or the Vice-Presidency.

Unfortunately for themselves, the Democrats played the Whig game by
assailing Harrison with very much the same taunts which had previously
been used by the Whigs against Jackson. The ignorance of the old
soldier, his political inexperience, even his poverty and obscurity of
origin, were exploited in a hundred Democratic pamphlets by writers who
forgot that every such reflection made closer the parallel between
Harrison and Jackson, and so brought to the former just the sort of
support for which the Whigs were angling.

"Tippercanoe" proved an excellent speculation for the Whig leaders. It
was "Tyler too," introduced to meet the exigencies of electioneering
(and rhyme) that altogether disconcerted all their plans.

Tyler was a Southerner and an extreme Particularist. He had been a
Nullifier, and his quarrel with Jackson's Democracy had simply been a
quarrel with his Unionism. His opinions on all subjects, political,
administrative, and fiscal, were as remote from those of a man like Clay
as any opinions could be. This was perfectly well known to those who
chose him for Vice-President. But while the President lives and
exercises his functions the Vice-President is in America a merely
ornamental figure. He has nothing to say in regard to policy. He is not
even a member of the Administration. He presides over the Senate, and
that is all. Consequently there has always been a strong temptation for
American wire-pullers to put forward as candidate for the
Vice-Presidency a man acceptable to some more or less dubious and
detached group of their possible supporters, whose votes it is desired
to obtain, but who are not intended to have any control over the
effective policy of the Government. Yet more than one example has shown
how perilous this particular electioneering device may turn out to be.
For if the President should die before the expiration of his term, the
whole of his almost despotic power passes unimpaired to a man who
represents not the party, but a more or less mutinous minority in the
party.

It was so in this case. Harrison was elected, but barely lived to take
the oath. Tyler became President. For a short time things went
comparatively smoothly. Harrison had chosen Webster as Secretary of
State, and Tyler confirmed his appointment. But almost at once it became
apparent that the President and his Secretary differed on almost every
important question of the day, and that the Whig Party