Of the
others, five owed their nominations to their availability. The evil
which Jackson did lived after him; indeed, only a man as powerful for
the good as he had been for the bad could have restored the civil
service to the merit system which had prevailed before he occupied the
White House. The offices were at stake in every election, and the
scramble for them after the determination of the result was great and
pressing. The chief business of a President for many months after his
inauguration was the dealing out of the offices to his followers and
henchmen. It was a bad scheme, from the political point of view, for
every President except him who inaugurated it. Richelieu is reported to
have said, on making an appointment, "I have made a hundred enemies and
one ingrate." So might have said many times the Presidents who succeeded
Jackson.

The Whig, a very respectable party, having in its ranks the majority of
the men of wealth and education, fell a victim to the doctrine of
availability when it nominated Harrison on account of his military
reputation. He lived only one month after his inauguration, and Tyler,
the Vice President, who succeeded him, reverted to his old political
principles, which were Democratic, and broke with the Whigs. By an
adroit and steady use of the executive power he effected the annexation
of Texas, but the master spirit in this enterprise was Calhoun, his
Secretary of State. Polk, his Democratic successor, coveted California
and New Mexico, tried to purchase them, and not being able to do this,
determined on war. In fact, he had decided to send in a war message to
Congress before the news came that the Mexicans, goaded to it by the
action of General Taylor, under direct orders of the President, had
attacked an American force and killed sixteen of our dragoons. This
gave a different complexion to his message, and enabled him to get a
strong backing from Congress for his war policy. The actions of Tyler
and of Polk illustrate the power inherent in the executive office. It
might seem that the exercise of this authority, securing for us at small
material cost the magnificent domains of Texas, California, and New
Mexico, would have given these Presidents a fame somewhat like that
which Jefferson won by the purchase of Louisiana. But such has not been
the case. The main reason is that the extension of slavery was involved
in both enterprises, and the histories of these times, which have molded
hist