54 POLITICAL LIFE -I 



the questions at issue, I helped, with other Whig boys, 

 to raise ash-poles, and to hurrah lustily for Clay at public 

 meetings. On the other hand, the Democratic boys hur- 

 rahed as lustily around their hickory poles and, as was 

 finally proved, to much better purpose. They sang dog- 

 gerel which, to me, was blasphemous, and especially a song 

 with the following refrain : 



" Alas poor Cooney Clay, 

 Alas poor Cooney Clay, 

 You never can be President, 

 For so the people say." 



The ash-poles had reference to Ashland, Clay's Kentucky 

 estate; and the hickory poles recalled General Jackson's 

 sobriquet, "Old Hickory." For the Democratic candi- 

 date in 1844, James Knox Polk, was considered heir to 

 Jackson's political ideas. The campaign of 1844 was not 

 made so interesting by spectacular outbursts of torn-fool- 

 ery as the campaign of 1840 had been. The sober second 

 thought of the country had rather sickened people of that 

 sort of thing ; still, there was quite enough of it, especially 

 as shown in caricatures and songs. The poorest of the 

 latter was perhaps one on the Democratic side, for as the 

 Democratic candidates were Polk of Tennessee and Dallas 

 of Pennsylvania, one line of the song embraced probably 

 the worst pun ever made, namely 



" Pork in the barrel, and Dollars in the pocket." 



It was at this period that the feeling against the exten- 

 sion of slavery, especially as indicated in the proposed 

 annexation of Texas, began to appear largely in politics, 

 and though Clay at heart detested slavery and always re- 

 fused to do the bidding of its supporters beyond what he 

 thought absolutely necessary in preserving the Union, an 

 unfortunate letter of his led great numbers of anti- 

 slavery men to support a separate anti-slavery ticket, the 

 candidate being James G. Birney. The result was that 

 the election of Clay became impossible. Mr. Polk was 



