Terrebonne County Louisiana Archives News.....Fifty Years Ago No. 11 March 7, 1891 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Savanna King savanna18king@gmail.com August 11, 2023, 12:54 am The Thibodaux Sentinel March 7, 1891 On March 4, 1841, Gen. William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, was inaugurated President of the United States. He was the first President that had been elected by the Whig Party, as the result of the most bitter, intense and wonderful campaign that had taken place. His opponent was Martin Van Buren, of New York, who had been elected President four years previous, as the successor and friend of Andrew Jackson. Down to the organization of this campaign, Party National Conventions were unknown. The members of the various political parties in Congress usually met in caucus and made nominations of candidates for President and Vice President, but these nominations were not binding. Hence, besides the so constituted nominees there were also often a number of independents. But in 1840 the idea of National Conventions was originated. The Whig convention met in the early part of 1840, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and then and there committed the greatest folly that any political party can commit, and probably planted the seed that caused its final overthrow, in a very few years. It nominated W.H. Harrison for its candidate for President, and associated with him John Tyler, of Virginia, as its candidate for Vice President, in both selections making a clear and open sacrifice of principle to expediency. The great and almost universal demand of the Whigs was for the nomination of the great Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and who was entitled to the position by every principal of justice and merit. He was its founder, leader, and champion, and fearless defender of its doctrine and principles, both in the halls of Congress, and upon the stump. The delegates composing the convention at Harrisburg, knowing the strong opposition against him, bitter and personal, amongst the friends of the then administration lacked the nerve to breast the current, bowed to its force, and nominated Harrison, whose history had no bitter personal animosities, and whose past career that had made him famous, was not in political struggles. He had been a successful warrior, in the contests with the savages of the Western States, and had won two famous battles against the Indians. The first, on the river Thames, in the State of Ohio, where he defeated the renowned Indian chief, Tecumseh, who was killed in that fight. The second was upon the plains of Tippecanoe in Indiana, where his enemies under the lead of the chief Little Turtle, attacked him at night, but were completely routed and driven from the field. These two defeats so thoroughly demoralized the Indians that all the Territory east of the Mississippi was in a manner abandoned by them, and yielded up to the possession of the whites. Gen. Harrison was subsequently appointed Governor of all that territory now comprising Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan &c. and governed it wisely and ably, winning the esteem and confidence of the people. For a number of years, however, he had been living a quiet life at Northbend, on the banks of the Ohio river, a few miles below Cincinnati. John Tyler, who had never been much of a Whig partisan, and who was an opponent of the recharter of a National Bank, one of the principal planks in the Whig platform, was nominated for Vice President, and with the hope that he might carry Virginia for the ticket, expediency came to the front whilst faithful advocates of the party were made to stand aside. The Jackson party, at Baltimore, in convention nominated Martin Van Buren for President and Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky for Vice President. They were the actual incumbents. Mr. Van Buren, the “sage of Kinder hook” as he was known was a man of brilliant talents, a skillful politician and an especial pet of General Jackson, his predecessor in office. Mr. Johnson was a man of some political prominence as a statesman, having made himself conspicuous in Congress, in his defense and support of Sunday mails, which to that period had not been moved on that day. He had also, some popularity as a soldier, whose friends claimed that the death of Tecumseh, at the battle of the Thames was caused by a shot from his pistol. That he was a brave soldier and a good fighter no one doubted, but Col. Johnson never claimed that he had killed Tecumseh, although he may have done so, as some one undoubtedly did slay the great chief in that battle. In 1843 Col. Johnson passed through the town in which I was at school, in Indiana, where a reception was tendered him. A third class politician was selected to deliver the reception address, during which he exhibited so little discretion and so much want of common sense, as to put the question direct to the visitor, “Whether he had killed Tecumseh at the battle of the Thames.” Col. Johnson in his reply showed the good sense to ignore the question entirely. He made a sensible address, in which there was but little attempt at oratory. Col. Johnson wore a red vest, and consequently every Democrat in the country came out in red vests, immediately afterwards. Here, there was the first time since the organization of the Government two political parties pitted squarely against each other for the highest office in the gift of the people. The Whig Party advocating the charter of a National Bank, a general system of internal improvements, a Protective Tariff, and restrictions of the Presidency to one term. The Locofoco Party, for by some unknown and unexplainable process that was the title given the Van Buren followers, was advocating their subtreasury systems, strongly opposing National Banks, and all systems of internal public improvements by the General Government. And thus the contest opened. [To be continued.] File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/terrebonne/newspapers/fiftyyea745gnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/lafiles/ File size: 6.3 Kb