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Rh Robert Y. Hayne, also a senator; and George McDuffie, governor of the state. The nullifiers made considerable military preparations, and for a time civil war between South Carolina and tho federal government seemed inevitable. Jackson had just been reëlected for a second term by 219 electoral votes, against a divided opposition which cast 49 votes for Henry Clay, 11 for John Floyd, and 7 for William Wirt, while Mr. Van Buren was chosen vice president. The popular vote was 687,502 for Jackson and 530,189 for his opponents. All the disposable army was ordered to assemble at Charleston under Gen. Scott, and a ship of war was sent to that port to insure the collection of duties. A proclamation was issued, Dec. 10, 1832, denying the right of a state to nullify any act of the federal government, and warning all engaged in fomenting the rebellion that the laws against treason would be enforced at all hazards and to their utmost penalties. The leaders of the nullifiers were also privately given to understand that if they committed any overt act they should surely be hanged. The firmness of the president, who in this conjuncture was warmly supported by the great mass of the nation of all parties, gave an effectual check to the incipient rebellion, and the affair was finally settled by a proposition brought forward in congress by Henry Clay, the leading champion of the protective system, for the modification of the tariff by a gradual reduction of the obnoxious duties; a compromise which was accepted by the nullifiers as the only means of escape from the perilous position in which they had placed themselves. Meanwhile the president's vehemence in party matters had led to sweeping removals from office, and a personal quarrel to changes in the cabinet, which in the latter part of 1831 was constituted thus: Edward Livingston, secretary of state; Louis McLane, of the treasury; Lewis Cass, of war; Levi Woodbury, of the navy; and Roger B. Taney, attorney general. Barry remained postmaster general. In his annual message in December, 1832, the president recommended the removal of the public funds from the bank of the United States, where they were by law deposited. Congress by a decisive vote refused to authorize the removal, and the president on his own responsibility directed the secretary of the treasury to withdraw the deposits and place them in certain state banks. That officer refusing, he was removed, and Mr. Taney, the attorney general, appointed in his place, who complied with the order. This step was attended by a financial panic, and great commercial distress immediately ensued. A resolution censuring the president was passed in the senate, but the house of representatives sustained him. The foreign policy of President Jackson was very successful. Useful commercial treaties were made with several countries, and indemnities for spoliations on American commerce were obtained from France, Spain,

Naples, and Portugal. At home the principal events of his administration, besides those already mentioned, were the extinction of the national debt, the beginning, toward the close of 1835, of the war with the Seminole Indians in Florida, and the admission of Arkansas (1836) and Michigan (1837) into the Union.—In the presidential contest of 1836 Mr. Van Buren, who was supported by the democrats, received 170 electoral votes, and was elected; while the opposition or whig vote was divided between William Henry Harrison (73), Hugh L. White (26), Daniel Webster (14), and Willie P. Mangum (11). No candidate having been elected vice president, Richard M. Johnson, who had received the highest number of votes (147, against 77 for Francis Granger, 47 for John Tyler, and 23 for William Smith), was chosen by the senate. The popular vote was 761,549 for Van Buren and 736,656 for the opposition candidates. President Van Buren selected as his cabinet, John Forsyth, secretary of state; Levi Woodbury, of the treasury; Joel R. Poinsett, of war; Mahlon Dickerson, of the navy; B. F. Butler, attorney general; and Amos Kendall, postmaster general. All of these except Mr. Poinsett had been members of President Jackson's cabinet at the close of his last term; but several changes were subsequently made, James K. Paulding becoming secretary of the navy and Felix Grundy attorney general in 1838, Henry D. Gilpin attorney general and John M. Niles postmaster general in 1840. The new administration commenced under most untoward circumstances. The business of the country, affected by excessive speculation and overtrading, and by sudden contractions and expansions of the currency, was on the verge of ruin. Within two months after the inauguration of the president the mercantile failures in the city of New York alone amounted to more than $100,000,000. Nearly the whole of Mr. Van Buren's term was occupied with attempts to remedy these evils by legislative measures for the establishment of a stable currency and a sound system of government finance. A favorite measure of the president was the independent treasury system for the custody of the public funds, which was ultimately sanctioned by congress, and is still in force. The war with the Seminoles was not ended till 1842. The pecuniary troubles were imputed in great measure to the financial policy of the administration by its political opponents; and, as the presidential election of 1840 approached, the state elections indicated that the democratic party was in danger of overthrow. A whig national convention (the congressional caucus system for nominating candidates having been abandoned) was held at Harrisburg, Dec. 4, 1839, and Gen. Harrison was nominated for president, with John Tyler for vice president. The national democratic convention met at Baltimore, May 5, 1840, and unanimously nominated Mr. Van Buren. The canvass was one of the most