VIII.] Fackson's Specie Circular, 1836. 223 in Congress. The money was to be "deposited," but no one expected it ever would be demanded of the States, and this phrase was selected to avoid the constitutional objection that Congress had no power to raise money by taxation to pay over to the States. Three quarterly payments were made under this act in 1837, and then the government found itself obliged not merely to cease "depositing" money with the States, but to borrow money itself to pay current expenses. 66 Circular, 1836. The apparent success of Jackson's financial policy led to disaster. The "pet bank" scheme resulted in the formation of a vast number of banks eager to share in the spoil; and the overthrow of the United States Bank, as a great controlling financial institution, removed the only conservative force which could have restrained speculation. A period of "wild-cat banking" set in. Rag-money was poured out by these institutions as fast as the presses could supply it. The currency became disreputable. Jackson, acting on his own responsibility in this instance, as in the case of the Bank, issued a "Specie Circular" in 1836, directing that nothing save gold, silver, and notes of specie-paying banks should be received in payment for the public lands. This affected especially the banks in the more recently settled portions of the country, but it greatly helped to overturn the credit system everywhere. Money suddenly became very dear, loaning rates being as high as twenty-four per cent. The price of the necessaries of life also increased enormously. Every one, however, went on with his speculations, and Jackson left office in March, 1837, before the crash, proclaiming his belief in the efficacy of his "Specie Circular" to set all things right. Jackson's successor as President was Martin Van Buren, formerly his Secretary of State and more recently Vice-President. Van Buren had risen to political elected Prespower by the employment of methods similar to those which had given Burr his political strength. He was Van Buren ident, 1836. regarded by his contemporaries as a self-seeking office monger, and was held responsible for most of the evil acts of Jackson. There was some reason for this belief, as Van Buren, in order to win the Democratic nomination, had accepted responsibility for Jackson's acts in promising to carry on his policy. It seems probable, however, that Van Buren had not regarded the political proscription of the early years of Jackson's administration as justifiable, and had done something to mitigate its severity. But he was obliged to bear the blame for the financial collapse of 1837, and for the rascality which then came to light on the part of many of Jackson's appointees. The "Sub treasury" scheme. The panic of 1837 had no counterpart in the annals of the United States up to that time. The State banks failed, among them the "pet banks," which held public funds to the amount of some nine million dollars at the time of their bankruptcy. The United States issued treasury notes to tide over the crisis; but what could be done with the moneys received by the government? Van Buren, himself, seems to have conceived the plan of an independent government treasury, apart from the financial institutions of the country. Three times the plan was voted down in Congress, but in 1840 it was passed in an amended form. This act pro vided for the construction of vaults at Washington and at other important points in the country. At these places the public funds should be received, held, and paid out on the proper authority. From this latter feature of the plan, it is generally known as the sub-treasury scheme. This was the only important act of Van Buren's administration. His firmness and constancy on this and other points of financial and administrative reform made him unpopular. The Democratic party was regarded as responsible for the panic, and was discredited by the corruption discovered in many branches of the government service. A new party had meantime come into existence calling itself Whig, to distinguish its reforming tendencies from what was regarded as VIII.] The Campaign of 1840. 225 the Toryism of the Democrats. All the factions opposed to the Democrats gathered under the new standard. Of this party, Clay was the ablest man, but he was at this time unpopular, and a Whig convention nominated William Henry Harrison, the "victor at Tippecanoe," for President, on no platform except that of opposition to Democratic Van Burenism. For VicePresident, they nominated Tyler of Virginia-a lifelong Democrat in the expectation that he would attract Democratic votes. "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" proved to be a popular battle-cry. With ill-timed spite, a Democratic leader asserted that if Harrison were given a log cabin and a barrel of cider he would sit down in contentment and cease to trouble the Democrats. The gibe was at once assumed as a mark of honour, and Harrison became the log-cabin, cider-drinking candidate. On the other side it was asserted that Van Buren sat in stuffed chairs and ate out of gold spoons in short, that he was an aristocrat. The campaign was fought on these lines. Log cabins were erected everywhere, and were carried on wheels by long processions of men shouting lustily for "Tippecanoe." There has been nothing like the campaign of 1840, before or since. Harrison was elected by two hundred and thirty-four electoral votes to only sixty given to Van Buren. Death of Harrison, 1841. General Harrison was a sincere honest man of sixty-nine. He seems to have felt himself to be an exponent of real democracy against the aristocracy which had masqueraded under that name during Van Buren's tenure of office. He therefore placed himself at the disposal of all who wished to see him. His supporters thronged to Washington in search of offices, some of them even sleeping in out-of-the-way corners of the White House, that they might be the first to greet the General in the morning, and thus better their chances for a place. The constant pressure bore heavily on the old man. He caught cold and died on April 4th, 1841, just one month after his inauguration to his high office. For the 15 C. A. first time in the history of the country, a Vice-President, John Tyler, of Virginia, became President, by reason of the death of his chief. Tyler's Administration. Tyler's sympathies were with the Democrats rather than with the Whigs, and it soon became apparent that he did not intend to be domineered over by Clay and the other leaders of the party. Congress met in May, and Clay produced an elaborate plan of legislation. The first bill to pass the two houses was one to repeal the Independent Treasury Act of 1840. To this Tyler assented. But when the proposal to establish a new National Bank came up, he was firm in his refusal to permit any legislation of the kind. He vetoed two acts in succession — the latter of which was drawn up to meet suggestions of his own. The Whig leaders were furious, and read him out of the party. The Democrats would not act harmoniously with him, and the singular spectacle was presented of a President without a party, and a successful party unable to carry its policy into effect. Two other measures in Clay's programme were carried through Congress and assented to by the President. One of these provided for the payment to the States of the proceeds of the sales of public lands, but it was made nugatory by the addition that this should take place only when the tariff on imports should fall below twenty per cent. ad valorem, which it never did. The other measure was the Tariff Act of 1842, which considerably increased the duties as finally levied under the Compromise Tariff of 1833. The Ashburton Treaty, 1842. Harrison had gathered about him an able set of cabinet advisers, of whom Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, was the most prominent. They were at first retained by Tyler, but they all resigned save Webster at the time of the Bank veto. Webster alone remained to conclude important negotiations with Great Britain. The negotiators of the Treaty of 1783 had unwittingly agreed to a VIII.] The Ashburton Treaty, 1842. 227 boundary between the United States and the British Provinces on the north-east, which proved to be nearly impossible to determine on the ground. Each mile of it might almost be said to bristle with difficulties. After many fruitless attempts to settle the matter by direct negotiations, the two governments referred the dispute to the King of the Netherlands as arbiter. He decided (1829) in favour of neither party, but proposed a compromise—which he had no authority to do. Mr Webster and Lord Ashburton, the head of the Baring family, and now British Minister at Washington, agreed to a compromise. The United States gave way somewhat as to the boundary line of the State of Maine, and received an important strip in northern New York, containing Rouse's Point, which had been fortified by the Americans before an accurate survey had disclosed the fact that it was in reality north of the northern boundary of New York, and therefore in Canada. At the same time, extradition of specified classes of criminals was provided for, and a long series of negotiations looking toward the suppression of the African slave-trade was brought to a satisfactory conclusion. The point at issue in this case was the exercise by British naval officers of the right to search vessels flying the American flag in order to discover if they were slavers. Upon the question of right of search, the American public was very sensitive. The issue was now evaded by the conclusion of the "cruising convention," which obliged each nation to keep a squadron of a certain strength always cruising on the slave coast. Mr Webster having accomplished this, followed his colleagues out of office. The treaty was not well received in England by all parties. Some persons even called it the "Ashburton capitulation," in token of their dislike. It appears, however, that had Webster been correctly informed he need not have yielded as much as he did as to the north-eastern boundary of Maine. The interest of American politics from this time onwards turns more and more on the constitutional struggle against the |