, 321, 338, 345; Monroe, Writings,
VII., 22; King, Life and Corresp. of King, 571, 572; DuBois, Slave
Trade, 139, 140.]
On the whole, however, while candidates were forced to declare
themselves on important questions, and while there were distinct
sectional groupings in Congress, which revealed conflicting
interests in economic policy, issues were not clearly drawn in this
campaign. Indeed, it was difficult for any one of the candidates to
stand on a clear-cut platform without losing some of the support
essential to his success. "Could we hit upon a few great principles,
and unite their support with that of Crawford," wrote his friend
Cobb, shortly before the election, "we could succeed beyond doubt."
[Footnote: Cobb, Leisure Labors, 216; Shepard, Van Buren, 92.]
As the year 1824 drew towards its close, the heat of the struggle
was transferred to New York. Nowhere was the revulsion of popular
feeling against caucus control more clearly manifested than in that
state. The feeling was aggravated by the fact that the Albany
Regency, under Van Buren, stubbornly refused to concede the popular
demand for the repeal of the state law for choice of presidential
electors by the legislature.
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