Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 2).djvu/268

258 him of his right to the presidency in 1825, and again the old cry resounded in all the Democratic presses and in numberless speeches. Again Clay thought it necessary to call upon his friends for testimony to prove that he had given an uncorrupted vote for Adams twenty years before. But, in spite of Andrew Jackson's still potent hostility, he would have won the day had he not found his most dangerous enemy in himself.

The Texas question was, after all, the real issue of the campaign. In this respect Polk's position was perfectly clear. As a declared advocate of annexation, he could count upon a majority of the Southern States; but in the North he was for the same reason in danger of losing not a few Democratic votes. New York was looked upon as the decisive battle-ground. To prevent the loss of that state, Silas Wright, the friend of Van Buren and an opponent of annexation, was prevailed upon to accept the Democratic candidacy for the governorship. A secret circular was issued by prominent Democrats of anti-slavery feelings, — among them William Cullen Bryant, the editor of the “Evening Post,” David Dudley Field, and Theodore Sedgwick, — censuring the Democratic National Convention for adopting a resolution in favor of annexing Texas, and recommending to Democrats to support only such candidates for Congress as were opposed to annexation, but to vote for the Democratic presidential ticket: a poor device, indicating, however, that there was ominous wavering in the Democratic ranks.