The Van Buren press., 1872-02-27
Coalitions Of the Past.
[Erom the New York sun.l

tbrom the we" AofA ouh'l
When Mr. Van Buren ran for his Sec
ond term in lS40. the Democratic party
seemed to be as thoroughly united and al
most as powerful as in the days OF Jack
SON. ANAL nody .s o---.-"~tss 80
whose leaders mad held prominent posi-
tions in the Democratic party, dissented
from Van Buren's financial measures.
They were denounced as "sore' heads y
and "bolters, and their influence laugh
ed to scorn by Van Burens supporters.
But this body of dissenters, though not
conspicuous for their numbers in any one
locality, were widely ditfused through
the country, and proved to be strong
enough in the close States to inlet o
signal defeat upon the Sage of Linden
wald
So it was in ls44 when Clay ran
against Polk. The Liberal party nomi-
mated Birney on a platform which ten
years later was adopted as the creed OF
the new Republican organization. The
Birneyites gave only small number OF
votes, but they cast some in Localities
where the great parties were nearly equal
and especially in New York, which took
from Clay States he would otherwise have
carried, and thus caused defeat.
The famous contest of lS4s is not less
instructive. Cass and Taylor were the
candidate of the Democratic and WhiQ
parties. The warm personal friends ol
Van Buren, ia order to cancel an out
standing debt against Cass, determined
to destroy him The Barnburncrs ol
New York took the lead Of the dissenters
summoned convention at Buffalo, nom
mated Van Buren on a Free Soil plat
form, which tho Republicans six years
later closely copied, took from Cass the
State Of New York, seriously demoral
lied the regular Democracy in Other
States, and, finally, in the irrevcrent Ian
guage OF Prince John of bindenwald
"kllod the great Michigander and sent
his body home BY the way of the upper
Lakes,
We might refer for further illustration
to the contest of 1856, when a certain
class OF Democrats in the North united
with other political elements in organic
ing the Republican party. The coalition
ran Fremont. a Democrat, fot fresIdens
The refusal Of these Democrats to vote
for Buchanan, and their Jealous support
of Fremont, revolutionizcd the politics
of half dozen States which had beer
invariably Democratic since the time OF
Jackson, and which thenceforward were
among tho stcadiest Republican States
down to the election of Grant. The
same principle was also illustrated In
the election of 1856 by the course OF Mr..
Fillmore. A candidate Of tho Old Line
Wings and Know Nothings, he prevented
the concentration upon Fremont Of the
whole anti Democratic vote, and thus in
snred the success Of Buchanan as min.
ority candidate.
Though other political contests Of like
character might be referred to, these are
enough to establish the proposition that
in order to defeat dominant party 1t is
not necessary that there be a detection
in its ranks SO great as to amount any.
where to an open revolt, but only q
widely diiruscd dissatisfaction with its
measures or candidates, which, though
not powerful enoughto capture its strong
holds, is sufficient to give its weak places
to the foe 1t will be noted also that in
the cases we have cited the dissenters
accomplished their purposes in two diff
ferent modes: by uniting with their al
lies in the support Of one candidates, az
the Conservative Democrats united with
the Wings upon Harrison to defeat Van
Burcn; or by running an Independent
candidate Of their own, as the Barnburn.
crs ran Van Buren, to demolsh Cass.