The party battles of the Jackson period

by Claude G. Bowers

V

An occurrence on the last day of the session, due to partisan madness, left the Republic all but naked to its prospective foe. Early in the evening, during the consideration of the Fortifications Bill, an amendment was offered in the House, appropriating three millions to be used at the discretion of the President for emergency work in the event France should strike during the congressional recess. It met with no opposition in the House, but the moment it reached the Senate it was pounced upon by the Whig leaders as another proof of Jackson’s itch for power. Webster, assuming the leadership in the sorry business, proposed instantly to dispose of the amendment with a motion to “adhere” to the Senate measure. This harsh, unusual course was intended as a notice that the Senate would not even meet the House in conference upon the subject.

Then followed a most amazing spectacle, with the Whigs assailing Jackson and his alleged contempt for the Constitution and determination to declare war without an Act of Congress. Senator Buchanan, protesting against the Webster motion, pointed out the necessity for the appropriation—the possibility of a blow from France during the recess, the frankly expressed apprehension of Livingston. “In that event,” he continued, “what will be our condition? Our seacoast from Georgia to Maine will be exposed to the incursions of the enemy; our cities may be plundered and burnt; the national character may be disgraced; and all this whilst we have an overflowing Treasury.”[847]

King of Alabama earnestly pleaded with Webster to withdraw the harsh motion. “In what way,” he asked, “does it violate the Constitution? Does it give the President the power to declare war? This power belongs to Congress alone, nor does the bill in the slightest degree impair it. Does it authorize the raising of armies? No, not one man may be enlisted beyond the number required to fill up the ranks of your little army.”

But Webster was deaf to the appeal. The “autocrat” and “tyrant” was again making an onslaught on the Constitution, and he would have none of it. And by a strict party vote, for White of Tennessee had by now definitely joined the Opposition, the motion to adhere was adopted.

When this surprising action reached the House, it swallowed its pride and asked for a conference. The conferees met and remained in deadlock until midnight. Forsyth and Van Buren were at the Capitol trying without avail to get action. Meanwhile in the Senate something very like a filibuster was begun. Benton was impressed by the number of the speakers, their vehemence, perseverance, provocative attacks on Jackson, and indirectly on the House.[848]

All this time, Jackson was patiently waiting in his room at the Capitol to sign the bill when passed. At midnight he put on his hat and returned to the White House. The conference and debate continued, with many, who considered the session dead at midnight,[849] leaving the Capitol, until repeated calls of the House failed to secure a quorum. At a late hour some of the Whig members of the House were insisting that the amendment be abandoned, with the Democrats refusing to yield and placing the responsibility upon the Senate. Partisan bitterness became more pronounced as the end approached. “There are men who would willingly see the banner of France waving over your Capitol, rather than lose an opportunity to make a thrust at the Administration,” bitterly exclaimed Jesse Bynum of North Carolina. “This is not a miserable Administration or anti-Administration question,” protested Henry A. Wise, the Whig who favored the amendment. The danger of war was real and if it came “every fortification on your coast is liable to fall into the hands of a strong maritime power,” he warned.[850] At intervals, motions to recede were offered and overwhelmingly defeated.

It was two o’clock in the morning when Cambreleng returned to the House with a compromise—$300,000 for arming the fortifications, $500,000 for repairs and the equipping of war vessels, “an amount wholly inadequate if it should be required, and more than necessary if it should not.” As he entered the House, he found no quorum, and no possibility of getting one. On a motion to adjourn, only 111 members were present and voting; a few moments later but 75; and at three o’clock, Speaker Bell rose, delivered a brief valedictory, and the House stood adjourned without day. The Nation was naked to the foe, and in the midst of negotiations.

Far from weakening Jackson’s determination to maintain the dignity and rights of the Nation, the failure of the Fortifications Bill but strengthened his will, and two days after Congress adjourned, Forsyth instructed Livingston to demand an explanation or qualification of an insinuation in Serurier’s note of withdrawal that the President had knowingly misrepresented in his Message to Congress.[851]

Meanwhile, in France, the Whigs’ campaign to picture Jackson as isolated in his position from both Congress and the people was having its effect, and there were Whigs in America who rejoiced in the fact. Scanning the French newspapers, Philip Hone was delighted to find that Clay’s report and the Senate resolution had had the effect he anticipated. He rejoiced to find that they convinced the French that the proposal of reprisals “are only the acts of the President” and “would not be sanctioned by the legislature of the Nation.”[852]