The President was called upon to make a speech, in which he made violent attacks upon his supposed enemies, or those who opposed his policy, thereby sinking beneath the dignity which he was expected to maintain as President of the United States, to the level of a mere political demagogue. His utterances in that motley assembly, of course, were soon met by sharp opposition. There were many, however, who did not treat the fiery demonstration of the President seriously, and several of the crowd indulged in the pastime of firing off a few good-natured jokes at the tailor of Tennessee, who, by a mysterious fate, had been raised to such a dizzy eminence. These jests were taken seriously by the President, whose hot Southern blood became so aroused that he forgot the dignity of his office and station and condescended to bandy words, and exchange terms of ribaldry with people in the crowd. He then became a butt for savage ridicule. A small black flag was exhibited which seemed to have the same effect upon him as a red rag has upon a Texan steer. The President became furious, and losing entire control of himself, pointed towards a man in the crowd saying, “Who is that man who dares to hoist that black flag. Let him come up here and I will tell him what I think of him.” This descent of personal dignity on the part of the President was received by the audience with a feeling of ineffable disgust. He had stooped beneath the level of the average electioneering stump speaker. He was greeted with jeers and hooting, and the meeting was turned into a roaring farce, in which the President played harlequin, to the great delight of the ignorant element in the crowd, and the terrible mortification of those who had conducted him thither. His friends were greatly incensed at his conduct. My business friends and I were heartily sorry that we had anything to do with this unruly Executive, who had evidently lost his head through the sudden acquisition of power. The President’s journey was continued to Chicago by way of Cleveland, where he made similar outbursts to those displayed at Albany. By the time he had reached Chicago he had become a public object of ridicule. He spoke so vociferously about “my policy” that the very boys in the streets began to utter these words ironically and jeeringly. The tour of the President was designated “Swinging around the circle,” and when he returned to Washington he had become an object of national contempt, and the majority of the people had entirely lost confidence in him. One thing about this time that intensified the popular feeling of hostility against him was the attitude he assumed concerning the massacre of New Orleans, which occurred about a month before he started on his political tour.