JACKSON RENOMINATED.

473

of his country; and his conduct was marked, on that occasion, with that propriety and dignity so characteristic of him. He was present, with the other members of the Senate, in the hall of the representatives, on the 4th of March, 1825, when the president elect delivered his inaugural address and took the oath of office. After delivering his address, and binding himself by the oath of office faithfully to execute his duties, and to defend the constitution, Mr. Adams descended from the platform to receive the congratulations of his friends. It was then that General Jackson, stepping out, as no other man could have done, was the first to shake hands with and congratulate the newly-made president, the person who had just been inaugurated in the office which the free voice of the people of the land would have bestowed upon Jackson.

The pride of Tennessee was aroused at the injustice, or the seeming injustice, by which her favourite son was excluded from the presidency. From the formation of her constitution, he had been one of her most cherished jewels. She had trusted him always, and he had never betrayed her. She had named him for the chief magistracy—he had a plurality of votes -and yet one who had received many less was preferred by those on whom devolved the constitutional alternative, in the failure of a choice by the people. With a spirit worthy of a sovereign state, she again uttered her unabated confidence in him, and manifested her displeasure at the treatment he had received, by renominating him for the first office in the gift of the peo

tion of his own life, as to the happiness of those who had so long been denied the pleasure of his society.

He did not deem it inconsistent with this feeling to accept the office of senator in Congress, which was again, in the autumn of 1823, conferred on him by the legislature of Tennessee; for this honourable and comparatively easy service would still leave him, for the greater portion of the year, an inmate of the Hermitage. In December, 1823, he took his seat in the highest branch of the legislative department of the government. He voted for the tariff of 1824, which was intended as a protection for American manufacturers. It raised the duties on many articles of imports from foreign countries coming in competition with articles manufactured in the United States. It was the result of the combined efforts of the advocates of protection to domestic industry throughout the Union, added to the recommendation of the president, and the support of members of Congress, principally from the northern, middle, and western states. The bill was debated for weeks in both houses, and called forth the first talent in Congress. The most strenuous opposition was made by the members from the southern states. The majority in its favour in the Senate was but four, of whom General Jackson was one.†

Jackson's popularity with the people of the United States was shown at the presidential election in the autumn of 1824, when he received a greater number of electoral votes than either of his competitors. There were four candidates for the presidency, among

* Butler's Eulogy.

†Statesman's Manual.

ELECTION OF MR. ADAMS.

471

whom the electoral votes were divided as follows:For Jackson, ninety-nine; for Adams, eighty-four; for Crawford, forty-one; and for Clay, thirty-seven. Neither of the candidates having a majority of the whole number of electors, the election devolved upon the House of Representatives, where, according to the provision of the constitution, the decision is made by states, the representation from each state having one vote, and a majority of all the states being necessary to a choice.

The House, being restricted in its choice to the three highest candidates, Clay was thrown out; but though not ostensibly a candidate before the representatives, yet he held the destinies of the nation in his hands. The states by which he had been supported, could decide the election as they chose. By uniting with the South, they would unquestionably bring in General Jackson; and by joining the East, they would as certainly effect the election of Adams.

The course of Mr. Clay in this contest has been severely animadverted upon by his opponents. It seems that he considered General Jackson, though a distinguished military officer, as destitute of the requisite talents and qualifications for the presidency; that it was hazardous to the liberties of the country to elevate a person to the chief magistracy, the duties of which are mostly of a civil nature, merely because he had been a successful general. That on the other hand, he considered Mr. Adams as possessing, in a high degree, the requisite qualifications; that his talents were of the first order, and his life had been spent in the proper school for the office. With these

views, or perhaps others, Mr. Clay determined to support Mr. Adams. That this determination was the result of collusion between them, is strongly denied; but if it was not, Mr. Clay undoubtedly committed a capital error in accepting the appointment of secretary of state, which was conferred on him, immediately on the accession of Adams to the presidency.

Mr. Adams was elected on the first ballot by the House of Representatives; he receiving the votes of thirteen states, Jackson of seven, and Crawford of four.*

General Jackson submitted, as he should have done, to the decision of the constitutional authorities

*Perkins.

JACKSON RENOMINATED.

473

of his country; and his conduct was marked, on that occasion, with that propriety and dignity so characteristic of him. He was present, with the other members of the Senate, in the hall of the representatives, on the 4th of March, 1825, when the president elect delivered his inaugural address and took the oath of office. After delivering his address, and binding himself by the oath of office faithfully to execute his duties, and to defend the constitution, Mr. Adams descended from the platform to receive the congratulations of his friends. It was then that General Jackson, stepping out, as no other man could have done, was the first to shake hands with and congratulate the newly-made president, the person who had just been inaugurated in the office which the free voice of the people of the land would have bestowed upon Jackson,

The pride of Tennessee was aroused at the injustice, or the seeming injustice, by which her favourite son was excluded from the presidency. From the formation of her constitution, he had been one of her most cherished jewels. She had trusted him always, and he had never betrayed her. She had named him for the chief magistracy-he had a plurality of votes -and yet one who had received many less was preferred by those on whom devolved the constitutional alternative, in the failure of a choice by the people. With a spirit worthy of a sovereign state, she again uttered her unabated confidence in him, and manifested her displeasure at the treatment he had received, by renominating him for the first office in the gift of the peo