Birth of His Nation
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President Clay, ever a compromiser, had compromised himself into a bind. He now had enemies on all sides. The New Englanders feared his southern heritage and his silent stance on the issue of slavery. The Southerners distrusted his Whig politics and his seemingly pro-Northern economic stand. Midwesterners were happy with many of his policies, but the growth of political power houses and the fear of Mexican invasion turned many against the Whig policy of neutrality; something they were all for in 1844. Finally the New South, dominated by its Democratic politicos, never shared a common relation with the forlorn President.
Due to the Ballot Crisis of 1848, in which the Washington Fire of 1848 destroyed all the collected results, Clay remained President until January of 1850. These two years were two years that would shape the history of the country in a way few others had. In 1845, Charles Allen was murdered. It was a seemingly innocuous event, but it was to have far reaching consequences. Washington Hunt, a young lawyer from New York, was the prosecutor in the trial of his death. Soon Hunt became enamored with the late politicians’ beliefs.
Washington Hunt
Following the trial, in which no conviction was found, Hunt began associating with Allen’s fellow politicians. In the young American Party, these men promised a new revolution for America, and called upon the United States to extend her power from ocean to ocean, and control all in between. This American Party grew from the Know-Nothings, a group of Nativist politicians who despised the rise of immigrants in the US. Championed by Charles Allen, the Know-Nothings formed a political party, one which cast out Irish and Catholics and promoted the white Anglo-Saxon protestants who controlled much of New York.
Following his election as New York State Comptroller in early 1849, Hunt turned his party national. Waving the green flag of the Green Mountain Boys (ironically a group formed to oppose New Yorkers), Hunt sought out a presidential candidate for 1850. Hunt had chosen the Green Mountain Boys because Charles Allen claimed to be a relative of Ethan Allen, the Green Mountain Boys commander. Hunt proclaimed his party as the party of heroes, come to re-claim America for Americans.
The flag of the American Party
Hunt began traveling across the country seeking a candidate to run for him, and campaigning for his party. Hunt, and his compatriots, understood the power of the Rail Road, and invested heavily in trans-continental journeys for support. Most traditional politicians rebuffed the offer to join this upstart group of rabble rousers. In fact, it became so perilous to associate with the American Party that men began hiding their allegiance to the organization. Nevertheless, in the taverns and back streets of the major cities of America, men started joining the party. The allure of a new America seemed to take root in the minds of men who were distrustful of the political dynamos who ruled America in the 1840’s. Hunt slowly weaned out some of the more radical policies towards the Irish and immigrants and focused on the idea of ‘Manifest Destiny’, a term coined in 1845 by John L. O'Sullivan.
With Manifest Destiny as their catchphrase, and their green flag leading the way, the American Party took the country by storm. In the 1848 congressional elections, the American Party took 10 seats in Congress, 4 away from Democrats and 6 from Whigs. This caused some panic in the ranks, and slowly men on both sides began falling in with this new crowd. Groups such as the Richmond Gang still held a great deal of power in the Old South, but their effectiveness had been dimmed due to other political blocs such as the Southern and Whig triumvirates. With the lack of any central authority, fringe politicians became free to roam. The core remained loyal, but many fell behind American Party bills.
This was the scene onto which Charles Magill Conrad stepped in. Conrad was a Virginia born Louisiana man. He was defeated after being appointed to the US Senate by the Southern Triumvirate. From the experience he gained a hatred and distrust for the major parties, one which carried over well with the American Party, and Hunt in particular. Officially a Whig, Conrad official changed parties and pledged loyalty to the Blue and Green (as the American Party flag began to be called). Conrad agreed, at Hunt’s suggestion, to run for President on the American Party ticket, with Hunt as his Vice President. The American Party was born.
Charles Magill Conrad
Garrison will come back with a vengeance soon enough.
