1829] The Spoils System 413 slowly but steadily multiplied. Not the least valuable part of their influence is seen in the somewhat recent establishment of courses in the art of teaching in the leading universities. In religion, there was a great upheaval. The old forms Religion. of thought everywhere gave way, and new sects began to rise. The greatest blow given to the old order of things was the disestablishment of the Congregational Church in New England, and the vigorous growth of Unitarianism on its ruin. The Unitarians were not formidable in point of number, but the liberalizing tendencies of which they were the exponent were soon to dominate American life in the North. In all this march of progress, in all this great mental and The South. material awakening, the South had no part; the census of 1840 showed a large growth in every Northern state; at least one Western state had doubled its population in ten years; the old South, on the other hand, seemed at a standstill. Georgia, alone, had made an important gain. As it was in material affairs, so it was in intellectual matters: not one of the writers, poets, essayists, historians, or men of science whose names have been given above lived and worked in the South. Moreover, in 1840, no less than sixty-three per cent of the illiterate white adults were to be found in that section of the country. 280. The Spoils System, 1829. - Jackson's administra- Party tions mark not only a great change in the material and organization. mental development of the nation; they mark, also, a great change in political methods and modes of action. Up to this time there had been no national party machinery; in most states, there had been no local party machinery. In two states, however, Pennsylvania and New York, most highly developed party organizations had been evolved by Van Buren, Marcy, and other politicians of the new type, who probably did not realize the full significance of the changes they were bringing to pass. It is hardly necessary to describe in detail the means by which these politicians compassed their ends: they are familiar to all. In brief, it may be said that they organized the party workers on a semimilitary plan, paying the laborers for their labor by The "spoils public offices — when the party was successful. These politicians saw "nothing wrong in the rule that to the victors belong the spoils of victory." They now introduced the spoils system of party organization into national politics. system." Jackson and the civil service. Schouler's Removals. Jackson, it was well known, regarded his fight for the presidency as a personal matter: those who helped him were his personal friends; those who opposed him were his personal enemies. It was generally expected that he would "reward his friends and punish his enemies." The former flocked to Washington in crowds. On the night of the inauguration, a friendly mob took possession of the White House, and Jackson was with difficulty rescued from the onslaught of "his friends." Removals at once began, and all who had not shouted lustily for Jackson were displaced. Then came the turn of those who had been long in office, for long tenure was in itself an evidence of "corruption." In nine months, more than a thousand officials had been removed, as against one hundred and sixty during all the preceding administrations. Appointments were made on similar principles; those who had "worked" for Jackson were presumably honest and efficient. The new President was anxious that only good men should be employed, but it was impossible for him personally to examine into the credentials of such hordes of applicants. Offices were given to partisans who had no other qualification. Ultimately it appeared that many very unfit persons had been admitted to the public service. In his management of public business, also, Jackson broke away from all precedents. He held few cabinet meetings, and made up his mind chiefly on the advice of a small group of personal friends, — men of ability,— who formed what was known at the time as the "kitchen cabinet." 1830] Webster and Hayne 415 -A student skilled in Position of Schouler's 281. Webster and Hayne, 1830. the interpretation of historic facts might have predicted the South. in 1828 that the moment was not far off when the South would again take up the weapon of "state interposition," States, which Jefferson had referred to in the original draft of the Kentucky Resolutions, and the New England Federalists had adopted during the troublous years 1807-15, and had finally enunciated in the resolutions of the Hartford Convention (pp. 365-367). It was the weapon of the minority: the Southerners were now rapidly falling behind in point of numbers, and they naturally occupied the position which the New Englanders, who were now strong in their alliance with the Westerners, had abandoned. The point really in controversy was the continuance of the protective system, which favored the North and did not help the South; before that issue was actually raised, however, the Southerners strove to separate the Northern allies on the pretext that the Eastern men were hostile to the further development of the West. The opportunity presented itself in the form of a resolution for an inquiry as to the method of disposal of the public lands (December, 1829). Webster and Hayne, 1830. Schouler's American Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina stated the views of the Southern men (January, 1830); he declared that the people of New England wished to check the growth of the West. Daniel Webster of Massachusetts replied States, III, with a speech that effectually disposed of that part of the 483-488; Southern case. Hayne returned to the attack. Drifting History far away from the subject under discussion, he set forth in Leaflets luminous phrases the Calhoun theory of states' rights. In his splendid rejoinder, Webster stated the theory of national This latter speech, full of burning enthusiasm, richly deserves the foremost place it occupies among the masterpieces of American eloquence. Hayne rested his argument on the premises used by Jefferson and the men of New England: the Constitution was a compact, the states were sovereign when they formed it, and had retained their No. 30; 233-302. sovereignty, although creating another sovereign power. "In case of deliberate and settled differences of opinion between the parties to the compact as to the extent of the powers of either," Hayne maintained that "resort must be had to their common superior, three fourths of the states speaking through a constitutional convention." This appeal could be made by any state, for "the federal government is bound to acquiesce in a solemn decision of a sovereign state, acting in its sovereign capacity, at least so far as to make an appeal to the people for an amendment to the Constitution." Webster, on his part, contended that the Constitution was in no sense a compact, but an instrument whereby the "People of the United States" established a strong centralized government and endowed it with ample powers to enforce its rights; for a state to resist the enforcement of a national law was revolution if it succeeded, rebellion if it failed. The student will do well to study the more important portions of these speeches. 1830] Webster and Hayne 417 Webster and Hayne between them had stated the two Careless use ideas of the Constitution around which the history of the of language. United States was to center for the next thirty years. The fate of the country depended upon the theoretical interpretation of a written document, about which there is still discussion. Unfortunately, in all these controver 66 Daniel Webster From photograph of Powers's bust sies, there was a most persistent use of loose language on the part of the Southerners. For instance, in the speech just quoted, Hayne spoke of "sovereign states" as having a common superior." Of course a sovereign state has no superior; if a state has a superior, it is not sovereign. The Southerners, however, continued to use precise terms in inaccurate senses, and thus deluded themselves with the belief that their states really were sovereign. Another example of the same misuse of language is to be found in |