[Footnote:
Adams, Memoirs, VII., 98; cf. ibid., VI., 481.] In truth, the
position of the new president was a delicate one, and he was
destined neither to obtain the indulgence asked nor the popular
ratification which he craved. By receiving his office from the hands
of the House of Representatives in competition with a candidate who
had a larger electoral vote, he fell heir to the popular opposition
which had been aroused against congressional intrigue, and
especially against the selection of the president by the
congressional caucus. More than this, it was charged that Clay's
support was the result of a corrupt bargain, by which the Kentucky
leader was promised the office of secretary of state. This
accusation was first publicly made by an obscure Pennsylvania
member, George Kremer, who, in an unsigned communication to a
newspaper, when Clay's decision to vote for Adams was first given
out, reported that overtures were said to have been made by the
friends of Adams to the friends of Clay, offering him the
appointment of secretary of state for his aid to elect Adams; and
that the friends of Clay gave this information to the friends of
Jackson, hinting that for the same price they would close with the
Tennesseean.
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