Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. II.djvu/130

 98 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS Abolitionists can by no possibility produce good to any portion of the Union, but must, if persisted in, lead to incalculable mischief,&quot; and discussed at length other topics, especially bearing upon the in ternal policy of Tennessee. In 1841 Mr. Polk was again a candidate for the governorship, although his defeat was a foregone conclusion in view of the political whirlwind that had swept over the country in 1840 and resulted in the election of William Henry Harrison to the presidency. In Tennessee the Harrison electoral ticket had received more than 12,000 majority. Although to overcome this was impossible, Mr. Polk entered upon the canvass with his usual energy and earnestness. He could not secure the defeat of James C. Jones, the op posing Whig candidate, one of the most popular members of his party in the state, but he did suc ceed in cutting down the opposition majority to about 3,000. In 1843 Mr. Polk was once more a candidate; but this time Gov. Jones s majority was nearly 4,000. In 1839 Mr. Polk had been nominated by the legislature of Tennessee as its candidate for vice- president on the ticket with Martin Van Buren, and other states had followed the example; but Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, seemed to be the choice of the great body of the Democratic party, and he was accordingly nominated. From the date of Van Buren s defeat in 1840 until