ted for the bill, influenced
thereto by his Southern associates, for whom he always did so much,
and from whom he always received so little. Pennsylvania was at
that time really a Democratic State, but she punished General Cass
for his free-trade course by giving her electoral vote to Taylor.
If she had given it to Cass he would have been chosen President.

It was in connection with the tariff agitation of 1846 that Simon
Cameron originally obtained his strong hold upon the popular sympathy
and support of Pennsylvania. He was a Democrat; had long been
confidential adviser to Mr. Buchanan, and had supported Mr. Polk.
But he was a believer in the doctrine of protection; and as he had
aided in carrying Pennsylvania by declaring himself a friend to
the tariff of 1842, he maintained his faith. When the Polk
administration was organized, a vacancy was created in the Senate
by Mr. Buchanan's appointment as Secretary of State. George W.
Woodward was the regular nominee of the Democratic party for the
place. But Cameron bolted, and with the aid of Whig votes was
chosen senator. He resisted the passage of the tariff of 1846,
stood firmly and consistently for the industrial interests of his
State, cultivated an alliance with the Whigs in the Senate, and by
their aid thwarted all the attempts of the Polk administration to
interfere with his plans and purposes in Pennsylvania. The President
endeavored to heal Judge Woodward's wounds by placing him on the
bench of the Supreme Court as the successor of the eminent Henry
Baldwin. Cameron induced the Whigs to reject him, and then forced
the administration to nominate Robert C. Grier whose appointment
was personally acceptable and agreeable to him. In the successful
tactics then employed by Cameron may be found the secret of his
remarkable career as a party manager in the field in which, for a
full half-century, he was an active and indefatigable worker.

The Whig victory of 1848 was not sufficiently decisive to warrant
any attempt, even had there been desire, to change the tariff.
General Taylor had been elected without subscribing to a platform
or pledging himself to a specific measure, and he was therefore in
a position to resist and reject appeals of the ordinary partisan
character. Moreover the tariff of 1846 was yielding abundant
revenue, and the business of the country was in a flourishing
condition at the time his administration was organized. Money
became very abun