiguous way, brought up the case of "Governor" Dorr of Rhode Island who had returned to that State and had been sent to prison for life, and urged his hearers not to vote for a duellist for President.
Anderson, Robinson and Appleton were the candidates for Governor of the Democratic, Whig and Liberty parties, as in the preceding year, but the question of the Presidency displaced all others. The Argus declared that State issues were scarcely mentioned in the canvass. The Whigs had no hope of electing Robinson but some of them thought that they might prevent a choice by the people. Election day proved, however, that they had been over-confident. The official returns gave Anderson 48,942 votes, Robinson 38,501, Appleton 6,245, and there were 165 scattering. The Whig Central Committee sent a circular to their friends in the other States, in which they admitted their disappointment, particularly in the falling off of the Whig vote from that of 1840. They said that they had relied too much on meetings and arguments and not enough on organization to get out the voters, and that the success of their opponents was due to their calumnies against Clay and to their fostering the prejudices of the poor against the rich, that only since the election had they learned the extent of the influence brought to bear to poison the minds of the laborers against the tariff doc- trines of the Whigs. They then gave some frank advice which in principle anticipated Dudley's circular of 1888 demanding that the fat be fried out of the protected manufacturers. They said: "If in any degree the result of our election has disappointed any of our friends abroad, we can only hope that our experience and observation of the mode and manner of conducting the campaign by our opponents, may enable them to avoid our errors, and to redouble their diligence, to secure the great, the vital point, a perfect, systematic and detailed organization, by which it shall be rendered certain
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that every voter will be at the polls. We would especially hope that the business men who are most directly ond deeply interested in the success and permanency of Whig principles, will in each State enter into the contest with the spirit, activity and personal effort for which they were distinguished in 1840."
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