Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845; Presidents -- United States -- Biography
Jackson found some firm friends awaiting him in Washington, and he soon
added to their number by becoming reconciled to some old enemies. Among
the old friends was Livingston, now Congressman from Louisiana. One of
the old enemies was the Senator from Missouri, whose chair was next his
own; for the Senator from Missouri, a rising man in Washington, was
Thomas H. Benton. According to Benton's account, Jackson made the first
advance, and they were soon on friendly terms, though Benton continued
to support Clay, whose niece he had married. General Winfield Scott made
an overture, and Jackson cordially responded. Even with Henry Clay he
was induced by mutual friends to stand on a footing of courteous
friendliness, though there never was any genuine friendship between
them.
Against Crawford, the Georgian candidate, and at first the leading
candidate of all, he had a grudge that dated from 1815. Crawford was
Secretary of War at that time, and, contrary to Jackson's advice, had
restored to the Cherokees certain lands which Jackson had got from the
Creeks by the treaty of Fort Jackson, but which the Cherokees claimed.
When Crawford offered himself against Monroe in 1816, Jackson was
ardently for the Virginian; and now, when it was apparent that the
caucus of Republican Senators and Representatives would probably
nominate Crawford, Jackson's friends joined the friends of other
candidates in opposing the caucus altogether, so that in the end only
sixty-six persons attended it, and its action was deprived of the weight
it had formerly had in presidential contests. Before the election,
Crawford was stricken with paralysis, and this greatly weakened his
chances.
Both Calhoun and Adams were on friendly terms with Jackson. Jackson
still supposed that Calhoun had defended the Florida campaign in the
Cabinet. His good feeling toward the South Carolinian was doubtless
strengthened when Calhoun, who had relied on the support of
Pennsylvania, gracefully yielded to Jackson's superior popularity in
that quarter, and withdrew from the contest. It was then generally
agreed that he should be Vice-President, and probably General Jackson,
like many others, was willing that he should restore the old order of
things according to which the Vice-President, instead of the Secretary
of State, stood in line of succession to the presidency.
Adams was Secretary of State, and as such he had rendered Jackson
important services by defending his actions in Florida. Adams, in
diplomacy, believed in standing up for his own country quite as
resolutely as the frontier general did in war. Nor were they far apart
on the tariff and internal improvements, the domestic questions of the
day. Adams's diary for this period shows a good feeling for Jackson. In
honor of the general, Mrs. Adams gave a great ball January 8, 1824, the
anniversary of New Orleans.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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