Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 1).djvu/44

32 The tide of popular sentiment turned so strongly in favor of the Federalists that they might easily, by prudent conduct, have attracted to themselves a large portion of the Republican rank and file, thus severely crippling the opposition to the administration of John Adams. But to push an advantage too far is one of the most dangerous errors a political party can commit; and this is what the Federalists did in giving themselves the appearance of trying to silence their opponents by the force of law. Nothing could have been better calculated not only to alarm the masses, but also to repel thinking men not blinded by party spirit, than an attempt upon the freedom of speech and of the press, wholly unwarranted by any urgency of public danger. The result was as might have been foreseen. The leaders of the opposition, with Jefferson at their head, were not slow in taking advantage of this stupendous folly. Their appeals to the democratic instincts of the people, who felt themselves threatened in their dearest rights, could not fail to meet with an overwhelming response. That response was especially strong west of the Alleghanies, where Federalism had never grown as an indigenous plant, but existed only as an exotic. In the young communities of Kentucky, the excitement was intense, and Clay, fresh from the Virginia school of democracy, threw himself into the current with all the fiery spirit of youth. Of the speeches he then delivered in popular gatherings, none are preserved even in outline. But it