Ohio History Journal

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BOOK

BOOK

REVIEWS

DEMOCRATIC POLITICS AND SEC-

TIONALISM: THE WILMOT PRO-

VISO CONTROVERSY. By Chaplain

W. Morrison. (Chapel Hill: University

of North Carolina Press, 1967. viii+244p.;

index. $6.00.)

In December 1844 Preston King, an

influential New York Democrat, confessed

that after the events of the past year he

did not trust the South and Southern men.

His attitude was shared by another New

Yorker, G. F. Kemble, who thought that

a "sectional party" was needed to counter-

act the power of slavery in the Democratic

party. King and other Barnburners became

major participants in the development of

the ensuing party and in the sectional

struggles which steadily worsened during

the Polk administration.

These conflicts are the subject of Pro-

fessor Morrison's book. It is a well written

sequel to James Paul's study, Rift in the

Democracy (1951). It describes the hostile

reaction of liberal, Northern Democrats

and their allies to the Southern political

victories that marked the 1844-46 period.

The possibility that slavery could expand

into the regions being wrested from Mexico

provided the backdrop for the most explo-

sive controversy of the day. It centered in

the Wilmot Proviso, the key to a Northern

counterattack led by David Wilmot, Jacob

Brinkerhoff, King, and the Barnburners. A

similar proviso covering the Oregon Terri-

tory further aggravated the situation. The

leaders of both sections realized that a

victory on this important issue would be

significant in terms of the sectional bal-

ance of power and future territorial ex-

pansion. The territorial question neces-

sarily provoked state and national fights

within both major parties, and the climax

came in the confused and prophetic cam-

paigns of 1848.

As for the individuals involved in these

several battles, Morrison is realistic and

sensible. Idealism and a regard for princi-

ple appear to have governed some of the

men, notably King and David D. Field.

For the vast majority, however, these

qualities were intertwined with opportun-

ism and the politician's instinct for power.

Students of the period will appreciate

the emphasis on the travail of the Demo-

crats. The account of their complex strug-

gles is detailed and well researched, but

no unexpected data or conclusions are

presented. Since the issue of slavery in the

Mexican cession remained unresolved at

the time of Zachary Taylor's election, it is

a matter of regret that Professor Morrison

did not carry his account through the Com-

promise of 1850. In a similar vein, a statis-

tical analysis and correlation of the Con-

gressional voting patterns of the Barn-

burners and other factions of both parties

would have added a valuable dimension to

the study. In truth, an era distinguished

by the activities of individuals and factions

seeking both power and satisfactory solu-

tions to important issues requires a more

detailed treatment of the Whig and Liberty

parties and the Free Soil campaign.

Certain limitations notwithstanding, this

is a valuable monograph and one hopes

Professor Morrison will continue his work

in this field.

RICHARD W. SMITH

Ohio Wesleyan University

 

THE SECOND AMERICAN PARTY

SYSTEM: PARTY FORMATION IN

THE JACKSONIAN ERA. By Richard

P. McCormick. (Chapel Hill: University

of North Carolina Press, 1966. x+389p.;

bibliography and index. $7.50.)

Professor McCormick has made an

important contribution, in the rapidly ex-

panding field of the history of American

political parties, with his exploration of

some of the ways in which a system of

national parties was created between 1820

and 1840. He concentrates his attention on

such questions as conventions, suffrage

requirements, and voting patterns as well

as the origin and development of methods

of nomination. He discusses each topic sec-