The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1904-07-31

all that goes on. The popular sentiment
In favor of the plain people" which
caused the political hurricane" in 1s4O
probably had it's inception eight years
before and helped elect Jackson Had
Jackson's successor been like himself.
an outspoken man of actions instead OF
words, with plain manners and plain
friends. the Harrison-Tyler administra-
tion might never have beer in history.
This campaign witnessed the begin
nings Of sectional divisions on political
lines:-end simultaneously the beginnings
of the Republican party. The abolition
OF slavery and the national bank
both became political issues in that
year. Both were opposed by the South,
for reasons connected with the institu-
ton of slavery. over which the country
was a generation later to be divided.
political students Will note that great
political upheavals take place, for some
unknown reason, about once In gen
Grafton. or about thirty years apart)
The Abolition Movement.
The abolition movement was resented
by the South for obvious reasons. The
opposition to the protective tariff a little
later arose from the desire OF Southern
planters 10 trade with England. their
important customer for raw cotton, and
the support of the tariff in the North
came of the desire to secure better
WAGES for free labor. an object for
which the South cared nothing what
ever The civilization Of the two sec
lions was beginning to take separate
coiors, and mighty plans were forming
in the minds of Southern statesmen fog
republic on the lines Of the Roman,
with sharp caste lines. in which pros
perity and happin SIS should be gained
for ali by the governing power. This
ideal was more definite and better work
ed out than the formless sentiment Of
the North in favor of universal educa-
ton and a chance for every individual,
but the latter notions were there all
the same. and statesmen would. and did,
make a great mistake in undertaking
their strength.
Period of Turbulence.
The period between the Harrison cam
paign and the Lincoln election was one
OF turbulence and talk. Forces which
had been silently at work now came into
conflict in the open. The slavery prob
lem overshadoWed everything else. and
behind il was the essential difference be-
tween two civilizations, traditional and
formative.
TIE Lincoln Campaign.
The first real break in Democratic
domination, the first real interference
with the progress of the South, came
with the Lincoln campaign. which was
distinctly on sectional lines, and as dis
tinctly showed the Republican party in
T. 81 > ~Te
which marked the turning point in many
currents of American life. In HarrisOn's
time oratory was everything and print
ed arguments nothing: now the relation
is reversed.
In the Lincoln campaign the influence
Of the two was about equal. Greeley
with his Tribune" balanced fiery pro-
slavery orators in the South as a politI-
cal force. and In the West men both read
and talked At the beginning Of the
campaign Seward was the great Repub-
lican; at the end. the phenomenal per
sonality of Lincoln had begun to make
itself felt But here again the scales
were turned by a bit of political man
agement-one cannot exactly call ii
trickery. since the other side was re-
sorting 10 similar tactics. This also is
recorded by Colonel Mcclure:
.'They had organized a most imposing
parade of the Seward people. They had
thousands of Seward spectators outside
of the delegates. and II was one Of the
most Impressive public displays I have
ever witnessed. They paraded the streets
for an hour or more before the meet
ing of the convention.
.'The friends of Lincoln lad been tire
less in their efforts, and they displayed
wonderful ability in handling their
forces. The leaders In immediate charge
of the Lincoln people were Colonel
Medin, Of the Chicago Tribune David
Davis, afterward judge OF the supreme
court: Norman b. Judd. chairman of the
Republican State committee, and Leon
ard SWEET. who was almost a copy OF
Lincoln physically and who was Lin
coins closest friend until the day cf
his death.
When they found that the Seward pa