Note 74 — Chapter XVI · 1841–1842. (continued 2)

General Samuel Houston, an intimate friend of General Jackson, held conversations in the winter of 1824–5 with the members of the Ohio delegation, in which he took it upon him, in his efforts to persuade them to vote for Jackson, to say, that in the event of his election, “your man” (Clay) “can have anything he pleases.” All this, and a great deal more of the same kind, meant only an expectation and belief on the part of some of Jackson’s friends, that a political union between him and Mr. Clay would be for the good of the country, and it was their earnest wish to see it take place. Some of the friends of Mr. Clay supposed that these were advances made to him with General Jackson’s knowledge and consent, and that, as they were not met by Clay, the indifference with which they were treated caused General Jackson’s subsequent charge of “bargain and corruption” between Mr. Clay and Mr. Adams. This and many similar mistakes were the natural fruits of the excitement which prevailed in Washington during the winter of 1824–5.