to class rule and in turn
was supported by them. In a strict sense the Virginia Dynasty was not
a machine like Van Buren's Albany Regency. It was the effect of the
concentrated influence of men of great ability rather than a definite
organization. The congressional caucus was the instrument through which
their influence was made practical. In 1816, however, a considerable
movement was started to end the Virginia monopoly. It spread to the
Jeffersonians of the North. William H. Crawford, of Georgia, and Daniel
Tompkins, of New York, came forward as competitors with Monroe for the
caucus nomination. The knowledge of this intrigue fostered the rising
revolt against the caucus. Twenty-two Republicans, many of whom were
known to be opposed to the caucus system, absented themselves. Monroe
was nominated by the narrow margin of eleven votes over Crawford. By the
time Monroe had served his second term the discrediting of the caucus
was made complete by the nomination of Crawford by a thinly attended
gathering of his adherents, who presumed to act for the party. The
Virginia Dynasty had no further favorites to foster, and a new political
force swept into power behind the dominating personality of Andrew
Jackson.

The new Democracy, however, did not remove the aristocratic power of
the slaveholder; and from Jackson's day to Buchanan's this became an
increasing force in the party councils. The slavery question illustrates
how a compact group of capable and determined men, dominated by an
economic motive, can exercise for years in the political arena a
preponderating influence, even though they represent an actual minority
of the nation. This untoward condition was made possible by the
political sagacity and persistence of the party managers and by the
unwillingness of a large portion of the people to bring the real issue
to a head.

Before the Civil War, then, party organization had become a fixed and
necessary incident in American politics. The war changed the face of our
national affairs. The changes wrought multiplied the opportunities of
the professional politician, and in these opportunities, as well as
in the transfused energies and ideals of the people, we must seek the
causes for those perversions of party and party machinery which have
characterized our modern epoch.

CHAPTER III. THE TIDE OF MATERIALISM

The Civil War, which shocked the country into a new national
consciousness and rearranged the elements of its