Part 8 (1/2)
James Monroe was the last of the ill.u.s.trious line of Presidents whose claims to that eminent station dated back to the revolution. A grateful people had conferred the highest honors in their gift upon the most conspicuous of those patriots who had faithfully served them in that perilous struggle, and aided in constructing and consolidating the union of these States. This debt punctually and honorably discharged, they looked to another generation, possessing claims of a different description, for servants to elevate to the dignity of the presidential chair.
In the midst of a large cla.s.s of public men who had in the mean time become conspicuous for talents and services of various descriptions, it is no matter of surprise that the people of the United States should entertain a diversity of opinions in regard to the most suitable individual to fill a station which had hitherto been occupied by men whose virtues and whose patriotism had shed the brightest l.u.s.tre on the American name and character throughout the world. Candidates for the presidency were nominated in various sections of the Union. The eastern States turned their eyes instinctively towards JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, as one, among all the eminent compet.i.tors, the most fitted, by character and services, for the office of President of the United States. The members of the Legislature of Maine resolved--
”That the splendid talents and incorruptible integrity of JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, his republican habits and principles, distinguished public services, and extensive knowledge of, and devoted attachment to, the vital interests of the country, justly ent.i.tle him to the first honors in the gift of an enlightened and grateful people.”
The republican members of the Ma.s.sachusetts Legislature adopted the following resolutions:--
”Resolved, That the ability, experience, integrity and patriotism of JOHN QUINCY ADAMS; his manly efforts to defend the principles of that government under which, in G.o.d's providence, we hope to die; his unshaken fort.i.tude and resolution in all political exigencies; his long, faithful, and valuable services, under the patronage of all the Presidents of the United States, present him to the people of this nation, as a man eminently qualified to subserve the best interests of his country, and as a statesman without reproach.
”Resolved, That a man who has given such continued and indubitable pledges of his patriotism and capacity, may be safely placed at the head of this nation. Every impulse of his heart, and every dictate of his mind, must unite promptly in the support of the interests, the honor, and the liberty of his country.
”Resolved, That JOHN QUINCY ADAMS is hereby recommended by us to the people of the United States, as the most suitable candidate for the office of President, at the approaching election.”
A meeting of the citizens of Rhode Island pa.s.sed the following among other resolutions:--
”Resolved, That, although we duly acknowledge the talents and public services of all the candidates for the presidency, we have the fullest confidence in the acknowledged ability, integrity and experience of JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, the accomplished scholar, the true republican, the enlightened statesman, and the honest man; and we are desirous that his merits should be rewarded with the first office in the gift of the people of the United States--that his future services may continue unto us those blessings which, under the present administration of the General Government, we have so abundantly enjoyed.”
These were high encomiums. But who among the American people, now that the patriot has departed from earth, can survey his life, his character, and his services, and not acknowledge they were justly and richly deserved?
Similar resolutions were pa.s.sed in all the eastern and many of the northern States.
The west brought forward HENRY CLAY, one of the most popular orators and eminent statesman of the day. GEN. JACKSON, who had earned a splendid military reputation, was nominated in the southwest, and WM. H. CRAWFORD was selected as the candidate representing the southern portion of the confederacy. These were all men of eminence and of acknowledged talents.
They were worthy compet.i.tors for the highest honors of the Republic.
The friends of Mr. Adams rested his claims for the presidency on no fact.i.tious qualities. They urged that his characteristics were such as to commend him to the confidence of every true republican and well-wisher of his country. While his attainments were not of the showy and popular cast possessed by many public men, they yet were of that solid, practical and valuable description which must ever receive the sanction of intelligent and reflecting minds.
The qualifications on which his supporters depended, and to which they called the attention of the American people, as reasons for elevating him to the head of the General Government, may be summarily enumerated as follows:--1. The purity of his private character--the simplicity of his personal habits--his unbending integrity and uprightness, even beyond suspicion. 2. His commanding talents, and his acquirements both as a scholar and a statesman. 3. His love of country--his truly American feelings, in all that concerned the welfare and honor of the United States. 4. His long experience in public affairs, especially his familiarity with our foreign relations, and his perfect knowledge of the inst.i.tutions, the internal condition and policy of European nations. 5.
His advocacy of protection to domestic manufactures, and of a judicious system of internal improvements.
In regard to internal improvements by the General Government, there was a difference of opinion between Mr. Adams and President Monroe. The latter was strongly impressed with the beneficial tendency of a well-digested system of internal improvements; but he believed the const.i.tution conferred no power on Congress to make appropriations for such a purpose.
It was in this view of the subject that he vetoed a bill which a.s.sumed the right to adopt and execute such a system, pa.s.sed by Congress during the session of 1820-21. But anxious that internal improvements, confined to great national purposes, and with proper limitations, should be prosecuted, he suggested that an amendment of the const.i.tution to that effect should be recommended to the several States.
Mr. Adams, however, had no doubts that Congress already possessed a const.i.tutional power to prosecute such internal improvements as were of a national character, and calculated to benefit the Union, and to levy duties for the protection of domestic manufactures. During his entire political career he had deemed these to be two great points toward which the American Government and people should turn their especial attention; and he ever gave them his faithful advocacy and support. With consummate wisdom, he foresaw that the more completely our internal resources were developed, and the less dependent we were on foreign powers, the greater would be our public and private prosperity. He insisted that by an adequate protection of domestic manufactures, there would be an increased demand for our raw materials at home, and thus the several productive and manufacturing sections of the Republic would realize the benefits of a dependence on each other, and the Union would be consolidated and perpetuated for ages to come.
While a candidate for the presidency, Mr. Adams received a letter inquiring his views on the subject of internal improvement. The following is an extract from his reply:--
”On the 23rd of Feb., 1807, I offered, in the Senate of the United States, of which I was then a member, the first resolution, as I believe, that ever was presented to Congress, contemplating a general system of internal improvement. I thought that Congress possessed the power of appropriating money to such improvement, and of authorizing the works necessary for making it--subject always to the territorial rights of the several States in or through which the improvement is to be made, to be secured by the consent of their Legislatures, and to proprietary rights of individuals, to be purchased or indemnified. I still hold the same opinions; and, although highly respecting the purity of intention of those who object, on const.i.tutional grounds, to the exercise of this power, it is with heartfelt satisfaction that I perceive those objections gradually yielding to the paramount influence of the general welfare. Already have appropriations of money to great objects of internal improvement been freely made; and I hope we shall both live to see the day, when the only question of our statesmen and patriots, concerning the authority of Congress to improve, by public works essentially beneficent, and beyond the means of less than national resources, the condition of our common country, will be how it ever could have been doubted.”
On another occasion, Mr. Adams expressed himself on the subject of internal improvements in the following manner:--
”The question of the power of Congress to authorize the making of internal improvements, is, in other words, a question whether the people of this Union, in forming their common social compact, as avowedly for the purpose of promoting their general welfare, have performed their work in a manner so ineffably stupid as to deny themselves the means of bettering their own condition. I have too much respect for the intellect of my country to believe it. The first object of human a.s.sociation is the improvement of the condition of the a.s.sociated. Roads and ca.n.a.ls are among the most essential means of improving the condition of nations. And a people which should deliberately, by the organization of its authorized power, deprive itself of the faculty of multiplying its own blessings, would be as wise as a creator who should undertake to const.i.tute a human being without a heart.”
In addition to other claims, the friends of Mr. Adams urged his elevation to the presidency on the ground of locality. During the thirty-six years which had pa.s.sed since the adoption of the const.i.tution, the General Government had been administered but four years by a northern President.
It was insisted with much force that the southern portion of the Republic had thus far exerted a disproportionate influence in the executive department of the nation. While the north, although far the most populous, and contributing much the largest portion of the means for defraying the national expenditures, would not claim to monopolize an undue degree of power in controlling the measures of administration, yet it could justly insist that its demands for an equitable share of influence should be heeded. These suggestions unquestionably possessed a weight in the minds of the people, favorable to the prospects of Mr. Adams.
The Presidential campaign of 1824, was more spirited and exciting than any that had taken place since the first election of Mr. Jefferson. It was novel in the number of candidates presented for the suffrages of the people, and was conducted with great zeal and vigor by the friends of the different aspirants. Strictly speaking, it could not be called a party contest. Mr. Monroe's wise and prudent administration had obliterated party lines, and left a very general unanimity of sentiment on political principles and measures, throughout the Union. The various candidates-- Adams, Jackson, Clay, Crawford--all subscribed, substantially, to the same political creed, and entertained similar views as to the principles on which the General Government should be administered. The struggle was a personal and sectional one, more than of a party nature.
It had long been foreseen that a choice of President would not be effected by the people. The result verified this prediction. Of two hundred and sixty-one electoral votes, Gen. Jackson received ninety-nine, Mr. Adams eighty-four, Mr. Crawford forty-one, and Mr. Clay thirty-seven. Neither of the candidates having received a majority in the electoral colleges, the election devolved on the House of Representatives. This took place on the 9th of Feb., 1825.
On the morning of that day, the House met at an earlier hour than usual.
The galleries, the lobbies, and the adjacent apartments, were filled to overflowing--with spectators from every part of the Union to witness the momentous event. It was a scene the most sublime that could be witnessed on earth. The Representatives of the People, in the exercise of the highest right of freemen, were about to select a citizen to administer the Government of a great Republic.