Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-09-30
PRESIDENTIAL
CAMPAIGNS
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN
w. THE VAN BUREN,
HARRISON RACE OF 1896
wy ASHINGTON, D. c., Sept. 21.
M Martin Van Buren, was
w practically appointed by
Andrew Jackson to sic

ANJ MarCln van BurGn was
w practically appointed by
Andrew Jackson to sue
| coed him in the White House, but the
appointment did not take effect until
after it had been ratified. by the
| people at an election which marked
contested campaigns of our history.
The reelection of Jackson in 1882
upon the issue Of his veto of the
bill to recharter the Bank Of the
United States had practically de-
party. So in 1884 the elements Of
opposition to Jackson organized I'M
der the name of Wing" which, to
some extent, had been the popular ap-
pellat.on of the National Republicans.
| Of the new party, but it could not
unite even in opposition to Van
Buren,.
In all the northern states but
| Massachusetts, the Wings supported
| William Henry Harrison. In Massa-
| candidate. In the south, except South
| Carolina, Senator Hugh Lawson
White, of tennessee, was leading the
nti-Jackson battles. South Carolina
lature ready to instruct electors to
vote for anybody to defeat Jackson's
man, Van Buren,. If the anti-Van
| Buren, leaders had managed to get
a majority of the electoral votes,
they would have deserted their cam
never put into effect. Van Buren, had
a. clear majority of both popular and
| electoral votes and Andrew Jackson's
administration was once more en-
| dorsed.
The second Jackson administration
had been even more stormy than the
nrSt. After jackson was reelected
the attitude of the opposition was
reflected by such papers as the Bos-
ton Courier, which said: Yet there
is one comfort left. God has prom
ised that the days of the wicked
shall! be short; the wicked is old and
Feeble and he may die before he can
every good Christian to pray to our
! Maker to have pity on US"
The Fight on the Bank
South Carolina found out for GER
tain that Jackson was reelected by
| the middle of November, 1882, and
| on November 23 the famous Ordi-
nance of Notification was passed.
The Tariff denominations was largely
the work of Henry Clay and had not
much support from jackson. But
Calhoun and the nullifiers, in fighting
| the tariff, declaring it unconstitu-
tional and null and void, were in the
same political bed with Clay so far
as opposition to Jackson was con-
cerned.
The burning words of Jackson's
proclamation Of December 10 was
the first great and broad denial of
the right of a state to oppose it's
single will against the power of the
stand on that question saved the
union. But the notification uues-
ton was one which affected only a
small portion of the people. The
oank question was nationwide is
The bill to recharter the bank
had been vetoed during the cam
paign of 1888 and the voters had
ratified the veto. The bank had ex-
e ereed every possible effort to elect
to decide to use all his power to end
the bank, without waiting for it's
charter to expire in 1886. His Sec
rotary of the Treasury, William J.
Duane, would not order the removal
of the government deposits in the
gress.: He also refused to resign his
position. Whereupon he was re-
moved and his portfolio given to
Roger B. fancy, of Maryland who
removed the deposits and, in later
years, was rewarded by appointment
to be chief justice of the supreme
court.
strictly speaking, the deposits
were " mot, not removed 11nS from the bank.
certain state banks, and the balance
in the United States bank was grad
ually exhausted by drafts for cur
rent expenses. The selection of GER
rse to as
In the campaign Of 1886 much was
made Of "Jackson's Pets" as such
banks were known: But in spite of
all these radical things and the en-
tire destruction of the financial sys-
been conducted, everybody prosper
ed. The people were more prosper
Gus than ever before, the govern
ment was in better financial condt-
since, in its history: BY January.
1886, the national debt was all paid
off and the country had to face the
question Of what to do with the
surplus revenues.
They Divided the Money
It was finally decided to distrib-
ute it among the states in proper
ton to their representation in con-
the money, over $28,OOO,OO in the
aggregate, as if they were deposits,
but everybody understood the
money was not to be paid back. The
distribution was to be in four in
the panic which followed Van Bu-
ren's election prevented the fourth
payment. Some states built public
buildings with the money Maine
divided it among the people, per
basis of school fund, as which it
still exists AS late as 1888 the
state Of Virginia attempted to col
lect the fourth installment, but was
unsuccessful. The treasury. of the
orrin
100000 on it's cash books as an I'M
available fund. Whatever may
have come of all these things in
after years, to the people in 1886 1t
| looked good.
To their eyes Jackson was still a
hero and he was a statesman. Jack
son said Van Buren, was the man TO
succeed him, and the voters took
Jackson's word for it; Jackson had
overthrow the old arlstocratIc
which the people called the British
Bank, because much of the stock
was owned abroad. He had paid off
the national debt, and he had remit
ted large amount of money, col
people. Everybody was prospecting
and money was easy. Everybody
was specializing and getting rlch
| quick. That was the danger, but
they couldn't see it ahead of them.
so IL was LHdL WICu Tie NoICo WSAO
counted, Van Buren, had more than
Harrison, White. Webster and Man
gum, the South Carolina candidate,
His Home State Turns on jackson
To Andrew Jackson it was a great
triumph, but there was a thorn in
! the crown of roses. Tennessee, his
own state, had deserted him. The
anti-Jackson forces were led by Hugh
Lawson White, once his friend, but
turned enemy on the Bank question.
White had been reelected to the sem
ate BY a Tennessee legislature in
spite of Jackson. So earnestly did
Old Hickory go into the campaign
that he had articles printed in WASH
ington papers denouncing White. and
then franked them under his own
signature to members of the legis-