No period in American political history is so susceptible to dramatization. There is grim tragedy in the baffled ambitions of Calhoun and Clay; romance in the rise of Kendall and the fall of Mrs. Eaton; rich comedy, when viewed behind the scenes, in the lugubrious procession of “distress petitioners” trained to tears by the art of Clay and the money of Biddle; and rollicking farce in the early morning flight of a dismissed Cabinet minister, to escape the apprehended chastisement of an erstwhile colleague whose wife’s good name had been assailed. The drama of party politics, with its motives of love, hate, and vaulting ambition--such is the unidealized story of the epochal period when the iron will of the physically feeble Jackson dominated the life of the Nation, and colored the politics of the Republic for a century. The Drama--its motives--its actors--such the theme of this history. CLAUDE G. BOWERS CONTENTS I. THE WASHINGTON OF THE THIRTIES 1 The journey from Philadelphia--The first railroad--Communication with the West--First impressions of visitors--Hotels--Looking for lions--Trials of calling--Unpaved streets--Uncouth appearance of town--Impressions of contemporaries--Surroundings of Capitol--Neighboring quagmires--Cows in the streets--Unlighted thoroughfares--Advantages of Georgetown--Drives and walks--Arlington--The Tayloe mansion--The Van Ness mansion--Sight-seeing--The Capitol’s popularity--Society in Senate--In House--In Supreme Court--Manner of living--House rent--Servant hire--Slaves and Southern masters--Boarding-houses--Congressional messes--The Woodbury mess--The law of the mess--Popularity of--Adams a diner-out--Hospitality of the town--Miss Martineau’s triumph--Ignorance of her books--Thomas Hamilton’s experiences--Literary celebrities--First society letters--First Washington correspondents--Crude performances in Washington theater--Booth’s appearances--Fanny Kemble’s--Rules and prices in theater--Weather postpones performances--Traveling circuses--The race-course--Cockfighting--Gambling--Heavy drinking--Moral laxity--A Washington season as a lark--Affectations of fashion--Parisian gowns and hats--Leading shops--Daily routine of a lady of fashion--Party lines in society--Mrs. Livingston’s leadership--Mrs. Stevenson--Mrs. Woodbury--Mrs. Forsyth--Mrs. Tayloe--Men’s styles--Conversationals--Formality--Pictures of Clay, Webster, and Calhoun in society--Day of gossip--Of gallantry--Entertainments--Introduction of ice-cream--The dances--Dense crowds--Incongruous dresses--Diplomats set fast pace--Events at Carusi’s--The quiet Sundays--Unhealthiness--Death-rate--The cholera scourge. II. THE RISING OF THE MASSES 31