Clinton, however, did nothing of the kind. He would not even extend
the olive branch to Samuel Young after the latter had quarrelled with
Van Buren. He preferred, evidently, to rely upon his old friends--even
though some of their names had become odious to the party--and upon a
coterie of brilliant Federalists, led by William W. Van Ness, Jonas
Platt, and Thomas J. Oakley, with whom he was already upon terms of
confidential communication. He professed to believe that the
principles of Republican and Federalist were getting to be somewhat
undefined in their character; and that the day was not far off, if,
indeed, it had not already come, when the Republican party would
break into two factions, and, for the real business of statesmanship,
divide the Federalists between them. Yet, in practice, he did not act
on this principle. To the embarrassment of his Federalist friends he
failed to appoint their followers to office, making it difficult for
them to explain why he should profit by Federalist support and turn a
deaf ear to Federalist necessities; and, to the surprise of his most
devoted Republican supporters, he refused to make a clean sweep of the
men in office whom he believed to have acted against him. He quickly
dropped the Tammany men holding places in New York City, and
occasionally let go an up-state politician at the instance of Ambrose
Spencer, but with characteristic independence he disregarded the
advice of his friends who urged him to let them all go.

Meanwhile, a change long foreseen by those who were in the inner
political circle was rapidly approaching. At no period of American
history could such a man as Clinton remain long in power without
formidable rivals. No sooner, therefore, had the Legislature convened,
in January, 1818, than Martin Van Buren, Samuel Young, Peter R.
Livingston, Erastus Root, and their associates, began open war upon
him. For a long time it had been a question whether it was to be
Clinton and Van Buren, or Van Buren and Clinton. Van Buren had been
growing every day in power and influence. Seven years before Elisha
Williams had sneered at him as Little Matty. "Poor little Matty!" he
wrote, "what a blessing it is for one to think he is the greatest
little fellow in the world. It would be cruel to compel this man to
estimate himself correctly. Inflated with pride, flattered for his
pertness, caressed for his assurance, and praised for his
impertinence, it is not to be wondered that