Five days after Congress convened, the Baltimore Convention nominated Clay for the high office he long had sought. It had been inevitable from the hour he rode out of Washington after the inauguration on his way to Baltimore. During his retirement, his letters of 1829 and 1830 furnish proof of his candidacy, albeit he carefully conveyed the impression that he was a little indifferent to the nomination, and more than doubtful of the result of the election.[381] In a letter to a political follower he early predicted that if Jackson could unite New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania upon his candidacy, opposition would be futile.[382] Two months later, Webster assured him of the support of Massachusetts, but feared that a first nomination from that State would “only raise the cry of coalition revived.”[383] And three days after his nomination at Baltimore, Clay had written of his skepticism of success, with the encouraging comment: “Something, however, may turn up (and that must be our encouraging hope) to give a brighter aspect to our affairs.”[384] Thus, when he entered the Senate we may be sure that it was with the fixed determination that something should “turn up.” It was his belief, as we have seen, that Jackson’s election depended upon his ability to carry Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. At the time he entertained no hope of diverting Virginia from Jackson, but he hoped to carry Pennsylvania or New York, or both. Upon the former he pinned his faith--and there the tariff was strong, and the National Bank had its headquarters there, with its ramifications into every section of the country. His platform had been carefully thought out and thoroughly discussed in the correspondence of 1829 and 1830. It embraced internal improvements, a protective tariff, and the rechartering of the Bank. Thus, when Congress met, the Opposition candidate and his platform were before the people, and the congressional battles of the session were but heavy skirmishes preliminary to the battle for the Presidency.