Campaign Trail Results: Game #849223
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1844
- Player Candidate: James K. Polk
- Running Mate: Levi Woodbury
- Difficulty Level: Impossible
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- Henry Clay | 251 | 1,522,541 | 56.43 |
| ---- James K. Polk | 24 | 1,124,013 | 41.66 |
| ---- James Birney | 0 | 51,743 | 1.92 |
| ---- John Tyler | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Answers:
- What points will emphasize in your acceptance letter, as you accept the Democratic nomination for President?I will express my support for the annexation of Texas, and a favorable resolution to the Oregon situation. On other issues, we will continue Van Buren's efforts to establish an Independent Treasury, and will move to reduce tariffs.
- You are known as a supporter of annexation on the Texas front. Do you have anything you would like to add, now that you have been nominated?We must annex Texas immediately.
- John Tyler is pleased with your position on the Texas issue, and is prepared to withdraw his candidacy. Can you give him assurances that certain appointees of his will be safe in their positions, should you be elected?Getting Tyler out of the race is worth it. He can send us a reasonable list of people who will stay on when we're elected.
- Can you elaborate on why your allies intervened so strongly on behalf of Levi Woodbury, to be your running mate?Mr. Woodbury was a critical part of Jackson and Van Buren's Cabinets, and he has the right viewpoint on the Treasury and tariff questions.
- Cassius Clay, a cousin of Henry Clay, has published a letter stating Henry Clay is in accord with the abolitionist movement. Should your party disseminate copies of this letter as an attack?That seems like a pretty obvious move to me. The Whigs have always had trouble finessing this issue.
- Do you believe that any Southern Whig can call themselves a supporter of slavery, so long as Henry Clay equivocates on the Texas issue?We don't really need to address this question one way or the other. Let's just run our campaign and get our own views out.
- Do you have any statement on the presence of Theodore Frelinghuysen on the Whig ticket, and his association with known anti-Catholic agitators?We won't have much to say about Frelinghuysen. He seems to avoided the vices which have plagued Henry Clay throughout his life.
- For better or worse, many view you as a protege of Andrew Jackson (some call you “Young Hickory”). Is it better to embrace this label, or to distance yourself from it?I am a personal friend of Andrew Jackson, and have repeatedly taken advice from him throughout my political career. I'm proud of this and I believe it to be an asset in this campaign.
- Henry Clay supports the idea that the federal government should purchase the telegraph patent and manage the technology. To what extent should you attack him on this?This sounds like the most ridiculous idea yet from Mr. Clay's long public career. I trust that enterprising individuals and companies will develop this technology.
- Should your party attack Henry Clay's personal conduct? His gambling, womanizing, dueling, and generally irreligious nature?I don't think that personal conduct is a good issue to bring into this campaign.
- Silas Wright, the protege and successor to Van Buren, has been mentioned as a candidate for Governor of New York. He seems hesitant. Will you write him a letter imploring him to enter the race?I will put my word in as a supporter of Silas Wright.
- There have recently been riots and armed clashes between nativists and Irish immigrants in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Do you have any plans to condemn the nativist violence in these episodes?The Whig Party attempts to stand apart from these nativist mobs, yet their own candidate for Vice President has associated with virulent anti-Catholics.
- What do you make of Martin Van Buren's 1842 visit to Henry Clay's estate? Is Clay too friendly with Northern interests?This incident was a source of insinuation against Van Buren during the nomination battle. In the main election, however, we shouldn't mention anything that could cause a rift in the party.
- Would you support the annexation of Texas, even without an agreement with Mexico, and a possible war?The prospect of war with a backwards country such as Mexico should play no part in our calculations.
- What should your party's position be on the Tariff of 1842, which increased tariffs?We stand steadfast in support of this tariff. It is one of the few positive accomplishments of Mr. Tyler's so-called Presidency.
- Do you believe that some revenue should be set aside from our tariffs to finance internal improvements, such as canals and roads?I don't believe that it is constitutional or advisable for the federal government to undertake an internal improvements program.
- What is your current position on the banking system?I stand for a national bank, broadly similar to the late Second Bank of the United States.
- Do you support an Amendment that would limit the President to a single term in office?This is a necessary step against the overreach and abuse of power of the Executive branch.
- Do you support the lifting of the Gag Rule in Congress?Regardless of our feelings about the slavery issue, it is undemocratic for Congress to deny the people the right to petition the government. I believe the Gag Rule should be lifted.
- Aside from the issue of Texas, do you support the expansion of the United States in general? Into Oregon, other parts of Mexico, Cuba, etc.?I am against the annexation of Texas. And just to show that this does derive from sectional prejudice, I am also against expansion into Oregon or other regions.
- Do you have any statement to make on John Calhoun's “Packenham Letter”, stating slavery to be a positive blessing, and justifying the annexation of Texas as a pro-slavery move?I disagree with John Calhoun across the board, which leads to my opposition to the annexation of Texas.
- Do you support any effort to establish a unified, national currency?I support a national bank, and one clear argument for the bank is the total chaos we've had with our currency since 1837.
- Do you agree with Robert Walker's letter, arguing that that slavery issue will be diluted by national expansion?I believe this letter to be disingenuous at best. Further expansion will reopen the debate on slavery rather than suppress it.
- What is your position on the Oregon boundary question?I would support any agreement, as long as the United States keeps the land that is south and east of the Colombia River.
- Is there a particular state where your party should concentrate its resources and most talented speakers as the election draws near?New York