State of Parties and the Country [pp. 1-53]

&ate of Parties and the Country.
. I
at this juncture. It controlled the Legislatures of most of
gmX Northern States. It controlled, in some degree, the ac tion of the Federal Governmnent. It was everywhere the
imminent (langer which the South had to dread, most of all,
and before all. These were the considerations that led a
large pmtion of the Southern Democrats to lend themselves
to the election of a Whig, who was a Southrotn, rather than
to a Democrat, who was yet of doubtful complexion in re spect to abolition. Besides, Taylor's Whiggery was of a
sort, as was insisted by his friends, to do no harm to any
good citizen. He. himself, professed to know nothing of
Whiggery, and we are certainly not disposed to doubt tl)he
perfect truth of his confession.'The misfortune was that he
knew too little of anything except the field of battle, and,
conscious of his ignorance, was unlucky in the choice of his
counsellors. The Democrats who voted for him, undoubtedly made a great mnistake, but their delusion was natural.
Who could suppose that one who could behave so well in
battle, and after it, should prove so imbecile every where else?
But the evil was done, and might have been much worse! Had
he lived, he would, undoubtedly, hlave precipitated a terrible
struggle of sections, which the present strength and future
wisdom of the Democrats may enable us wholly to escape.
But, in the election of Taylor, the Whigs made the great mistake of supposing that he had been elected by th1em. They had
again rejected Clay and Webster, and these men died of broken hopes and hearts! The Whigs had no sympathy with
Taylor, but used him as they had done Harrison; and, like
Harrison, he perished even as the doors of the WVhite H-louse
opened for his reception. There is something fearfully significant in the fact in both cases. In what degree did the false
position into which. these men suffered themselves to be
forced, operate to produce their death? What anxieties did
it not engender? What feelings of humiliation must they
not have endured when put in a situation where every step
they took was in fear and trembling, taken in ignorance, like
children in the darutmder the guidance of those whom half
the time they sitp3bt? Harrison and Taylor, both old soldiers, accustomed to command-.-to give the word to all oth