150 
Indiana University 
jority was reached. This strange scheme was moved by 
Sprague of Massachusetts, which gave rise to the belief that 
Webster was concerned in it. Penrose of Pennsylvania and 
Seward of New York supported the plan.^®^ The Clay dele- 
gates tried hard to get an open vote to be taken yer capitad^^ 
On the first ballot, Clay received 103 votes, Harrison 94, 
and Scott 57. Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Mary- 
land, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, Alabama, 
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri voted for Clay. Maine, 
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsyl- 
vania voted for Harrison. New York, New Jersey, and Ver- 
mont voted for Scott.^®^ After a few ballots, the plan which 
the wire-pullers had arranged was executed. 
Outside the usual scheming that accompanies such pro- 
ceedings, there were more questionable political tricks carried 
on in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Henry A. Wise 
reports Judge White’s version of the famous “Triangular 
Scheme” in New York which is as follows: C — , residing in 
Rochester, S — , residing in Utica, and T — , residing in the 
city of New York, were to write to one another from the 
three great sections of the state during the preliminary and 
primary state nominations. C wrote to S and T: Do all 
you can for Mr. Clay in your district, for I am sorry to say 
he has no strength in this; S wrote to C and T in the same 
strain, while T expressed similar views to S and C. Thus, 
while Clay probably had a majority in each district, it would 
appear to the people in any one district that the other two 
were against him. Then the wire-pullers in each district 
would say that as Clay had no strength in any other part of 
the state, it was unwise for them to vote for him here."^"^^ 
As a result, Scott got 20 votes, Harrison 2, and Clay 10. 
In Pennsylvania, the Whigs met at Chambersburg on June 
13, 1839. About thirty Anti-Masons, calling themselves 
Whigs, were admitted. Clay resolutions were passed and 
the Anti-Masonic element, under the leadership of Charles 
B. Penrose, bolted, and held an independent convention at 
Harrisburg.^'^^ At the national convention, the Penrose group 
got control and threw the state for Harrison. 
Niles* Register, LVII, 248-252. 
Sargent, Public Men and Events, II, 89. 
152 91. 
152 Henry Alexander Wise, Seven Decades of the Union (Richmond, Va., 1881), 
165, 166. 
154 Sargent, Public Men and Events, II, 76 ; Niles’ Register, LVI, 259. 
