THE UNITED STATES BANK

437

some of them pronounced the tariff unconstitutional and not expedient. Virginia appeared as mediator and sent a special messenger, Benjamin Watkins Leigh, with conciliatory resolutions to South Carolina. The trouble was temporarily settled, South Carolina rescinded its nullification resolutions, but no principle was laid down for the decision of future difficulties.

During the administration of President Jackson, the Whig party received its name, and at about the same time the Democrats were first called "Locofocos," from the fact that in 1835, during an excited meeting of the party in Tammany Hall, New York, when the candles had been blown out to increase the confusion, they were lighted with matches then called "locofocos.'

The United States Bank, the charter of which was to expire in 1836, encountered the opposition of President Jackson from the beginning of his administration. In 1832, the bank applied to Congress for a renewal of its charter, and it was granted; but Jackson interposed his veto, and there was not a two thirds. majority in the Senate in its favor. The President. then determined to remove the deposits and give them to the State banks. Congress refused to support him in his determination, but he resolved to do it, nevertheless, on his own responsibility. He encountered a new obstacle, for the secretary of the Treasury, Louis McLane, could not be prevailed upon

* Friction matches were new, having been invented in 1829, and introduced by Faraday. They were at first ignited by being rubbed between folds of sandpaper, and were noisy and dangerous; but in 1834, phosphorus was utilized instead of the chemicals previously used.

to carry out his wish. William J. Duane, who was put into his place, also refused to effect the transfer.* Duane was accordingly removed in turn, and Roger B. Taney was put in his place. (Taney was never confirmed.) The Treasury deposits, amounting to $9,800,000.00, were then, October, 1833, distributed among (89) " pet banks," in the different States, and these loaned them on easy terms, facilitating speculation to a great extent. At the same time the United States Bank and those others that were not favored with a portion of the Government funds, were forced to curtail their transactions, and commercial distress ensued.†

While this was the case, the government was accumulating a surplus of funds which, by 1835, not only enabled it to pay off its entire debt, but left a balance which to the extent of more than thirty million was in January, 1837, distributed to the several State governments, to be used as each deemed best. In some cases this sum was divided among the citizens, but in others it was used to promote education, increase the area of cotton production, or the improvements of roads. Before the distribution had been

* John C. Calhoun said of the removal of the deposits, “The whole power of the government was perverted into a great political machine, with a view of corrupting and controlling the country." "The avowed and open policy of the government is to reward political friends and punish political enemies. With money we will get partisans, with partisans votes, and with votes money,' is the maxim of our public pilferers."

+ The President's action in this matter led to the passage, by the Senate, of a vote of censure, which remained on the record for four years, when it was erased, under the "Expunging Resolution," on motion of Colonel Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, March 28, 1837. in opposition to the earnest protest of Daniel Webster and others.

MARTIN VAN BUREN PRESIDENT.

439

completed, the administration was confronted by the prospect of a deficit. The State banks added to the financial difficulties by increasing their issue of paper money, and this alarmed the government, leading the President to issue his "specie circular," directing that specie only should be received in payment for public lands. This order was followed by the suspension of many banks. In the midst of these financial complications, Martin Van Buren, who had been chosen to succeed Jackson on the expiration of his second term, took the head of government. The new President was a member of the Democratic party, and had been in active public life for over a quarter of a century. He had been chosen to the Senate of New York, his native State, before arriving at the age of thirty, and had been the leader of his party for many years. Twice he had been elected to the United States Senate, once to the office of Governor of New York, and he had been Secretary of State during the first term of Jackson, and was by him appointed Minister to England, an office which, owing to the adverse influence of Clay, Webster and Calhoun, he had not been confirmed in.

It was the fortune of Van Buren to reap the consequences of the acts of his predecessors, for within two months after he took the oath of office, the banks of New York suspended specie payment, and were followed by those of other commercial cities. Within six months, the real estate of New York had depreciated more than forty millions of dollars, merchandise had fallen more than thirty per cent., and thousands of day laborers had lost their employment, in the city alone. In May the mer

chants called upon the President to convene Congress, and it was brought together in September, 1837. Mr. Van Buren laid the blame of the state of affairs upon the spirit of reckless speculation in which the people had indulged, and on luxurious habits based upon accumulations that were not real. He did not propose any method to relieve the embarrassments, but suggested the establishment of an "independent treasury system," by which the funds of the government should be kept in offices under control of the administration in the chief cities. The scheme which was, and still is, called the "Sub-Treasury System," was not favored at first, and it was not until 1840 that it was adopted. Even then it was not countenanced much more than a year (the bill being repealed August, 1841), but it was re-established in 1846.

The financial crash affected not only individuals, but States, many of which had borrowed largely. Some paid the interest due their creditors in certificates of indebtedness, others made no payments at all; a few utterly repudiated their obligations, and when, in 1842, an effort was made to negotiate a government loan in Europe, no offer was obtained for it. The banks had, however, generally resumed specie payments in 1838, though trade still languished. The entire period of the administration of Van Buren was occupied with legislation to remedy the financial evils, and so strong was party feeling, that all the troubles of the country were laid at the door of the unfortunate President.

The time for the choice of his successor arrived, 1840, and the election resulted in the overthrow of

THE HARD CIDER CAMPAIGN.

441

the Democratic party and the defeat of Van Buren. General William Henry Harrison was chosen President, and John Tyler of Virginia, Vice-President. Harrison was a native of Virginia; a graduate of Hampden-Sidney College, and had been an Indian fighter, and afterwards Governor of the Indiana Territory. He had been, as we have seen, victor over the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, at the battle of Tippecanoe, in 1811, and over the British General Proctor, at the battle of the River Thames, October

5, 1813, and was esteemed for his upright character. An opposition newspaper gave the rallying cry to his supporters by saying that if he were given a pension and a barrel of hard cider, he would sit in his cabin contented for life. The Westerners, who knew Harrison, instead of resenting the sneer aimed at all who lived in log cabins, took the words as their party cry, and the country rang with the words "log cabin," "hard cider," and "Tippecanoe and Tyler