Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-11-02
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS
.IX-Breaking Up Of the Parties.
By FREDERIC ]. fIASKIN

had 163. New York cast thirty-six votes
and, therefore. in that year was a pivotal
state indeed.
The wings again had turned down their
great leader. Clay, when victory seemed
TO be in sight. Taylor was from Louis
lana, and he was a hero of the Mexican
war. He was pro-slavery southern
wing, and in his nomination the wing
leaders truckled to the judgment of po-
Htical trimmerS and trusted to luck to
choke the opposition of the conscience
wings of, the north. Taylor died after
serving sixteen months and was succeed
ed by Willard Fillmore. Under this last
wing administration the great whig lead
er, Henry Clay. was to make the last of
that long line of compromises which he
always conceived in the belief they ws-ld
aid his party and advance his own inte~-
ests. as we'll as those of the nation: but
which in fact always arose to cOnfound
| and destroy both Clay and the party he
had founded.
A measure was pending in Congress in
1916 to appropriate money to purchase
the peace proceedings. David Wilmot. a
democratic member from Pennsylvania,
proposed an amendment providing that
slavery should be excluded from territory
SO purchased. Wilmot was democrat Of
the Van Buren, following, and in New
York would have been known as a barn.
burner.
Around this Wilmot proviso surged the
storm engendered by the opposition to the
extension of slavery
Wflmot Proviso in the territories 1t
Causes Storm. was to- to BE- -. eight Eight
upon which the republican party built its
new temple. The Bryant declaration for
ant-TeXas congressman in 1874, the Van
Buren, disaffection and the war between
hunkers and barnburners. the action of
David Wilmot, the democratic split of
1S4S-these things operating within the
democratic party presaged not only the
great split of 1860. but they afforded the
opportunity for establishing a new party
The compromise of 1850 and the ILL
starred career of the Taylor Fillmore adj
ministration meant the breaking up of the
old whig party The times were ripe for
new party and a political revolution
The conscience wings and free soil demo-
Gratis of the north demanded party to
represent thei views, even If they had to
build new one.
cratic party had broken up and the new
democracy had been born fighting the
new wing organization. In those days the
democrats had been the progressive radi-
Gals the wings were the conservatives
But for many years John Quincy Adams,
chief of the conservative forces in 1824-2S
was advancing radicalism in the House of
Representatives. The radical party of
Jackson had become conservative. Cal
houn, whom Jackson would have hanged
now had become the patron saint of
southern democrats and wings alike. The
Union appeared to be doomed to disrup-
ton.
X
There was no hope in the democratic
party, because it was controlled by a COM
bination of south
Death Warrant ern Shareholders
Of Wing Party. u uu nrnefn w imam
seemed to be all-powerful There was no
hope in the wing party, for it had proved
itself to be the inefficient and incapable
creature of expediency. Clay and Web
ster had been radical once-Clay when he
brought on the war of 1912, Webster when
he replied to Hayne-but now both were
old and inclined to be conservative. Both
were yet to make their final appearance
on the stage of politics-Clay with the
compromise of 1850 and Webster in his
speech of the eth of March, And these
things were to write the death warrant Of
the wing party.
Tomorrow - CONGRESSIONAL CAM
PAIGNS. x. FORMATION OF THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY.