Neither Taylor nor Fillmore--both reared in the Whig school --ever attempted to defeat the will of Congress, though each wielded Executive power at a time when questions even more exciting than those of Jackson's era engaged public attention.
Blaine contrasts the actions of Presidents Taylor and Fillmore with those of Jackson, noting their restraint in using executive power against Congress.
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Such an opportunity would have been a menace to the public credit, and would have proved a constant source of corruption.
I am in no boastful mood: I shall not do more than I can, but I shall do all I can to save the Government, which is my sworn duty as well as my personal inclination.
As slavery had been the chief inciting cause of disunion, slavery should die.
In turn, the course of the National Administration would certainly be influenced, and its fate in large degree determined, by the conduct of the Southern men, in whom the President was placing unbounded trust.
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