[148] John Randolph, probably the most venomously personal debater Congress has ever had among its members, gave immortality to the charge against Adams and Clay by likening the pair to two unsavory characters in Fielding’s novel, _Tom Jones_. He referred to the “coalition of Blifil and Black George, a combination, unheard of until now, of the Puritan and the blackleg.” The taunt against Clay expressed in the last word was based upon that statesman’s rather loose habits, which were only too characteristic of the public men of the period. The fact that Randolph and Clay fought a bloodless duel over this matter, reminds us of the extent to which manners have changed within three quarters of a century. [149] For example, the duty on hemp was raised from $35 to $60 per ton. [150] In these respects he much resembles the Ex-President, his father, who, curiously and appropriately enough, died within a few hours of his old friend and rival, Jefferson, on the fiftieth anniversary of the day they had helped to render famous, July 4, 1826. CHAPTER XIX. =THE JACKSONIAN EPOCH, 1829–1837.= POLITICAL CONDITIONS. =343. The Meaning of Jackson’s Election.=—Andrew Jackson was the first man of plain birth and breeding to sit in the White House. Born on the border between the two Carolinas, he had early made his way to Tennessee and there had risen to leadership through his strength of character and his possession of all the manly qualities most held in repute by the pioneer settlers. The democratic voters gave him whatever political or military offices he wanted, and were thoroughly satisfied with the effective way he discharged his duties. When Indians or British threatened the South or Southwest, he was the man to whom the general government had to turn, and his constant success made him a popular hero throughout the Union. Thus, in reputation as well as in character, he became more than a mere Tennesseean; he became a representative American. He was not a trained statesman, and his opinions on many important subjects were little more than prejudices. But he was thoroughly honest and fearless and precisely the sort of leader fitted to enlist the sympathy and admiration of the democracy. It is true that he could have done little without his shrewd political friends, and that he was likely to be partly their tool. It is true, also, that with all the virtues of the backwoodsmen, he had some of their vices, notably that of vindictiveness. But when all allowances are made, he was a great man, thoroughly representative of the new electorate.