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Indiana University 
strations in his honor. He then went to his native state 
of New York, where he was kindly received. After a few 
days spent in New York City he set out on a somewhat ex- 
tended tour of the state, being received with great enthusiasm 
by the Democrats of the towns which he was able to visit. 
This “tour” was claimed to be not for campaign purposes 
at all, but it seems that Van Buren took it upon himself to 
look after his political standing in his native state.^® 
It so happened that at the same time Henry Clay was mak- : 
ing a summer “tour” thru the state of New York as well 
as the President. While the latter was traveling from east 
to west, the former was coming from west to east. He had 
visited Buffalo, passed a few days with General Porter at I 
Niagara, and was now receiving from the Whigs of the | 
various towns thru which he passed demonstrations like those 4 
which the Democrats were bestowing on Van Buren. From i 
this distance, it seems very evident that both Clay and Van | 
Buren were making their summer “tours” in New York for f 
the purpose of increasing their chances for nomination by j 
their respective parties in 1840.^^ 
Conventions were held in several states in the fall of 1839 
for the purpose of agitating the opposition to the administra- 
tion of Van Buren, and rallying the forces of opposition to 
renewed and united attempts to throw overboard that ad- 
ministration as soon as opportunity permitted. The most 
notable of these conventions were the Conservative conven- - 
tion of New York and the Democratic Anti- Van Buren con- 
vention of Pennsylvania. The former convention prepared 
an address to the people of the state of New York asking 
all the conservative Democratic-Republican electors to oppose 
and aid in overthrowing the Van Buren administration while 
the latter declared its disgust with the Van Buren policies 
and resolved to unite with the Whigs in opposing Van Buren 
while recommending Harrison as the one man of the Whigs 
who would be able to bind together under his banner all the 
elements of opposition to Van Buren and his Democratic fol- 
lowing.20 
The Whig national convention met on Wednesday, Decem- 
ber 4, 1839, in the new Lutheran church at Harrisburg, Pa. 
William H, Seward, Autohiogruphy (New York, 1891), 416. 
IS Niles’ Register, LVI, 365-367. 
Seward, Autobiography, 428. 
20 Niles’ Register, LVII, 187-191. 1 
