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« on: May 29, 2014, 11:52:21 AM » |
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In a shocking upset, incumbent President Martin Van Buren managed to win a second term in spite of the depressed economy and a weakened Democratic Party in 1840. Defeating Henry Clay by a mere 13 votes and securing a fairly small margin of victory in the Electoral College, Van Buren would return to Washington with expanded Democratic majorities in the House and in the Senate intent upon continuing along the path let by his "illustrious predecessor," Andrew Jackson.
Van Buren's second term has been fairly quiet. The economy moved into a period of recovery beginning in the early 1840s, allowing the President to cut tariff rates and retire some of the deficit built up during the depression of the late 1830s and early 1840s. Perhaps the most overwhelming issue for the administration has been the desire by many within his own party to put forward the annexation of the Republic of Texas, a white settler state carved out of Mexico almost a decade ago. Van Buren has been especially cautious on this issue, not wishing to inflame mounting tensions between North and South over the slavery question (as evidenced by the strong showing of and the election of members of the Liberty Party in both 1840 and 1842). He has thus far stonewalled attempts at annexation, and has made known that under his leadership, annexation will only come "at the request of the American people," thereby doing his best to void the issue altogether.
The presumptive Whig Party nominee, 1840's close loser Henry Clay, is also firmly against annexation, arguing that bringing Texas into the Union will destabilize the firm balance between slave and free states.
The Democrats do not share the kind of unity projected by the Whigs and by even President Van Buren himself. With the Deep South eying Texas and the possibility of annexation (for the growth of slavery, of course) riding on this election, Southern Democrats are doing everything in their power to wrest the Democratic nomination from the moderate Van Burenites and transform the Democratic Party into the party of Manifest Destiny.
Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan has announced a bid for the Democratic nomination, seeking to unite the nation on a platform of Manifest Destiny, calling for the annexation of Texas as well as the full annexation of the still disputed Oregon Country. His position on expansionism makes him appealing to Southerners as well as Northerners by virtue of his geographic location and by virtue of his call for the taking of all of Oregon, even if it would mean war with the British.
Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky is positioning himself as a moderate supporter of annexation, much like his boss in the White House. Johnson doesn't think that annexation should proceed if it means war with Mexico, but he also thinks that "our Republican brothers in Texas" should join the Union when the time is right. Other than that, Johnson is running on the generic Democratic program of reduced tariff rates and more state prerogatives, with little federal involvement in infrastructure investment or anything that would be fairly costly for the federal government.
Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina is running on an unabashedly pro-annexation platform, and one that doesn't shirk away from the slavery issue whatsoever, described the expansion of slavery to Texas and the territories as a "positive good." Calhoun is not, however, on the whole an advocate of Manifest Destiny in the abstract, given certain racial implications that it might have (i.e. he doesn't want to bring a large number of non-whites into the Union), and as such has qualified his position by noting that he only wishes to see "white republics" brought into the union, implicitly giving support for the acquisition of Oregon as well as Mexico.
Senator James Buchanan of Pennsylvania is another Northerner running on a Manifest Destiny-tinged platform, calling for the annexation of all of Oregon Country, as well as the incorporation of Texas into the Union. Buchanan hopes to sweeten the deal with Southern slaveholders by a promise to acquire Cuba if elected President, as well, although this anecdote might cost him support from Northerners not entirely enamored with the idea (as well as Southerners not keen on acquiring a nation full of dark-skinned people).
Senator Levi Woodbury of New Hampshire is another Northerner running on a program of Manifest Destiny and expansionism. His campaign is a fairly generic one, and he is perhaps less ardent than Buchanan or Cass on the immediate annexation of Texas, preferring the route chosen by President Van Buren (though with a much shorter end-date on the acquisition of Texas, of course).
Captain Charles Stewart of the United States Navy has also had his name placed in nomination, largely on the merits of his actions during the War of 1812. Democrats backing Stewart are hoping to copy their successes with the nomination of war hero Andrew Jackson in 1828 and 1832, and think that nominating an experienced fighter may help in the (expected) war with Mexico and/or Great Britain.
Former Governor James K. Polk of Tennessee is seeking the Democratic nomination on a platform broadly similar to those of the other expansionists, though he perhaps has a better chance of it, balancing desires for Northern acquisition (Oregon), Southern acquisition (Texas), and representing a state in the Upper South. Polk has accepted the framework presented by Van Buren but has quantified it, seeking annexation only "so far as it will not destabilize our internal divisions," and has remained loyal to Van Buren in spite of their disagreement over the annexation issue.
Northern anti-slavery Democrats, upset with all potential choices, are toying around with the idea of drafting President Martin Van Buren for an unprecedented third term. Van Buren, in public, has publicly rebuffed these advocates, though in private it is well known that he is behind the effort, not fully satisfied with the possible alternatives, and not wanting to see the White House fall into Whig hands.
You have one day to nominate a Presidential and Vice Presidential ticket for the Democrats, and select a Vice Presidential nominee for the Whig Party.
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