fraction of the gains made in those counties where slaves
were in a minority and slave-keeping unprofitable.
Taylor seems to have had considerable success in rally-
ing around him in the back country the old "Tippe-
canoe" following of 1840. ¹⁰¹

It was a glorious Whig victory, but a victory, which
endangered the existence of the national Whig party.
Taylor had been supported in the South because he had
stood upon non-partisan and upon southern ground.
There was little wonder that his supporters were soon
denouncing "the old Hunker Whig politicians and the
stale, chronic, and unpopular doctrines of ultra Whig-
gery"; ¹⁰² but it was not to be expected that Taylor, as
president, would take such a stand on the slavery ques-
tion as to drive those southerners who had been most
enthusiastic over his nomination and election into com-
plete opposition to him. This, however, is exactly what
happened. Nevertheless, even if the southern Whigs
had badly miscalculated in supporting Taylor as the
southern candidate, the result of their efforts was the
same as if things had turned out as they had expected.
For they had demanded and in part secured an align-
ment on the slavery issue; in this sense the election of
1848 was the entering wedge that was destined to split
the national party into two sections. The election left
its traces, also, in a similar line of division within the
party in the southern states.

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