they did in all anti-slavery movements. Their first martyr was Elijah P. Lovejoy, of Alton. Ill., who was killed by a mob in 1839. John Brown was the most famous of the list. John Quincy Adams, Joshua R. Giddings, John P. Hale, Salmon P. Chase and Charles Sumner were conspicuous in Congress for boldly avowing Abolitionism before the formation of the Republican party. It was not until emancipation had become an accomplished fact that the party finally disbanded. The Colonizationists, who wanted to do away with slavery by returning the negroes to Africa, were bitterly hostile to the Abolition movement. They never went into politics.

Albany Regency. The cliques, Whig and Democrat, which centered at Albany ruled the politics of New York, with an occasional break, for many years, the term Albany Regency applying to each, but more especially to the Democratic faction, from 1820 to 1854.

Amalgamation. The apologists for slavery accused the Abolitionists, and later the Republicans, of being in favor of the amalgamation of the black and white races, a charge never admitted nor even justified by the facts. Miscegenation is another term for the same thing.

American Party. See Know Nothing.

American Whigs. See Whigs.

Amnesty. In May, 1865, a proclamation of pardon to the great mass of Southern citizens was issued by President Johnson. Later the policy of universal amnesty was advocated by Horace Greeley and others, and still later the cry was “Universal amnesty and universal suffrage,” which policy prevailed.

Anti-Federalist. The original name of the party led by Thomas Jefferson, the Republicans of that day, later known as Jeffersonian Democrats.

Anti-Mason. The Free Masons never avowed political aspirations, but the enemies of this secret society attempted its overthrow, charging that at was a dangerous political power, working in the dark, William Wirt was anti-Masonic candidate for President in 1832, carrying one State, Vermont. Thurlow Weed was an intense anti-Mason. See Morgan.

Anti-renters. From 1839 to 1817 New York State was agitated over the question of feudal tenure and leasehold. The Dutch who settled New York first of all went upon the theory that the land should belong to an untitled nobility, and be worked, for the most part, by tenants. After the spread of republican ideas, the farmers in the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys [sic] became dissatisfied, and in 1839 began to refuse to pay rent. A great deal of bad blood was excited, and some of it spilt. In 1847 the Anti-renters secured a new constitution in accordance with the American spirit and idea of land tenure, after which the Anti-renters disappeared.

Anti-slavery. Not quite the same as abolitionism; many who avowed hostility to slavery stoutly protested that they were not Abolitionists.

Apportionment. Each Congress, after each census, i.e., once in ten years, must allot to each State its share of representatives in Congress, and then the several legislatures may apportion their respective States into districts. Sometimes one or more Congressmen are elected on a general State ticket. When the apportionment in a State is very partisan and unfair it is called Gerrymandering, which see.

Aristocracy. No politician in America admits that he is an aristocrat, but the term is sometimes used to designate an opponent. See Silk-stocking.

Assassination. Two Presidents of the United States have been assassinated,—Abraham Lincoln by J Wilkes Booth, and James A. Garfield by Guiteau. The latter was called a crank or half crazy. There has never been any real conspiracy for assassination in this country, on a large scale. Booth had confederates, but represented no secret cabal, like the Russian Nihilists.

Autocracy. A proper term to apply to an unlimited monopoly, but has no real place an American politics.

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Banks. Although not in themselves political, the banks of this country have played such a part in politics that they cannot be ignored. First came the Bank of United States, chartered in 1794, and finally overthrown, amid much excitement, by Jackson, who vetoed a bill to continue its charter, and through his Secretary of the Treasury, Roger B. Taney, removed the government deposits. In 1833 it was wound up. State banks followed until early in the Civil War they were obliged to suspend, and the national bank system was adopted. In several Congresses banking has had much prominence.

Barbecue. A grand political gathering in the open air, at which an ox is killed and roasted, forming the distinctive feature of the occasion. Specially belongs to the campaign of 1840.

Barnacles. Dickens shows up chronic office-holders as Barnacles, and the term has been widely used in this country in the same sense.

Barn-burners. Same as Free-soilers, the conservative Democrats of 1848 and thereabouts accusing the Free-soil bolters of repeating the folly of the farmer who burned his barn to get rid of the rats.

Black Abolitionist. See Abolitionist.

Black Republicans. See Republicans.

Bloody Shirt. The Republicans who, after the war, appealed to war sentiments, and especially those who denounced the Ku Klux Klan and its doings, were accused of waving the bloody shirt.

Blue Laws. The strict Sabbatarian laws of colonial times, especially in Connecticut. The term is sometimes used to designate obnoxious modern laws in the interest of religion and morality.

Blue-light Federalists. Extreme opponents of the War of 1812, being to that war what copperheads were to the Union cause in the Civil War.

Bolt. To secede from a political convention, or refuse to support the ticket of one's party, is bolting.

Border Ruffians. The Southerners from Missouri and elsewhere who went to the Territory of Kansas in the interests of slavery, were denounced as border ruffians. See Kansas-Nebraska.

Bossism. Roscoe Conkling was accused by his enemies within the Republican party of setting himself up as an autocrat or boss. In 1880 the term was applied to the leaders of the third-term movement, and an intense feeling was aroused against machine politics, or bossism, which gradually subsided under the administration of President Arthur.

Bounty-jumper. Those who enlisted in the Union army as substitutes, or otherwise, so as to get the bounty and then desert.

Bread and Butter. Office holders for profit, without regard to honor, are said to belong to the bread-and-butter brigade.

Bourbon. One of the names given to the extreme Conservatives of the Democratic party.

Brother Jonathan. Popular term for American of the distinctively Yankee type. First applied by George Washington to Gov. Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut. Washington consulted and deferred to “Brother Jonathan,” in whose judgment and patriotism he had great respect.

Bucktails. The political faction opposed to De Witt Clinton wore the tip of the tail of a deer in their hats, in campaign times, and hence this name was given them. That was soon after the War of 1812.

Bulldose. In 1876 it was charged that Southern whites flogged many negroes so as to intimidate them out of voting the Republican ticket. They were said to threaten to give the victim a dose for a bull. The term originated in connection with the White Liners of Louisiana.

Bullionist. Advocate of hard money, in distinction from paper money. Thomas H. Benton was called Old Bullion, on account of his opposition to bank bills.

Bummers. Sherman's army, as it marched through Georgia, were branded bummers. In politics it applies to saloon loafers who are ready to do almost any dirty work required in politics.

Buncombe. A Member of Congress from North Carolina was once asked why he made a speech before that body when he saw that no one listened. He replied, “I am talking for Buncombe” (the county which he represented). Ever since then the term means making a speech in Congress for the purpose of increased popularity with one's constituents, and without regard to affecting Congressional legislation or opinion.

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Campaign. There is so much hostility aroused by a political canvass that it is generally called a campaign. The term applies to the period between nomination and election.

Carpet-bagger. Invented and applied to Northern men who went South after the war, and, with the aid of negro votes, held office. They were accused of being corrupt, and of intending to leave the State as soon as they had filled their carpet sacks with plunder.

Caucus. A conference of the members of Congress or a State Legislature, who belong to the same party. Those who participate are bound in honor by the voice of the majority. The term applies also to primary meetings to rural districts. Until the defeat of Crawford for President, the Congressional caucus assumed the functions now belonging to a national convention. Crawford, defeated by John Quincy Adams, was the last Congressional caucus nominee for President.

Census. The enumeration, once in ten years, of the population of the United States. Other valuable statistics are gathered at the same time.

Charter Oak. In 1688 an attempt was made to take back the royal charters enjoyed by the colonists. The only one to escape was hidden in an oak tree near Hartford, Conn. The tree stood until 1856.

Civil Rights. Between the right of suffrage and social rights is an intermediate right claimed for the negro, namely, equal privileges with whites in hotels, cars and other public places. Charles Sumner was a strenuous advocate of civil rights, and his pet bill was passed soon after his death. In the fall of 1883 the Supreme Court of the United States pronounced it unconstitutional.

Civil Service Reform. Soon after the war closed, a movement was set on foot to abolish the spoils or patronage system in politics, and make appointments as clerks, and other minor Federal offices, rest on competency, and have promotions go by merit. It was also designed to make the tenure of civil service office dependent, in effect, upon good behavior, and not powerful political backing. In 1871 a bill creating a civil service commission was passed, and something done in the way of carrying out the reform, but not much. President Hayes was a warm friend of this reform, and under his administration the cause made much progress. In 1883 Congress passed the bill demanded by the most zealous advocates of this reform, very few votes being cast against it in either branch of Congress.

Coercion. When the South threatened to secede, the question of the right and power of the North to prevent it was discussed under the head of coercion.

Colored Troops. The negroes who bore arms in the Civil War were all on the side of the Union, and the phrase “The colored troops fought nobly,” became proverbial.

Commoner. Thaddeus Stevens was the great American commoner. In England John Bright enjoys that distinction.

Commonwealth. A synonym for State, and the proper designation of Massachusetts...also Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Communism. See Socialists.

Community. In one sense any neighborhood, but it is the special designation of a settlement in Oneida County, New York, where no one holds individual property or forms family ties, all things being held in common. It dates from 1847. There are many smaller communities, on substantially the same plan, in this country.

Compromise. All through the anti-slavery agitation there were radical anti-slavery men at the North, Abolitionists, and radical pro-slavery men at the South, fire-eaters, who were ready to adopt the most extreme measures; but in both sections the great body of the people were for mutual concessions and forbearance,—compromising the term generally used. Henry Clay was the great compromiser. In 1820 a very important compromise was effected as regards the extension of slavery, and in 1850 the Fugitive Slave Law was dubbed a compromise. An attempt was made in 1860-6[sic] to avoid war by compromise, but by that time the spirit of concession was feeble, and compromise was at an end.

Conciliation. The policy of winning the South back to loyalty by kindness.

Confederate. About this word and its derivatives cluster two distinct meanings. In the early days of American independence the colonies in revolt formed a loose union under articles of confederation. When the Constitution was adopted Federal Union was generally substituted for Confederacy. When the South seceded in 1861, the Confederate States was formed under a constitution largely patterned after the Federal Constitution. Since the fall of Richmond and the capture of Mr. Davis, there has been no actual “Confederate States of America.” The Confederacy was organized at Montgomery, Ala., Feb. 4, 1861. The archives of the Confederate government are now at Washington.

Congress. Some mere meetings in the interest of some cause are called congresses, but properly the term applies only to the national Legislature of the United States. It consists of two branches, the Senate and House. Every Senator and Representative is a Congressman, but the term is generally restricted in its use to members of the House. The Senate is a continuous body, the members elected for terms of three years, one-third going out each alternate 4th of March. The House consists of members whose terms of office expire at the same time. The Congresses are distinguished from each other numerically, each Congress extending over a period of two years. The pay of a Congressman is $5,000 a year, the same in both branches.

Conservative. Is not the name of a party, as in England, but of a tendency in politics. The opposite of radical.

Constitution. The British Constitution is the immemorial and binding legal and official principles of the country; but in America, and on the continent of Europe, it is a written, definite body of laws, which cannot be set aside by legislation or overruled, but must be obeyed implicitly by all rulers and persons, until duly amended or superseded. The Constitution of the United States has been amended, but the body of it is the same now as it was originally. New State Constitutions are adopted from time to time, framed by constitutional conventions, and ratified by popular vote.

Constitutional Union Party. The remnant of the Whig party which nominated and supported the presidential ticket of John Bell and Edward Everett in 1860.

Continental. Applied to the American Congress of Revolutionary times and to the paper money which it emitted, and which the United States never redeemed. First Continental Congress met at Philadelphia in the fall of 1774.

Contrabands. For some time the government and people of the United States were at a loss to know what to do with fugitive slaves coming within the lines of the Union army. Gen. B. F Butler suggested that they be considered as contrabands of war. The phrase was swiftly taken up, and “contraband” was in everybody's mouth.

Convention. A gathering of men who meet as representatives of a larger constituency. The most important of all conventions met at Philadelphia in 1787, and framed the Constitution of the United States.

Coon. The Whigs sneered at Martin Van Buren as a fox, and the Democrats retaliated by referring to Henry Clay as “that same old coon.”

Copperhead. A species of snake. In the intensity of feeling during the Civil War, Northern men who were suspected of sympathising with the secessionists were stigmatized as copperhead. Many political terms, born of derision, acquired respectability; but it was not so in this case, and after the passions of the war had cooled off, the term was dropped.

Corn Right. The earliest homestead act in this country was the Virginia Corn Right, by which the cultivator of one acre of corn became thereby entitled to 100 acres of land.

Corporal's Guard. A general term for an insignificant force. The Whigs in Congress who stood by President Tyler, after he had vetoed the Tariff Bill of his party, were sneeringly designated the Corporal's Guard.

Covode Investigation. John Covode, a Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania from 1854 to 1870, was an ardent Republican. His most notable act was securing in 1860 the appointment of what was popularly known as the Covode Committee to investigate the alleged corruption and illegality of the pro-slavery constitutional convention of Kansas, which met at Lecompton, and was known by that name. The disclosures made had much to do with defeating the pro-slavery movement in that Territory. See Kansas. [N.B. No Kansas entry was included in the original book.]

Cradle of Liberty. Another name for Faneuil Hall, Boston. So called because the liberties of the colonies were eloquently defended in it prior to the Revolutionary War.

Crank. It was very generally felt that the assassin of President Garfield, Charles J. Guiteau, was neither quite sane nor wholly insane. He was called a crank, and ever since the summer of 1881 that term has been used to designate persons so very eccentric that it is hard to determine their intellectual soundness and moral accountability.

Credit Mobilier. French term for credit on movable property. A great corporation whose capital was invested in personal property was organized at Paris in 1852, which grew to such importance that its history was elaborately set forth in a book devoted to that purpose, published in 1867. As early as 1859 a charter was granted by the Legislature of Pennsylvania to the Credit Mobilier of America, and it was to the operations of that company that the popular use of the term must be traced. It acquired no prominence under its original management as a general loan and contract company, or agency. In 1864 it was revived and adjusted to the convenience of a syndicate of capitalists and speculators having in mind the construction of the [Union] Pacific Railroad. The greater part of the Union Pacific, extending from Omaha to Ogden, was built by the syndicate, the Credit Mobilier playing a silent but important part. Some of the stock was sold and some of it given away, or very nearly so, to members of Congress, with a view to influencing their votes in favor of bond and land subsidies in aid of the enterprise. In the fall of 1872 a great deal of prominence was given to the charge of Congressional corruption in connection with the Credit Mobilier. This charge grew out of disclosures made in a law suit brought by one of the prime movers, who claimed to have been defrauded in the division of profits. When Congress assembled, an investigation was ordered, and for several months the country was profoundly agitated by the disclosures made. Oakes Ames, a Congressman from Massachusetts, was the leading promoter of the Union Pacific in Congress, and the revelations of his memoranda book were highly sensational. The disclosures made served a very reformatory purpose in checking corruption in high places.The “book" mentioned may have been James Dabney McCabe's Behind the Scenes in Washington.

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Dark Horse. A candidate for office, more especially for the presidency, who is not prominent, but wins the race because the leading candidates succeed only in defeating each other.

Declaration of Independence. When the first Continental Congress met, many of the leading patriots were in favor of reforming abuses in the colonial system, without breaking the British yoke, but after much discussion it was decided to cast off the chains of allegiance to the mother country. An address, nominally to the crown, but practically to the people, was framed by a committee appointed for that purpose, Thomas Jefferson being its author. That address has become a part of history as the Declaration of Independence. It dates from July 4, 1776, when it was unanimously adopted and became the corner stone of the United States government. New England led the way in the sentiment and cause of independence, but the formal opening of the agitation in Congress was made by Henry Lee, of Virginia. The committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston.

Demagogue. A politician who espouses the popular cause because it is popular and from selfish motives.

Democracy. There is a certain connection between the Republican party of Jefferson's day and the modern Democracy, but as a political organization, in its modern sense, it dates from the administration of General Jackson. His election was a personal triumph, but, unlike his predecessor, John Quincy Adams, he had the elements of a popular leader and organizer. Without fully realizing what he was doing, he built up what is now known as a “machine.” At the close of his public career he had cemented into a compact body a majority of the voters of the United States, under a very fortunate name, for Democracy was a taking appellation, herein contrasting with Whig. The personal views of the founder of the party were deeply impressed upon the organization. It was in favor of restricting the jurisdiction of the general government so far as possible, and gradually leaned toward a strict construction of the Constitution. Appropriations from the national treasury for internal improvements were always looked upon by the Democracy with disfavor, also a tariff for protection. It was not until after the Whig party had made its last struggle for existence, 1852, that it became the party of the South. Martin Van Buren, a faithful lieutenant of Gen. Jackson, had much to do with perfecting the organization. With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, it lost the cohesive power of patronage, and the secession of the South put it under a very serious disability, but it maintained its identity, winning important victories, from time to time, being in a position to profit by any popular dissatisfaction with the party in power. Much as the Whigs had been able, in 1840 and again in 1848, to profit by popular disaffection with the dominant Democracy, it was in 1856 that the distinctive Southern bias of the party was developed. The defeat suffered in 1860 was partly due to Democratic dissension and partly to the positive growth of Republican sentiment in the North. In 1872 an attempt was made to merge the Democracy in a new party, the Liberal, under the leadership of Horace Greeley. The attempt to secure a ratification of the Liberal movement in the National Convention was successful, but a resolute minority, under the lead of Charles O'Connor, refused to join in the new departure. That fact, together with the defeat of Mr. Greeley and the collapse of Liberalism preserved the Democracy from disintegration. In 1876 it almost regained control of the Executive Department of the government, under the leadership of Samuel J. Tilden. In 1880 Gen. Hancock, of the regular army, was its presidential nominee. He was defeated, but in 1882 the Democratic party carried the Congressional elections and a large majority of the States. In 1883 it was not quite as successful, but sufficiently so to make it very hopeful for 1884.

Deputation. An unofficial but representative body of men, appointed to bring influence to bear for a given purpose at a special time, and owing allegiance only to the public sentiment and interest represented.

Dough-face. During the agitation of slavery, the apologists for it were denounced by Abolitionists as Dough-faces, by which was meant that they were plastic in the hands of Southern politicians.

Draft Riots. In the summer of 1864 the peace-at-any-price element at the North protested stoutly against the conscription for the Union army, and in New York City the opposition developed into a frantic and brutal riot. A great deal of property was destroyed, and not a few lives taken. Colored persons were in especial danger. An asylum for colored orphans was burned and other outrages of a similar nature perpetrated. The number of lives sacrificed to the fury of the mob was about 400, the wanton destruction of property, $2,000,000. Gov. Seymour tried to quiet the rioters, and in a conciliatory address called them “friends.” That circumstance was made much of against him when he was Democratic candidate for President in 1868.

Dred Scott. In 1837 the Supreme Court of the United States rendered a decision in a test case brought in the name of a fugitive slave, Dred Scott, in which it was maintained that, under the Constitution as it then was, a negro was not a legal person, possessing rights which a white man could be compelled in law to respect. That decision played an important part in creating a powerful anti-slavery sentiment.

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Emancipation. President Lincoln issued, Jan. 1, 1863, a proclamation declaring all slaves within the lines of secession free. In theory slave-holders in loyal States were protected from its operation, but practically that proclamation was the death knell of slavery throughout the country. It also took from the institution as it existed in Cuba and Brazil a moral support which was its real bulwark.

Era of Good Fee11ng. The administration of James Monroe is known by that term. The old parties, Federal and Republican, were dead, and the bitterness of the rivalry between the aspirants for the succession,—Crawford, Adams, Jackson and Clay,—had not begun to show itself. Never before or since has the country known such serenity.

Excellency. In the earlier days it was usual to address a governor or the president as “Your Excellency,” and refer to him as “His Excellency.” This custom is gradually losing ground.

Executive. The government of the United States and of the several States each has three departments: the executive, legislative and judicial. The chief magistrate, be he president or governor, is the executive, assisted by such officers as are charged with the duty of operating the mechanism of government.

Exodus. In 1879 there was such a widespread and extensive emigration of negroes from the South to the West, especially Kansas, that it excited a great deal of discussion as to cause and effect. It was referred to us an exodus. The negro who had the enterprise to go West was called an exoduster. The actual importance of the movement was greatly exaggerated.

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Faction. If a party is not harmonious, the opposing cliques are called factions.

Father of his country. This high title was never bestowed upon any American except George Washington, who was born Feb. 22, 1732, and died Dec. 14, 1799. He was honored by that designation for his part in framing the Constitution and inaugurating the government thereunder, hardly less than for his military genius and achievements.

Feather-head. See Half-breed.

Federal. Originally Federal and Confederate meant much the same, but in time the former came to appertain to the government of the United States, and the latter to the seceded States. Federal Union designates the association of several States into one nation, without the surrender or loss of State individuality.

Federalist. In political literature this was the general designation of a series of essays in advocacy and explanation of the Constitution of the United Stakes. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay wrote most of them. But the term is best known as the name of the first party formed under the Republic. It dates back to 1788. Washington was a Federalist, so far as he was a party man at all. John Adams and Alexander Hamilton were the first leaders of it, in a partisan sense, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr opposing it. The senior Adams was the only Federalist candidate ever elected president, Washington's election being non-partisan. The Federalists lost ground gradually until the second war with England, when their lukewarm support of the war proved absolutely fatal to its popularity. In 1820 the party ceased to exist. It may be said that the brilliant victory of Jackson at New Orleans dealt the final blow, taken in connection with the Hartford Convention of December, 1814, which saw only evil and disgrace in a war so soon to close in a blaze of glory.

Fenian. The Fenian movement was Irish in conception and purpose, but it began in this country. The secret organization of the Fenian Brotherhood dates back to 1858, but the first Congress of the fraternity was held in Chicago, Nov. 3, 1863. In a general way all Irishmen in favor of Irish independence are sometimes called Fenians. The actual number at any time cannot be stated, but the fraternity was thought to number about 13,000 in 1861. At that time a constitution was promulgated and a republic for Ireland, much like our own, declared. James Stephens was the head of the movement. John O'Mahoney and O'Donovan Rossa were prominent. In 1865 the movement assumed such formidable proportions in Ireland that the leaders were arrested. Although Fenianism attracted a great dent of attention in America, and actually made a raid upon Canada with the base of operation on this side the line, the movement never had much bearing upon American politics, one way or the other.

Fiatist. See National Greenback.

Fifty-four, Forty, or Fight. It was long an open question just where the boundary ran between the United States and British America in the extreme Northwest The original treaty, negotiated at the close of the Revolutionary War, was vague. It was finally settled by Emperor William of Germany, arbitrator, in favor of the American claim. The subject was more or less agitated in diplomatic correspondence and Congressional debates for many years, especially during President Tyler's administration, and the Secretaryship of State of Daniel Webster. It was then claimed that the boundary should be the parallel at 54 degrees, 40 minutes, north latitude. All that region was then known as Oregon. Popular excitement was such that in 1844 James K. Polk was largely indebted for his election to the presidency to the campaign battle cry of “Fifty-four, Forty or Fight.” The treaty of 1846, which settled the eastern end of the controversy, adopted the forty-ninth degree as the boundary, much to the disgust of the people who had been ready to fight for a more northerly line.

Filibuster. Born of the attempt of William Walker and other citizens of the United States to conquer Nicaragua, their object being to annex it to the United States as Texas had been added to our territory. The ultimate purpose was to strengthen slavery. That was in 1855. Finally, in 1860, Walker was captured at Truxillo, [Honduras], Central America, and shot. The poet of the Sierras, Joaquin Miller, was one of his band. The term is also used as a verb to designate parliamentary motions, in themselves frivolous, but made for the purpose of defeating a measure which, if brought to a vote, would be supported by the majority.

Finance. In a general way money matters are always matters of finance, but rarely used except on a large scale, more especially of treasury affairs of the United States. The hard times of 1873-1879, and other periods, are designated periods of financial depression. The sudden change from business prosperity to adversity, taken on a large scale, is a financial panic. In 1837, 1857 and 1873 occurred the three great financial panics of this country. The last one lingered until resumption, 1879. The year 1881 was one of great prosperity, especially the first half of it. Since then financial depression has been experienced, but no panic caused.

Fire-eater. The Southern politicians who vehemently denounced the Union and were most sectional, were designated Fire-eaters, especially from the repeal of the Missouri Compromise to the outbreak of the war.

Freedmen. During the period from emancipation to the enfranchisement of the negro, the colored people of the country were called freedmen, instead of freemen. The term ceased to be appropriate with the adoption of the 24th amendment. During that period of transition from chattelage to manhood, a bank for their surplus earnings was established, the Freedmen's Bank, which proved a failure, and a bureau was maintained by the government to exercise a certain guardianship over the freedmen. Gen. O. O. Howard was at the head of the bureau, and was not at all responsible for the failure of the bank in 1874.

Free-soil. During the struggle over Texas and Mexico, from 1844 to 1848, the anti-slavery sentiment of the country, outside of the Abolitionists, contented itself with demanding that there should be no more territory added to the area of slavery, that all soil acquired should be free. In 1848 a party was organized on that issue, the Free-soilers. It took part two presidential campaigns, but before a third came it had lost its identity, merged in the Republican party. The Free-soil National Convention of 1848 met at Buffalo; Martin Van Buren was placed at the head of the ticket and Henry Dodge, of Wisconsin, placed in nomination for Vice-president. He declined, and Charles Francis Adams [was] put in his place. Van Buren's object was to defeat the regular nominee of the Democracy, Lewis Cass. In this he succeeded. The Free-soil vote was 300,000. In 1852 John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, and George W. Julian, of Indiana, were the nominees. The Democrats who had supported Martin Van Buren, in the spirit of faction, fell away. The Hale-Julian vote was only about one-half that for Van Buren and Adams. The Free-soil party served as a pioneer to Republicanism.

Fugitive Slave Law. Passed in 1850 to protect property in slaves, it served, practically, to arouse Northern sentiment against it and hasten the final overthrow of slavery.

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General Assembly. In Illinois and some other States the Legislature is called the General Assembly. In New York the Lower House of the Legislature is called the Assembly. In the Presbyterian denomination the Supreme Ecclesiastical authority, or Ecclesiastical Congress, is called the General Assembly.

Gerrymander. In the infancy of the Republic, Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, was accused of trying to divide the State into districts, in such a way as to secure for his party more than its just share of Representatives. From that grew the term Gerrymandering to designate all similar attempts.

Government. The government, national and State, has its three great departments, the executive, the legislative and the judicial; but the term government is often used to designate the executive alone.

Granger Movement. In 1867 the order of Grange, or Patrons of Husbandry, was organized at Washington, and about that time the Granger movement began which developed into a very important political affair. The object was to resist the encroachments of monopolists and reform abuses which were in effect little short of robbery. The term Granger, at first used in derision, soon acquired respectability. The great object attained was the restraint of railroad monopoly. Laws were passed, providing for resolutions upon railway extortion, and their provisions were enforced. The First Grange was organized in Pennsylvania, but Illinois was the first to show the power of the Granger movement. As a distinct political power the Grangers were not largely successful, either before or after fusion with the Greenbackers, but their real object was attained to a highly gratifying extent. The Supreme Court overthrew the doctrine of the Dartmouth College [v. Woodward, 17 U.S. 518 (1819)] decision, in a series of “Granger decisions.”

Greenback. In the lexicon of official communication in the Treasury Department, there is no such word as greenback, —only United States notes and legal tender,— but the popular designation of paper money issued directly by the government is none the less an established part of our vocabulary. Besides its financial import it applies to a movement in politics which begin soon after the war, when the financial issue arose. The Greenbackers were not only in favor of perpetuating the greenbacks but of issuing more of them. Some went so far as to demand that the entire national debt be cancelled by payment in legal tender notes. The Greenback party drew its recruits from both parties, and flourished more or less in all the States east of the Rocky Mountains. In 1876 Peter Cooper was their candidate for president. Before 1880 the question of resumption had been settled, and the place of the greenback in American monetary matters fixed, and the inflation of the currency prevented. The Greenback agitation had much to do with preventing the extirpation of these notes, which was the purpose of the creditor class at the East. The Greenbackers were sometimes called fiatists.

Gubernatorial. Pertaining to the office of governor.

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Hail Columbia. The popular national ode, written by Joseph Hopkinson in 1798.

Half Breed. A term of reproach given by the more partisan faction of the Republican party to the element which sometimes, by disaffection, gave victory to the enemy. “Feather-head” was another term meaning the same thing. George William Curtis was long the leader of the Half-breeds, at least the chief spokesman, and Roscoe Conkling of the other faction. See Stalwarts.

Hard Cider and Log Cabin. In 1840 the country was fairly wild with political excitement, albeit there was hardly any issue before the people. A great deal of furore was raised over the idea that Gen. Harrison was a plain farmer, living in a log cabin and content to drink hard cider. It was therefore known as the hard cider and log cabin campaign. Popular songs, composed for the campaign, and having little real meaning, helped greatly. That canvass was really a great frolic, good natured and absurd.

Hard Pan. Most used in connection with the resumption of specie payment, but applicable to anything the contrast of visionary and unsubstantial.

Hard Shell. See Soft Shell.

Hickory. Old Hickory was the pet name of the people for Andrew Jackson.

Higher Law. In discussing the fugitive Slave Bill in 1850, Wm. H. Seward said there was a higher law than the Constitution,—the eternal principle of justice. The declaration excited a great deal of discussion. He was accused of making a treasonable utterance. The anti-slavery wing of the party to which he belonged sustained him, and to that speech, made in the Senate, was largely due the recognition of Mr. Seward as the first great leader of the Republican party, although it was not organized until several years later. The other notable term employed by Mr. Seward to designate the same general idea, “irrepressible conflict,” was used in 1860 in a speech delivered at Rochester, New York.

Honorable. All elective officers, from State Legislators upward, are entitled to the prefix Hon., also the more important appointive officers. The limits of the title are not sharply defined.

Hot Heads. Politicians with more zeal than discretion.

House. Lower branch of Congress and of the Legislature in most States.

Hunkers. That faction in the Democratic party which favored Gen. Cass for President in 1848. The opposite of Barn-burner or Soft Shell Democrat, and much the same as Hard Shell. Often applied by Whigs to all Democrats.

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Impeachment. Any officer who abuses his authority, is liable to impeachment. The lower house acts as grand jury, the upper, as petit jury. The great political excitement incident to reconstruction culminated in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868. Articles of impeachment were agreed upon March 3, and presented to the Senate two days later. The trial began March 23, Chief-Justice Chase presiding. The specific charge was the removal of the Secretary of War, Stanton, in violation of the tenure of office act. After a long and exciting trial, he was acquitted, a few Republican Senators voting with the Democrats for acquittal.

Independence. See Declaration of Independence.

Independents. That element in politics, mostly Republicans, who hold themselves in readiness to support either ticket, or none at all, as they see fit. This element is very large in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. More particularly in large cities where political corruption festers.

Inflationist. Those who wanted the volume of paper money largely increased. Sometimes called fiatists.

Iron-clad Oath. The oath of office presented by Congress as a safeguard against rebellion and a rebuke of those engaged in the Confederate cause.

Irrepressible Conflict. See Higher Law.

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Kansas-Nebraska. Early in the year 1834 Stephen A. Douglas, Senator from Illinois, and Chairman of the Committee on Territories, offered a bill repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820. By the terms of that Compromise, slavery was excluded from all territory North, practically, of Mason and Dixon's Line. The repeal bill, known as the Nebraska Bill, proposed to allow each Territory to decide for itself, whether it would have slavery or not. Intense excitement followed the introduction of the bill. Its agitation continued until May 31, when the bill became a law. Then followed without any rest the struggle between the two sections for the possession of the disputed area. The original purpose was to make slavery in Nebraska possible. It could have been introduced into Kansas without the repeal of the Compromise of 1820. The North resolved to make Kansas the battle-field, knowing that, freedom victorious there, would exclude slavery from Nebraska without any effort. It was six years before the struggle ended in the admission of Kansas as a free State. In the meanwhile the Territory was known as Bleeding Kansas.

King Cotton. Prior to the war, the South claimed that cotton was so very important a staple, that the cotton States could rule or ruin the Union, and that cotton could not be produced by free labor. The cotton crop is now larger than it was in the days of slavery.

Know-Nothing. In 1853, when the Whig party was regarded as dead, and before the Kansas-Nebraska Bill had called into life the Republican party, a secret political organization was formed, which on account of its secrecy, was called the Know-Nothing party. Its real purpose was to curb the rising power of the foreign element. It is believed to have begun in New York City, then almost absolutely under the control of the Irish. It was partly religious, being particularly hostile to the Roman Catholic Church. The society spread rapidly. The more dignified name for it was the American party. In 1856 it put a presidential ticket in the field, headed by Millard Fillmore, ex-president. It did not develop much strength. The slavery question overshadowed it. The Know-Nothing element was strong in the Republican party at the East. Gov. Banks of Massachusetts was the most prominent representative of it. Mr. Seward was always opposed to it. In the Republican National Convention a hard contest was waged over that issue, and the Know-Nothing faction was beaten.

Ku-Klux-Klan. Early in 1869 a secret society was formed in Tennessee, which rode about at night disguised and in squads, sometimes committing outrages, the object being to intimidate the negro voters and defeat the Republican party. It spread rapidly throughout the South. It numbered 500,000 at one time. In 1872 the Klan was exposed by a Congressional Investigating Committee, and some of the leaders sent to the penitentiary. As an organization it soon died out. See White Liners.

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Lecompton Constitution. In September, 1857, the pro-slavery element of Kansas met in an irregular, but representative way at the town of Lecompton, and adopted a constitution providing, among other things, for the existence of slavery. It was submitted to the people. The free-State party refused to vote at all, and the ballots cast for it were only about 6,500, including the fraudulent ones. It was subsequently voted down in a positive way, by a majority of 10,000. The Constitution finally adopted was framed at Wyandotte. The Lecompton Constitution proved the evil genius of the Democracy. President Buchanan was for admitting Kansas into the Union on that constitution, but Mr. Douglas insisted upon fair play. The schism was carried into the National Democratic Convention of 1860, and the campaign of that year. Mr. Douglas adhered to popular or squatter sovereignty, and the vice-president under Buchanan, John C. Breckenridge, was the nominee of the administration faction.

Legal Tender. Any money which a creditor is obliged to accept at par from a debtor, and no other. Bank bills are not now, and never have been a legal tender. Before the war, gold and silver coin alone, constituted the legal tender of the country. The necessities of war compelled Congress to give legal tender quality to United States notes. (See greenback).

Legislature. The law-making branch of a State government corresponding to Congress in national matters, and the common council in city affairs.

Let the Union Slide. In the heat of debate in Congress over the Nebraska Bill, Gen. Banks of Massachusetts said, in reply to Southern threats to dissolve the Union if the agitation against slavery was kept up, “Well then, let the Union slide.” The remark was caught up and made much of against the loyalty of the speaker and his party.

Liberal. In 1872 the opponents of Gen. Grant for a second term met in convention at Cincinnati to adopt a platform, and make a nomination. It was composed of representative men of both parties, disaffected Republicans being in the majority. The name taken was Liberal. It relegated the tariff question to the several congressional districts, and made the reconciliation of North and South in an era of fellowship paramount. Horace Greeley was nominated for President, B. Gratz Brown of Missouri, formerly Republican member of the United States Senate, for vice-president. The Democratic National Convention ratified the platform and ticket. At one time success seemed probable, but defeat came and the party was never after heard from.

Liberty Cap. The headgear of the goddess of liberty in the symbolism of the United States.

Liberty Party. The name taken by the opponents of slavery when they effected a political organization in 1839, but the nickname given the members, Abolitionists, was accepted and the more formal title dropped out of sight. See Abolitionist.

Little Giant. The popular pet name of Stephen A. Douglas, whose prominence in the Kansas-Nebraska contest gave him a great national reputation. A native of Vermont, and Senator from Illinois, candidate for President in 1860; died in 1861.

Lobby. The men who hang upon the skirts of legislative bodies, State or national, and make a business of urging the passage of bills having in them an element of business. In England the same class are called “parliamentary solicitors.”

Locofoco. A term for Democrat. It dates back to 1832, and originated in New York City. It was in common use for some ten years. Brimstone matches were once called locofocos, and the term was applied to the more sulphurous wing of the Democracy, it is said, on that account. It was not in common use until after the Liberty Party, or Abolitionists, gained some prominence and the “locos” were specially pronounced against anti-slavery agitation.

Log-rolling. When legislative measures, in themselves distinct, are made to have a common interest by their respective friends agreeing to help each other, the special arrangement made is called log rolling.

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Machine. A body of politicians so trained and disciplined that individual wills are subordinated to the wishes and orders of the leader or boss. The term machine, as a political phrase, is modern, but mechanical politics and bossism have never since been carried so far as they were under the skillful manipulations of Martin Van Buren. See Bossism.

Maine Law. Maine was the first State to pass a stringent law prohibiting the liquor traffic. That was in 1851. The term became and remains a synonym for prohibitory legislation.  Neal Dow is recognized as the father of the Maine Law. Several States have since then adopted it.

Mason and Dixon's Line. Originally the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, run by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, in 1764-7; but later and more familiarly used to designate the imaginary line between slave and free States.

Mass Meeting. A gathering of citizens for the purpose of hearing political speeches and making a popular demonstration, without having the making of nominations or the appointment of delegates to a nominating convention. See Stump.

Missouri Compromise. The admission of Missouri as a State was very bitterly opposed on the ground of its having a slaveholding constitution. It was finally agreed as a compromise to admit it after the passage of an act of Congress forever forbidding slavery north of latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes. That act was repealed by a bill introduced by Senator Douglas, of Illinois, known as the Nebraska Bill. See Kansas.

Monroe Doctrine. The policy of non-intervention in European affairs not directly involving American interests is called the Monroe Doctrine. It should rather be called the Washington Doctrine, maintained by him when Jefferson favored open and practical sympathy with the French Revolutionists. It is known as the Monroe Doctrine because in 1822, while James Monroe was President, the Spanish-American colonists were promptly recognized in their uprising for independency of Spain. The doctrine then received a somewhat enlarged meaning, and came to mean, partly, that Europe must not interfere with American affairs. This feature of the doctrine received special emphasis in the expulsion of Maximillian from Mexico, soon after the Southern Confederacy had been overthrown.

Moonshiners. Those who make and set whisky in a small way without paying the government tax, their operations being carried on at night, or in obscure places, especially in the mountains of North Carolina and East Tennessee.

Morgan. In 1826 William Morgan, of Batavia, New York, a Free Mason, published what purported to be an exposure of Masonic secrets. He soon disappeared, a mystery still clinging about his fate. The anti-Masons insisted that he had been killed by the order, and made great political capital out of the accusation. A corpse said to have been found in the Niagara River was represented to be that of the missing man. Thurlow Weed, a prominent anti-Mason, is reported to have said, when pressed for proof that such was the case, “It is good enough Morgan until after election.” That phrase has ever since lingered in politics to express trickery and sharp practice during the progress of a campaign. See Anti-Mason.

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Nation. Many say that the United States are a Federal Union while others insist that the United States is a nation. The latter idea is often expressed in the saying, “Spell Nation with a big N.”

National Greenbackers. Those citizens who desired to perpetuate the United States notes issued during the civil war, bearing no interest and a legal tender, and that without having them based on the right of redemption in coin, were variously called Greenbackers, National Greenbackers, Fiatists and Soft-money Men. They were strong in proportion as the times were hard.

Native American. See Know-nothing.

Naturalization. A foreigner can acquire all the rights of a native American, except eligibility to the presidency, by conforming to the provisions of the Naturalization Law. The first act of Congress on this subject was passed by the first Congress in 1790.

New Departure. Not long after the war, Clement C. Vallandigham, an Ohio Democrat who had been an extreme copperhead, came out in the advocacy of a radical abandonment of the policy of obstructing Republican measures, declaring that it was necessary for the part to make a new departure. His advice was not taken, but the term was caught up and made use of in almost all departments of thought and action.

New England. As early as 1643 the English colonies north of Long Island Sound formed a confederation for mutual protection against Indians and the French colonists still farther north. The New England Confederation foreshadowed the federation of the United States.

North. The free States of the United States.

Northwest Territory. During four years from 1783 to 1787 Congress was in negotiation with the States claiming territorial rights in the far West for the relinquishment of the same to the general government, that a provisional government might be established, and all danger of clashing State interests might be obviated. The success of those negotiations was a very important safeguard against disunion. See Ordinance of 1787.

Nullification. Akin to secession, but by no means the same thing. It grew in the same soil, South Carolina, nurtured by the genius of John C. Calhoun. He and his State claimed the power and right to defy a law of Congress, to nullify it, provided it was believed to be hostile to the interests of the State. The assumption was made during President Jackson's first term, with reference to a tariff act. In 1830 Senator Hayne, of South Carolina, made a speech in the Senate in defence [sic] of this doctrine and in defiance of national authority. He was answered by Daniel Webster in the most famous speech of his life. Calhoun was then Vice-President. Jackson determined to arrest and execute Calhoun for treason if South Carolina persisted in nullification, and the storm subsided for thirty years. The peril culminated and broke in 1862. The firmness of Jackson, his defiance of technicalities and wonderful popularity prevented civil war, or at least postponed it a generation. Henry Clay, the great compromiser, came forward with a modification of the tariff, which made it easier for South Carolina to abandon its attitude of nullification.

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Old Abe. The familiar nickname of President Lincoln, given to him more in affection than reproach, often prefixed by the word honest.

Office Seeker. One who wants a political position, but is by no means sure of getting it.

Old Fogy. Behind the times, especially in political affairs.

Old Hickory. A popular term for President Jackson.

One-horse. Insignificant, especially applied to a politician of small caliber.

On to Richmond. Early in the Civil War, when the North was impatient for a forward movement and it was generally believed that Richmond itself could be taken and the Confederacy destroyed by one bold stroke, the New York Tribune voiced that sentiment in a series of editorials written by Gen. Fitz Henry Warren, of Iowa, which became specially famous from the fact that very soon after the “On to Richmond” cry was raised, the first Battle of Bull Run was fought.

Ordinance of 1787. This ordinance created the first Territorial government in this country, namely, the Northwest Territory, embracing Ohio and all that portion of the United States of that date north and west of the Ohio River. Gen. St. Clair, ex-president of the Continental Congress, was the first governor. The ordinance forbade slavery and provided for the maintenance of public schools largely by the proceeds of a portion of the public land. This ordinance guaranteed many rights subsequently guaranteed to the whole country through the Constitution. The authorship of the ordinance is generally attributed to Nathan Dane, but is claimed by others for Rev. Dr. Cutler, who conceived a vast scheme of colonization, if a satisfactory ordinance could be secured. That ordinance was not antagonized by the South, but rather favored by the Southern Members of Congress, who had no desire then for the spread of slavery.

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Peculiar Institution. A common designation for slavery after it had become peculiar to the South; sometimes, since its abolition, applied to polygamy, which is peculiar to Utah. The latter is often called the twin relic, referring to slavery.

Pickings. Emoluments of office, especially the incidental perquisites. Sometimes called stealings.

Plank. The several resolutions constituting a platform are called planks.

Platform. The resolutions adopted by a nominating convention, forming the principles which the nominees are bound to carry out, and constituting the foundation on which they stand.

Plumed Knight. Popular name for Hon. James G. Blaine since the National Republican Convention of 1876, at which time Col. Ingersoll, in nominating Mr. Blaine, compared him to a plumed knight.

Political Capital. Anything from which a party can derive benefit, whether it be the popularity of its own course, or the unpopularity of the other party, is said to be “political capital.”

Pool Your Issues. Dennis Kearney, of California, who rose to prominence in 1877, advised the working men to abandon the old political parties, forget petty differences, and pool their issues for their common interest. The phrase was caught up and has been in common use ever since.

Popular Sovereignty. In a republic the people, taken collectively, are supreme, hence popular sovereignty. See Squatter Sovereignty.

Pre-emption. Under the Pre-emption Law of Congress, the pioneer who settles upon a tract of public land has a right to purchase the same of the government in preference to an outsider. Some actual improvement is necessary to, and the basis of, the pre-emptor's right of priority.

President. Executive head of the government of the United States, elected for four years.

Prohibition. Extremely high tariff advocates are sometimes said to be in favor of a prohibitory tariff, but a prohibitionist is one who favors the absolute prohibition of traffic in intoxicating drinks as a beverage. See Maine Law.

Pro-slavery. Favorable to slavery.

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Radicals. A synonym for Republicans, frequently applied by opponents, and sometimes used in a friendly way, but not often.

Rag Baby. The opponents of resumption, or Greenbackers, were derisively said to favor rag money, or to have as the pet of their political household the “Rag Baby.”

Rag Money. See Rag Baby.

Readjuster. The debt of Virginia at the outbreak of the Civil War was very heavy. During the war West Virginia was created out of a portion of the Old Dominion, but the new State never acknowledged any obligation growing out of that old debt. For several years there was much discussion in the State about paying the debt, without any progress toward a settlement. Finally, Gen. Mahone came forward as the leader of a party which proposed to compromise or readjust, paying part of the debt. The new party was called Readjusters. It carried several elections, drifting more and more toward affiliation in national politics, toward Republicanism, and, in 1884, merging into the Republican party, without abandoning the policy of readjustment.

Rebellion. The South never admitted that secession was rebellion, claiming that it was the exercise of a reserved State right, but at the North the two terms were synonymous.

Red-Dog. Applied to some ante-war State bank bills, the printing on the back of which was in red ink. Eventually used as one of the terms to designate irredeemable and depreciable bank circulation.

Republican. There have been two Republican parties in American politics, each independent of the other. The one now in existence was not born until the earlier one had been so long in its grave as to be almost forgotten. That earlier party had for its first leader Thomas Jefferson. It was opposed to the Federal party. See Federal. The Republican party, as the term is generally understood, was born in 1855, and held its First National Convention in 1856. Its parents were the Whig and Freesoil parties, and it was the heir of both. That First National Convention was held at Philadelphia, June 17, 1856. Col. John C. Fremont was the nominee for President. Its leading principle was opposition to the further spread of slavery. It was always in favor of a protective tariff, and its course has been along the lines required by the logic of those two principles. Prior to the war it had no following at the South. For several years after reconstruction it was very strong in that section, but of late years it has virtually been dependent upon the North for support. Wm. H. Seward, Horace Greeley and Charles Sumner were the most prominent leaders in the East, and Abraham Lincoln and Salmon P. Chase at the West, during the early period of the party's history. They gave character and tendency to it.

Repudiation. No State can be compelled to pay its debts by any legal process, and if it sees fit to defraud its creditors, the crime is called repudiation, and its advocates repudiationists. Mississippi gained unenviable notoriety before the Civil War for repudiation, and several States since then have followed her example. Sometimes the debt was contracted so dishonestly that there was some excuse for refusing to pay the bonds.

Returning Board. The returns of an election are in some States canvassed by a board appointed for that purpose with varying powers to cancel errors. In Louisiana, in 1876, the Returning Board gained special prominence from the fact that thousands of Democratic votes were thrown out and the state given to the Republicans, thus securing the presidency to Hayes and defeating Tilden. See Electoral Commission.

Ring. A gang of robbers who prey upon the public collectively, instead of belated travelers and isolated individuals, working through politics, is called a ring. The term is sometimes employed loosely to designate a clique of politicians, working in harmony by legitimate means for legitimate objects, but it always has in it a taint of corruption.

Rooster. The press very commonly celebrate a political victory by heading the announcement with a cock in the act of crowing. The custom is said to date back to 1844, when the Democrats “crowed” over the election of James K. Polk at the expense of Henry Clay.

Run. A candidate who is popular is said to run well.

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Salt River. A common term to designate an imaginary river, in which a defeated candidate is said to be rowed. It is the River Styx of politics, only the dead are rowed up it instead of being ferried across it.

Scratch. This term has two distinct political meanings. If a candidate is elected by a very small majority he is said to get into office by scratch. Again, if a voter erases from the ballot he deposits the name of a regular nominee and inserts another, or votes a blank, in that respect he is said to have scratched his ticket.

Secession. John C. Calhoun maintained that if a State wanted to secede it had a right to do so. The right of secession was the ground on which the Confederate States based their attempt at separation from the United States.

Sectionalism. The prejudice of locality, showing itself in political matters.

Senate. The common term in the United States for the upper branch of Congress and the several State legislatures. The Senate of the United States consists of two senators from each State, elected for six years by the State legislature. The Senate is presided over by the vice-president and the State Senate by the lieutenant-governor.

Shin-plaster. An Americanism for depreciated paper currency, especially the temporary makeshifts which sprang up early in the war as a substitute for state bank bills and small coin. Business firms and municipalities made such emissions for the accommodation of local trade.

Silk Stocking. Term of reproach applied to gentlemen in politics.

Silver Dollar. The dollar proper is a silver coin of 412½ grains, the original standard of monetary measurement in the United States. After the discovery of gold in California, the gold dollar had less intrinsic value than the silver dollar, and as a consequence the latter ceased to circulate to any considerable extent. During the period when specie payment was suspended its coinage was suspended. The discovery of enormous deposits of silver so cheapened the market value of this precious metal that as the time for resumption approached (1879) there sprang up in our politics the silver question, and the silver dollar suddenly became a fiercely exciting political issue. The creditor class protested against it, the debtor class clamored for it. The East was generally opposed to any further coinage of silver dollars while the West and South generally insisted upon striking off as many of them as the mints could make. The silverites, or bimetalsts, demanded “the dollar of the fathers,” while the goldites, or mometalists, derided it as the “daddy dollar.” The friends of silver were strong enough to have their way. That eliminated the silver dollar from politics, practically. There has been some discussion of the matter since, but only as an echo of a spent blow. See Trade Dollar.

Silver Grays. As the Whig party disintegrated the more conservative element, largely made up of elderly men, were called Silver Grays. They clung to the old party as long as possible, and when the ship finally sank out of sight very many of them preferred the Democracy to the Republican party, or retirement altogether from politics. They were the opposites of the woolly-heads, which see.

Skedaddle. This word was in common used during the civil war, applied to the defeated army, more particularly if cowardice was shown in running away from the field of danger.

Slate. In political phraseology this term refers to the agreements entered into by politicians in advance of conventions as to who shall be nominated for the offices. When the unconsulted, “the people,” succeed in making up a ticket independent of such scheming it is said that the slate was broken.

Slave Code. In all the Southern States laws were passed from time to time for the regulation of slavery and its preservation, all of which became obsolete with emancipation and were wiped out. Those laws, as a whole, are often spoken of as a code.

Slavery. Although slavery existed in nearly all the country from the early colonial days until long after independence, it can not be said to have had a political significance until about the time the cotton gin was invented by Whitney and the Northern States, in which slave-labor was unprofitable, freed the negroes. During about thirty years, or the last generation of its existence, it was a bone of political contention. The gin opened up to the cotton States vast possibilities of wealth without the labor of the white race. From that time a powerful and growing element at the South looked upon slavery as an inestimable boon, a necessity of Southern prosperity, while the North, by slow degrees, developed an anti-slavery sentiment. See Abolitionist.

Slave Trade. In old times the enslavement of prisoners of war was regarded as a matter of course, but the term, as generally used, means the compulsory labor of negroes. African slavery may be said to date from 1501, when the Portuguese captured negroes in their own country, and carried them to the West Indies to do the work of the Spanish-American colonists. In the United States the first slave ship sailed up the James River, and the cargo was disposed of to the pioneer tobacco raisers of Virginia. That was a Dutch vessel. The first English slave-trader was Sir John Hawkins. Queen Elizabeth sanctioned the slave trade. It flourished from 1680 to 1808, since which time the kidnapping of Africans in their native land, and selling them into bondage, has been a capital crime. In the eighteenth century this hideous trade flourished, sanctioned by law, and sometimes favored by the church as a species of missionary work. The English abolished the trade in 1807; its abolition in the United States went into effect the year following. The term slave trade was also applied to the domestic traffic in human beings. The slave trader bought and sold, on the auction block, or in a private way men, women and children, just as cattle dealers buy and sell. This kind of slave trading only ceased with emancipation. See Slavery and Abolition.

Socialist. It was not until after the panic of 1873 that America became aware of socialists as a practical home reality. In the summer of 1877 they attained their widest power. Socialism is essentially a German plant, meaning the doctrine not only that all men were created free and equal, but that all inequalities are unjust and must be abolished. It is about the same as communism, only not quite so extreme or violent. [Charles] Fourier and Robert Dale Owen may be mentioned as early advocates of the doctrine, and Herr [Johann] Most as the most radical of socialists. During the hard tunes from 1873 to 1870, there was a great deal of socialism and communism in the country, especially among foreigners who had immigrated to this country from the continent of Europe. Capital became greatly alarmed. Good times wrought a change. The socialist and communist disappeared from the city and town as the tramp did from the rural districts.

Soft Money. During the financial agitation, especially from 1873 to 1880, the advocates of paper money as a permanent substitute for coin were often said to favor soft money. See Greenbacks.

Soft-Shells. At one time the Democratic party in New York was divided into two well-defined factions, Soft Shells and Hard Shells, or, for short, Softs and Hards. That was from about 1848 to 1854. The Softs leaned toward anti-slavery and followed the lead of Martin Van Buren, to the extent of forming a temporary alliance with the Abolitionists, as free-soilers; the Hards supported Lewis Cass and never wavered in allegiance to the Democratic party. Hunkers was another name for the Hards, and the Softs were sometimes called Barnburners, although the latter term is more nearly akin to Freesoilers.

Solid. Some ten years after the civil war had closed the press began to talk about a “Solid South,” meaning that the Democratic party had or would regain substantially the same political supremacy at the South that it enjoyed prior to the war. It was often said that “a solid South will make a solid North,” meaning that in proportion as the element which had attempted to secede reasserted itself in national politics the Republican party would gain at the North through the rekindling of the old war feeling.

Sons of Liberty. Has two significations. In 1765 the colonies who were foremost in opposing British oppression called themselves Sons of Liberty, and that was one of the designations of those citizens in Northern States who, about a century later, sympathized with the States which had seceded, and formed a secret organization in accordance with that line of sympathy.

Sorehead. A politician who conceives that his services have not been properly appreciated and rewarded, who has a grievance. The sorehead may content himself with complaint, but often he takes to his tent, like Achilles, or goes clear over to the enemy, like Coriolanus.

South. Those States of the American Union in which slavery existed at the outbreak of the civil war. All the States in which slavery did not exist constitute the North. See Mason and Dixon's Line.

Sovereign People. In a republic there are no subjects. The highest officials are servants of the people, and so each citizen, if not himself a sovereign, is a member of the body politic which is regal in authority.

Split Ticket. See Ticket.

Spoils. The pecuniary rewards of office, or the patronage which the party in power has to dispense. In the year 1837 Wm. L. Marcy inadvertently remarked that “to the victors belong the spoils of the enemy.” It is the object of civil service reform, the very essence of it, to abolish this spoils system, and place the business of office-holding upon much the same basis as other business.

Spread Eagle. The national emblem of the United States being an eagle with extended wings, the term Spread Eagle has come to characterize, somewhat derisively, patriotic oratory, especially the flights of Fourth of July speakers.

Squatter Sovereignty. The same as popular sovereignty. It was a favorite term with Senator Douglas, who claimed to have originated it. Charles Sumner showed from Milton that it originated in the Garden of Eden when “Satan sat like a toad squat by the ear of Eve.”

Stalwart. James G. Blaine was the first to give this word political prominence. That was early in the administration of President Hayes and designated those Republicans, himself among the numbers, who were dissatisfied with the Southern policy of the President. But in 1880 those who favored the nomination of Gen. Grant and opposed Mr. Blaine's nomination, appropriated it to themselves. In the State of New York, where the feeling was especially bitter, the Blaine men were called Half-Breeds, or Featherheads. In the spring of 1881, soon after the inauguration of Gen. Garfield, the leader of the Blaine forces in New York was appointed collector of customs in New York, and that appointment was the signal for a fierce outbreak of animosity between the two factions, and the whole country rang with the terms “Stalwart,” “Halfbreed” and “Featherhead.” The intense and irrational excitement culminated in the assassination of Garfield. See Crank.

Stamp Act. In 1765 the British Parliament imposed a direct tax upon the colonies. The object was to defray the expenses of the French or border war from 1755 to 1763. It was claimed that the colonies ought to foot the bill, as it was waged in their interest. But they protested, and when war came, that direct tax or stamp act was one of the grievances complained of. It was, however, repealed in 1766. “No taxation without representation,” was the position taken.

Stars and Stripes. The national flag, adopted by act of Congress, June 14, 1777. It consists of thirteen stripes alternate red and white, and thirteen stars on a field of blue. It is the most artistic national design ever yet devised.

Star Spangled Banner. Applied to the national flag, by Francis S. Key, in his popular patriotic song bearing that name. It was written during the second war with England, and received a remarkable increase of popularity during the civil war.

States. Originally State and Nation were interchangeable terms, and to-day it is alike proper to say the states or the nations of Europe. But in America the State is one of the many component parts of the Nation. The thirteen colonies which united in throwing off the British yoke became the original thirteen States.

State Rights. The claim that a State has a right to withdraw from the Union at its own pleasure, the doctrine that the Union is a partnership, dissolvable at the option of any party to it, instead of a marriage, is the idea briefly stated in the two words, State Rights. It is maintained in its support that the State is sovereign, and not the United States. State rights is a synonym for State sovereignty, although the two terms would bear very different interpretation in their primitive meanings.

State Sovereignty. See State Rights.

Straight. See Ticket.

Stump. The popular political orator finds no ordinary audience-room large enough for his purpose, and campaign meetings are often held in the open air, the speaker having for his platform a temporary staging, or something else hardly more pretentious than the stump of a tree. To emphasize this simplicity he is supposed to speak from a stump. From this rustic idea it came to pass that going about from place to place in making political speeches, was known as taking the stump.

Stump-tail. See Wild-cat.

Swinging around the Circle. In the spring of 1865 Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, and Andrew Johnson became President. The civil war had just closed and reconstruction was the next thing in order. It gradually became evident that the President was not in harmony with the party which had elected him. In the summer of 1866 Gov. Morton, of Indiana, made a powerful speech in opposition to the President, and it was resolved to do something to counteract its influence. The corner stone of the monument to Stephen A. Douglas was to be laid in Chicago, Sept. 2. It was decided that the President, accompanied by Secretary Seward and others, should attend, and on the route address the people in defense of his views on the question of reconstruction. That trip was called by himself, “Swinging around the Circle.” The unfriendly press took it up and made such derisive use of the term that it proved very damaging to his influence with the people during his entire administration.

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Tammany. As early as May 13, 1789, a political society was started in New York City which took the name of Tammany, borrowed from the Indians and its members in authority were called Sachems. Aaron Burr was one of the prime movers in its organization. Those were the days of the Jacobins in Paris, and club politics in large cities. When the Democratic party came into existence Tammany warmly espoused its cause, as against the Whigs. From the first it was remarkable for antagonism to anything savoring of England, and its leaders captured the Irish vote, which, after the famine of 1848, became very large. The organization fell into disrepute soon after the civil war, through the corruptions of Wm. M. Tweed, the head of the organization, and of the ring to which he belonged. After his overthrow John Kelly succeeded in restoring the political power of the organization.

Territory. Generally speaking, the entire area of a country, but in the United States more specifically those infant commonwealths which have not reached their majority and been admitted into the Union as States. The Territories exist as political entities under distinct act of Congress, and all the powers of self government within them are really subordinate to national authority. The governors and judges in a Territory are appointed by the President, and confirmed by the Senate. The Territorial legislatures are elected by the people.

Ticket. Synonym for ballot. Also a general term for the nominees to be voted for at a given election by one or the other party. A straight or regular ticket is the list of candidates presented by the ordinary party, when some of the names are erased the ticket is said to be scratched, and when some of the candidates voted for are the nominees of one party and some of another, the ticket is split or mixed.

Tippecanoe. A popular designation of Gen. Harrison, suggested by the victory won by him in border warfare, on the field of Tippecanoe, in Indiana. In one of the more popular campaign songs of 1840, the refrain was “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.”

Tissue Ballots. In 1876 the election in South Carolina was a very bitter one. It was charged that enormous frauds were perpetrated by stuffing the ballot boxes with ballots printed on thin paper. This fraud was carried so far, at least so widely and loudly charged, that “tissue ballots” became a synonym for frauds at elections.

Tory. The Americans who were opposed to independence, and especially those who afforded aid and comfort to the British army during the Revolutionary war, were denominated Tories, a term borrowed from English politics. In England it dates back to the seventeenth century. It is supposed to have its etymological origin in Ireland, meaning savage. In England it was finally dropped for conservative. In this country the Tories were extinguished. Many fled to British America, some were banished, and their property confiscated. Those who remained were only too glad to bury their Toryism in forgetfulness.

Trade Dollar. During the period of suspension of specie payments, early in 1873, Congress authorized the coinage of a silver piece containing 420 grains of silver, for use in trade with China and Japan. That coin was designated a Trade Dollar, and was never designed for circulation in this country. It is not a legal tender, although intrinsically more valuable than the standard dollar. When silver became a currency in general use, about 1879, the trade dollar came into circulation, often proving very annoying to business. The government never accepted it as a deposit, or payment, and in 1883 all the banks of the country which had not already refused to take it, did so, thus banishing it from the channels of traffic.

Traitor. The United States tried Aaron Burr on the charge of treason, but he was acquitted. Jefferson Davis was indicted as a traitor, but a nolle pros finally entered. See Treason, Rebel and Secession.

Treason. Those who sought the dismemberment of the Union, especially by force of arms, were accused of treason and branded traitors. The latter never accepted the designation, but, on the contrary insisted that they were loyal to the State and section in which they lived, and exercised “a reserved right.” See Rebel and Secession.

Twin Relic. Polygamy is often referred to as the “twin relic,” meaning to compare it to slavery.

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Uncle Sam. The United States, the same as John Bull is Great Britain. The abbreviation, U. S. may have suggested the term. It is popularly supposed to have originated in the war of 1812, when an inspector of army supplies, Samuel Wilson, was familiarly known as Uncle Sam. However that may be, the phrase is even more general than its synonym, Brother Jonathan.

Underground Railroad. After the passage of the Fugitive Slave law, 1850, it was necessary to observe great secrecy in the movement of escaped slaves, instead of going North by whatever way came handy the routes through Northern States were systematically and clandestinely arranged. These routes were familiarly known as underground railroads. Of course when the war came there was no further use for such “railroads.”

Union. General term for the United States, used to designate the Nation, also the form of government or system of federation by which the States are held together as one commonwealth, notwithstanding the diversity of local interests.

Unionist. One who favored the preservation of the Union, at whatever sacrifice in other respects. The opposite of Secessionist.

Upper House. Another term for Senate in the United States and the several States, for the House of Lords in England.

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Vigilance Committee. When the ordinary political institutions fail to afford protection to persons and property, the people sometimes resort to a voluntary, secret and temporary organization called Vigilance Committee. The most notable instance was in San Francisco, in the early days of mining, when the criminal class seemed to have their own way, and resort to extraordinary and illegal remedies was necessary.

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Walk Over is a term borrowed by the politicians from the turf, and implying a race won without effort. It can not be traced chronologically.

West. A general term for all the region West of the Alleghany Mountains, or of the States of Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas. In political parlance there are three great divisions, the North, the South and the West, the latter, for the most part, belonging to the former, in the larger sense of the term, North.

Western Reserve. That part of Ohio settled, originally, by Connecticut people, and which has from the first had a marked individuality. There are seven counties in the Reserve, with a total area of 120 miles from east to west, by 52 miles from north to south, 4,000,000 acres. This land was given to the State of Connecticut in settlement of certain Revolutionary claims. The Western Reserve was early in the field opposed to slavery. Joshua R. Giddings was for many years its representative in Congress, and later Gen. James A. Garfield. There is remarkable uniformity of character and political views throughout that tract of country.

Whig. Originally a party in England. For a long time the two great parties in British politics were Tories and Whigs. The former were conservative, the latter progressive. In revolutionary times the British Whigs very largely sympathized with the colonies, and opposed the Tory war in America. As a consequence, the term “Whig” had an element of popularity in this country. It was adopted by an American political organization in 1828. The tariff was the main issue at that time, and the Whigs were in favor of protection. The party existed until superseded by the Republican party in 1855, although its first national convention was held in 1839, and its last in 1852. It was in December of the former year that a national convention was held at Pittsburgh for the nomination of candidates for president and vice-president, to be elected a year later. That was one of the most memorable political campaigns ever known. The popular election did not occur until eleven months after the nomination, and the electoral colleges followed a month later. The Whigs were successful, but it was a barren victory. Just a month after his inauguration President Harrison died, and Tyler, the first vice-president to become president by virtue of his vice-presidency, proved recreant to the central principles of his party. The tariff bill passed by his party he vetoed. In 1844 the Whigs nominated their real leader, Henry Clay, who had been a candidate for president as long ago as 1824, when there were really no political parties in existence, and who, more than any other man that ever lived, was an embodiment of whiggery. He was defeated. In 1848 the Whigs again took up a military candidate, Gen. Taylor, of Louisiana, who knew very little about civil life, and was especially unversed in politics, but who proved to be available. He died during his term of office, but his successor, Millard Fillmore, was a strong Whig, belonging to the conservative wing of the party. The election of 1852 was the last national campaign of this party. Gen. Winfield Scott, the nominee of that year, was overwhelmingly beaten by Gen. Franklin Pierce, and the party never rallied. The very name was against it, for when the foreign element, especially Irish, came here, they distrusted a party whose name suggested British politics.

White League. In the year 1874 a secret organization was formed at New Orleans, having for its object the overthrow of the negro and “carpet bag” State and city governments. It was called the White League. It was claimed that the negroes were about to rise in insurrection. Arms in large quantities were sent for, and a steamer arrived, laden with them, but the city authorities would not allow them to be unloaded. Nevertheless, the League procured arms. A riot and massacre occurred Sept. 14, 1874, to which more than one hundred persons, most negroes, were killed. The League did not disband until after its object had been accomplished, not only in New Orleans, but throughout the State. See White Liner.

White Liner. After the enfranchisement of the colored people, those citizens who were still determined to prevent negro suffrage, as a practical power in Southern politics, were known at the time in Louisiana as White Liners. The term did not become very general, and for the most part, was in vogue during the struggle of 1876, with its culmination the next year in the overthrow of the so-called Packard government. See White League.

Wide Awakes. In the presidential campaign which resulted in the choice of Abraham Lincoln, the “Wide Awakes” gave an immense impetus to the Republican cause. The first club was organized in Hartford, Connecticut, in the spring of 1859, but it was not until after the Chicago convention of the next year that such clubs became general. They enlisted the sympathies of a great many young men who had never before cast a ballot for president. Each had an oilcloth cap and cape, and carried a torch swung upon a short pole. The processions which they formed marched in the evening, with their lamps burning. There were at least 500,000 Wide Awakes during that campaign. Some lingering traces of the organization survived, and the Democracy attempted to get up a similar series of popular demonstrations, but for the most part the Wide Awakes were confined to the Republican campaign of 1860.

Wild Cat. In a general way the term applied to depreciated paper money before the war, but more particularly to the notes of the banks of the State of Michigan, which had on the face the picture of a panther. It was applied to the bills of these banks by those who had suffered loss by taking them. It was one of several opprobrious epithets justly given to the money issued by banks doing business under State charters.

Wilmot Proviso. This term relates to proceedings in Congress during the year 1846. For some two years the term was in great use, forming the line of battle between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions at Washington and throughout the country. David Wilmot was a member of Congress from Pennsylvania. In August of the year named he proposed an amendment to the bill then pending relative to the acquisition of additional territory from Mexico to the effect that it might be annexed provided it were understood and decreed that none of the new territory should be given up to slavery. That proviso was twice adopted by the House of Representatives, but never secured the sanction of the Senate. The South looked upon that vast area, namely the region west of the Rocky Mountains, as being, for the most part, adapted to the institution of slavery. It saw the North extending west and gaining new States devoted to free labor and determined to have a Western outlet of their own, through the annexation of Mexican territory. The Wilmot proviso struck at the root of the whole matter, and involved all that was really fought for in the war with Mexico. The proviso failed, but its object was finally carried out, no part of that area ever having been devoted to slavery, except that a few slaves were introduced into the Territory of New Mexico. [See Free Soil Party.]

Wire-Pulling. In politics the scheming and figuring of place seekers is called wire-pulling, and those who manipulate are called wire-pullers. Just where the term was first employed can not be determined. It certainly dates back to the summer of 1848. It has always had a strong coloring of disrepute, referring especially to those who manage to live off the public by being serviceable to their party in the use of unscrupulous means, especially in controlling canvasses and conventions.

Woolly Heads. During the later years of Whiggery in the United States, and when that party was undergoing the disintegration which prepared the way for the Republican party, there were two factions in the Whig Party, one leaning strongly toward the conciliation of the South, the other manifesting marked sympathy with the anti-slavery sentiment of the North. These latter were called “Woolly Heads,” on account of their interest in the negro. This term began to be used about the time the Fugitive Slave Law was passed, 1850, and ceased entirely after the Republican party was formed, four years later. It has never been in any way revived.

Woman's Rights. This term applies to the movement started in 1848 for the enfranchisement of women, and the repeal of such laws as deprived married women of their just natural rights. Prior to that time, the women of New Jersey had been allowed to vote; but the ballot, not much prized, was taken from them. The suffrage episode in New Jersey had nothing really to do with the Woman's Rights movement, as it took shape at that time. The first convention called in its interest met at Seneca Falls, N. Y., July 18, 1848. Prominent among the women present were Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Martha C. Wright and Lucretia Mott. Many conventions have been held since, and besides the ladies already named may be mentioned Susan B. Anthony, Anna Dickinson, Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, and Mrs. Kate N. Doggett, as having done a great deal for this cause. No State has given the ballot to woman[sic], but in several States she is allowed to vote for school directors. Three Territories allow her the ballot at all elections, Wyoming, Utah and Washington. Thus far the chief success of the movement has been in the direction of law reform. Wives can hold property in their own names, and control their own earnings. In a general way, the agitation has effected a great deal for the amelioration of those wives who have drunken husbands, and for the elevation of women in the scale of social and industrial as well as legal rights. The opening to women of all the avenues of labor, professions, trades and callings of nearly every nature, may be largely attributed to the advocates of woman's right to the ballot.

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Yankee. Was applied to the American patriots of the Revolutionary period. Like many other phrases and designations now honored, it was a nickname, derisively given, originally. Some philologists derive it from the supposed Indian pronunciation of English, “Yangeese"; but this is probably hypothetical. The term is traced by others, with some more plausibility, to the border war between the French and English colonies, in 1755, when upon the English side, the regulars and colonial militia were fighting side by side. Of course the raw recruits from the woods and farms were awkward, and made the butt of many a joke. The tune, Yankee Doodle, is believed to have been written about that time, in a frolicksome and guying spirit. The idea that the backwoodsman was a “dandy,” passed for a good joke. It certainly proved monumental. Gradually the term came to be peculiarly applicable to New Englanders, with strongly accentuated provincialisms of speech, manner and character. At the North, before the war, it was hardly at all used as having any wider significance. But the South had come to use it as designating all Northerners. In the war of 1861-65, it was used on both sides, often shortened to “Yanks,” to designate the Northern soldiers. Broadly speaking, “Yankee” is often an adjective fitting anything notably peculiar to the Northern, and more especially the Northeastern States of the United States.

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