What would England do? She would try to use the Mosquito
Islands as a basis of agreement for joint control with the United States
of the canal--in spite of the Monroe Doctrine. Why would not all
statesmen rise with him in the assertion of a title to the whole of
North America? Was America in the business of pirating around the shores
of Europe to pick up islands, or promontories like Gibraltar? Not at
all. Then why should England be tolerated in this Western Hemisphere?
What divided the American imagination? The old loyalists and royalists
who had become the Federalists under Hamilton, who were now the Whigs
with the same banking scheme, the same old tariff, the same old hatred
of democratic government, the same hypocrisy, the same disingenuous and
devious policies. There was but one American party, one pure-blooded
party, good for the East and the West, friendly to every just thing that
the East desired, understanding the West; that was the Democratic party!
It stood for America. It envisioned the needs of the greatness of
America. It had fought the war against England and Mexico. It had
created the American domain. And now these old defeated and crooked
monarchists who had stood in the way of America's progress were seizing
upon a moral issue, upon slavery, with which to befool a democratic
electorate naturally responsive to the arguments of liberty. They had
opposed the Mexican War; they had brought up the slavery question at
every important juncture to confound counsels and perplex otherwise easy
solutions. But what one of them would give back Texas, New Mexico,
California, to Mexico? Would Webster? Would Hale? No, not one of them
would do this.

The campaign of 1848! What would the Whigs do? They would use this
Democratic Mexican War to get into power. They would appeal to the war
spirit which they had dishonored; they would use a national gratitude
for service in the despised war to get the offices and control the
administration. Would Clay win the Whig nomination? Not at all. It would
be Zachary Taylor, the hero of the Mexican War, the slave owner of
Louisiana. This party was over virtuous on the slavery matter, lending
an unofficial ear to Garrison and other agitators, but it had been
careful not to take a party stand on the question. It would continue to
play with the subject. It would put forward a southern slave owner to
catch the southern Whigs, and at the same time use his war record to
move the pure-bloode