420 
Indiana University 
at first nothing more than a collection of various anti-ad- 
ministration elements and included some who were friends of 
the United States Bank, unsuccessful office-seekers, and fol- 
lowers of Henry Clay. General agreement was not possible 
on the Bank, tariff, federal aid to internal improvements, or 
a national leader; the only item common to all elements was 
opposition to Van Buren. For this reason the Whig party 
was slower to become an organized political force than was 
its rival, and during the formative years it was hard to judge 
with any accuracy the strength of either party.®^ 
The population of the Northwest, which in 1820 had been 
792,400, was, in 1830, 1,470,018, and the frontier line had in 
Illinois curved north at its westward end to include the heart 
of the north central part of the state."® Aside from this 
change the line held the general configuration of 1820, but 
had moved northward 30 or 40 miles thruout its length. In 
Indiana 29 new counties had been created by law by 1830, 
but in each case those with over 10,000 population were still 
south of the settlement line of 1820, and their political 
ascendency was in no wise threatened. During the next de- 
cade the drift to the new lands in the north was felt in the 
shifting center of population, but Indiana, unlike Ohio and 
Illinois, was but little affected by the New York-New England 
element of immigration. Illinois by 1830 had grown to 
157,445 people, and 34 new counties had been erected since 
1820. After 1830 the settlers turned to the newer lands in the 
north and frequently came in organized groups, largely from 
New York and New England. The decadebetween 1830 and 1840 
was one of rapid growth and expansion in the Northwest. 
Land sales were booming and speculation was rife. Michigan 
Territory by 1834 claimed over 87,000 people in its limits, 
and the two lower tiers of counties were almost completed. 
A constitution was made at Detroit in May, but the struggle 
35 The shifting of individuals in groups from one party to another is illustrated by 
the elections of 1834. Joseph Duncan, formerly a “Whole Hog” man at home but 
after 1831 opposed to Jackson policies, ran against William Kenny and Robert K, 
McLaughlin for governor. He received votes from the Anti- Jackson forces as well as 
the “Milk and Cider” remnants and ultra-Jackson men and was elected by a majority 
over his 3 opponents. James Adams, Anti-Jackson man, received only a handful of 
votes. Chicago Democrat, July 3, 1824; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, 111.), October 
4. December 6, 1834 ; Chicago American, July 23, 1834 ; Pease, Illinois Election Returns, 
86-87. 
3® See map in Frederick L. Paxson, History of American Frontier (New York, 
1024), 60. 
