of slave labor; immigration and free labor shunned slave soil as if the plague were there prevalent.  Year after year the North and West became more national in their prejudices and modes of thought and action; while the South remained little changed, except by a natural reactionary drift toward a more extreme colonialism.  The natural result, in the next period was the development of a quasi nationality in the South itself.

The introduction of the railway had brought its own difficulties, though these were not felt severely until after years.  In the continent of Europe, the governments carefully retained their powers of eminent domain when the new system was introduced.  The necessary land was loaned to the railways for a term of years, at the expiration of which the railway was to revert to the State; and railway troubles were non-existent, or comparatively tractable.  In the United States, as in Great Britain, free right of incorporation was supplemented by what was really a gift of the power of eminent domain.  The necessary land became the property of the corporations in fee, and it has been found almost equally difficult to revoke the gift or to introduce a railway control.

Democracy took a new and extreme line of development under its alliance with nationality.  As the dominant party, about 1827-8, became divided into two parties, the new parties felt the democratic influence as neither of their predecessors had felt it.  Nominations, which had been made by cliques of legislators or Congressmen, began to be made by popular delegate conventions about 1825.  Before 1835, national, State, and local conventions had been united into parties of the modern type.  With them came the pseudo-democratic idea of “rotation in office,” introduced into national politics by President Jackson, in 1829, and adopted by succeeding administrations.  There were also some attempts to do away with the electoral system, and to make the federal judiciary elective, or to impose on it some other term of office than good behavior; but these had neither success nor encouragement.

The financial errors of the war of 1812 had fairly compelled the re-establishment of the Bank of the United States in 1816, with a charter for twenty years, and the control of the deposits of national revenue.  Soon after Jackson’s inauguration, the managers of the new democratic party came into collision with the bank on the appointment of a subordinate agent.  It very soon became evident that the bank could not exist in the new political atmosphere.  It was driven into politics; a new charter was vetoed in 1832; and after one of the bitterest struggles of our history, the bank ceased to exist as a government institution in 1836.  The reason for its fall, however disguised by attendant circumstances, was really its lack of harmony with the national-democratic environment which had overtaken it.  Benton’s speech presents a review of this bank struggle and of accompanying political controversies.