Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/625

 TAYLOR TCHAD 597 iy nominated Lewis Oass for the presi- dency, but a powerful section of the New York democracy, familiarly known as barn- burners, refused their support to Mr. Cass, partly because of his pro-slavery position. On Aug. 9, 1848, these freesoil democrats assem- bled in convention at Buffalo, N. Y., together with the freesoil whigs who had rejected the nomination of Gen. Taylor, and the liberty party men who had previously supported James G. Birney. A fusion of these parties was ef- fected on the basis of a platform of which op- position to the extension of slavery was the leading principle, and Martin Van Buren was minated for president and Charles Francis ,ms of Massachusetts for vice president, t the election in November 163 electors were osen for Taylor and Fillmore to 12V for Cass .d Butler. The Van Buren and Adams party id not carry a single elector, their popular vote being about 290,000, while that for Gen. Taylor was about 1,360,000, and that for Cass 1,220,000. Gen. Taylor was inaugurated pres- ident on Monday, March 5, 1849, and on the following day appointed as his cabinet John M. Clayton of Delaware, secretary of state ; "William M. Meredith of Pennsylvania, secre- tary of the treasury ; George W. Crawford of Georgia, secretary of war; William B. Preston of Virginia, secretary of the navy; Thomas Ewing of Ohio, secretary of the interior ; Jacob Collamer of Vermont, postmaster general ; and Jverdy Johnson of Maryland, attorney gen- ii. The democratic party had elected a plu- ity of the members of congress, and a few freesoil members held the balance of power between the whigs and democrats. A vehe- ment struggle began with regard to the organ- ization of "the new territories, the admission of California as a state, and the question of the boundary between Texas and New Mexico, all of these subjects being connected with the question of the extension of slavery. Califor- nia had applied for admission into the Union with a constitution excluding slavery. There being at this time an equal number of free and slave states in the Union, the proposition to admit California and thus give the free states a preponderance in the senate excited through- out the south the most violent opposition. At the same time New Mexico and Utah, or Dese- ret, as it was called by the Mormons who occu- pied it, were without governments. President Taylor in his messages to congress recommend- ed that California should be admitted, and that the other territories should form state consti- tutions to suit themselves, and should be ad- mitted into the Union with or without slavery as their constitutions might prescribe. These recommendations were not acceptable to the slaveholding leaders, many of whom made open threats of secession. Henry Clay in the senate introduced the compromise measures known by his name, including the recommendations of the president's message. (See CLAY, HEN- ET.) His propositions were still the subject JO Re 3 in one form or another of exciting debates in congress and of earnest discussion among the people, when on the 4th of July, 1850, Presi- dent Taylor was seized with bilious fever, of which he died on the 9th at the presidential mansion. Gen. Taylor was of middle stature and stout form, with dark complexion, high forehead, and keen penetrating eyes, with a face more remarkable for intelligence than for elegance, and an expression of much kindness and good nature. It was during this adminis- tration that the secession party in the south first manifested itself in considerable force outside of South Carolina. To the schemes of this party Gen. Taylor was sternly opposed. TAZEWELL. I. A S. W. county of Virginia, bordering on West Virginia, and drained by the head streams of Clinch and Holston rivers ; area, about 600 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 10,791, of whom 1,598 were colored. Clinch moun- tain and other ranges traverse it. The soil of the valleys is very fertile. The chief produc- tions in 1870 were 38,020 bushels of wheat, 155,133 of Indian corn, 69,189 of oats, 9,675 of potatoes, 19,812 Ibs. of wool, 95,175 of butter, and 5,301 tons of hay. There were 2,025 horses, 2,562 milch cows, 8,663 other cattle, 9,539 sheep, and 6,651 swine; 3 tan- neries, and 3 wool-carding and cloth-dressing establishments. Capital, Tazewell Court House. II. A central county of Illinois, bounded N. W. by the Illinois river, intersected by the Mackinaw, and traversed by several railroads ; area, 550 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 27,903. The surface is level, consisting mostly of prairies, and the soil highly fertile. The chief produc- tions in 1870 were 204,827 bushels of wheat, 59,027 of rye, 2,062,053 of Indian corn, 505,- 841 of oats, 43,210 of barley, 108,984 of po- tatoes, 29,292 Ibs. of wool, 285,323 of butter, and 27,564 tons of hay. There were 10,312 horses, 6,194 milch cows, 10,873 other cattle, 7,591 sheep, and 34,555 swine ; 4 manufacto- ries of agricultural implements, 12 of carriages and wagons, 2 of iron castings, 9 of saddlery and harness, 5 of sash, doors, and blinds, 10 flour mills, and 4 distilleries. Capital, Pekin. TCHAD, or Tsad, a lake of central Africa, on the borders of Borneo, Kanem, and Baghirmi, between lat. 12 30' and 14 30' N., and Ion. 13 and 15 30' E. It is an irregular triangle, the base of which lies W. S. W. and E. N. E. ; length from N. W. to S. E. about 150 m., greatest width about 120 m., area 10,500 sq. m. ; but it varies greatly in size in the dry and the rainy season. Its elevation above the level of the sea is about 1,000 ft. It rarely exceeds 15 ft. in depth, and many parts of it are in the dry season a reedy swamp. About two thirds of its area is occupied by islands. Its shores are generally low and flat and covered with rushes and reeds, back of which is fertile ground and rich pasturage ; but on the north they rise gradually and are wooded. The S. and W. shores are frequently inundated, and the streets of Kuka, the capital of Bornoo,