ay?
He is only what every American citizen or his ancestor was at some
time or other."[450]

[Footnote 450: F.W. Seward, _Life of W.H. Seward_, Vol. 2, p. 234.]

The voting strength of this party in New York was estimated at 65,000,
divided between Hards, Softs, and Whigs, with one-fifth each, and the
Silver-Grays with two-fifths. On the question of putting up a state
ticket, its council divided. The Silver-Grays, it was said, favoured
candidates in order to defeat Clark; while the Whigs and Softs
preferred making no nominations. In the end, Daniel Ullman, a
reputable New York lawyer of mediocre ability, received the nomination
for governor. The great overmastering passion of Ullman was a desire
for office. For many years he had been a persistent and unsuccessful
knocker at the door of city, county and state Whig conventions, and
when the Know-Nothings appeared he turned to them to back his
ambition. Possibly they knew that his parents were foreign-born, but
the mystery surrounding his own birthplace became a comical feature of
the canvass. It was claimed, upon what seemed proper evidence at the
time, that Ullman was born in India and had not become a naturalised
citizen of the United States. This made him ineligible as the
candidate of his party, and disqualified him from serving as governor
if elected.

The campaign opened with two clearly defined issues--limitation of the
liquor traffic and condemnation of the Nebraska Act. Clark stood for
both, Ullman stood for neither; Bronson and Seymour opposed
prohibition and approved the Nebraska Act. Greeley declared that the
two Democratic candidates differed only "as to whether the contempt
universally felt for President Pierce should be openly expressed, or
more decorously cherished in silence." As the canvass advanced, the
real contest became prohibition, with Bronson and Seymour apparently
running a race for the liquor vote, while Ullman was silently securing
the votes of men who thought the proscription of foreign-born citizens
more important than either freedom or temperance. To the most adroit
political prognosticators the situation was confused. Greeley
estimated Clark's strength at 200,000, and that of the next highest,
either Seymour or Bronson, at 150,000; but so little was known of the
Know-Nothings that he omitted Ullman from the calculation. Another
prophet fixed Ullman's strength at 65,000. The surprise was great,
therefore, when the returns disclosed a Kno