Washington, May 25th, 1844.
Gentlemen:—
I feel no hesitation in giving your questions a frank and explicit answer.
And first. Against Mr. Van Buren, I cannot be a candidate before the National Convention. After a large majority of the delegates to that convention had either been instructed or pledged to support him, I voluntarily withdrew my name as a candidate for the purpose of concentrating the strength, and thus securing the triumph of the party. In consequence of this act of mine, the delegates from my own State have been instructed to support him, and I am thus placed in such a position that I feel myself bound both in honor and principle not to become his competitor.
Second. Should Mr. Van Buren, after a fair trial, either be withdrawn by his friends, or should they be satisfied that he cannot obtain the nomination, and the delegates from Pennsylvania be thus left at liberty to make a second choice, in that event I should feel myself restored to my original position, and they would then have my consent to present my name, if they thought proper, as a candidate to the convention.
From your friend, very respectfully,
James Buchanan.
The Baltimore Convention nominated James K. Polk of Tennessee as the Democratic candidate for the Presidency. The Whig candidate was Mr. Clay. At the election, which took place in the autumn of 1844, Mr. Polk received 170 electoral votes, while Mr. Clay obtained but 105. No one of the leading Democratic statesmen in the country was more conspicuous, or exerted greater influence in bringing about this result, than Mr. Buchanan.
The following selections from his private correspondence at this exciting period, before and during the election of Mr. Polk, are all that can find space in this chapter:
[TO THE REV. EDWARD Y. BUCHANAN.]