An opposition
to this party was formed at the very outset of the Adams
Administration. This opposition denied the constitutional power of
Congress to create or sustain either.
The South, at the commencement of this opposition, was almost alone.
The North was a unit in its support of the Administration, because its
policy was vital to her interests. The West, influenced by Mr. Clay,
was greatly in the majority in its support. The Southern opposition
seemed almost hopeless; and to this cause may, in a great degree, be
ascribed the bringing forth to public view the transcendent abilities
of the young men aspiring for fame in Georgia, and in the South
generally. McDuffie, Hamilton, Holmes, and Waddy Thompson, of South
Carolina; Colquitt, Cobb, Toombs, Stephens, Johnson, Nesbit, and John
P. King, of Georgia; Wise, Bocock, Hunter, Summers, Rives, and others
of Virginia; Mangum, Badger, and Graham, of North Carolina; Bell,
Foster, Peyton, Nicholson, and James K. Polk, of Tennessee; King and
Lewis, of Alabama; Porter, Johnston, White, and Barrow, of Louisiana;
Ashley, Johnson, and Sevier, of Arkansas; Chase, Pugh, Pendleton, and
Lytell, of Ohio; and Douglas, Trumbull, and Lincoln, of Illinois, were
all men of sterling talent, and were about equally divided in political
sentiment.
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