Jockeying for the American Presidency: The Political Opportunism ...

form but also a copy of a letter he had written to the British ambassador, Richard Pakenham.⁹

A full-throated argument in favor of annexation and slavery, Calhoun's letter made it seem as though Texas was the key to protecting the institution of slavery indefinitely. Offensive enough, the letter was “leaked” to the New York Evening Post, which then published it on April 27. Historian Walter Borneman described well the political events that followed:

Instantly, Texas annexation became the issue of 1844. Raised initially by aspirant “underdogs” (like Tyler) who were probing for cracks in Van Buren's coalition, Calhoun's letter and Van Buren's equivocating position broke open the nomination race and exposed the cleavage that would rend over a decade later during the 1860 campaign. Altering unmercifully, conventional political wisdom now held that Van Buren (1) had struck a deal with Clay to remove the issue from the canvass (reminiscent of the “corrupt bargain” of 1824), and (2) “could not be nominated—and if nominated, could not be elected.” This latter sentiment reflected Jackson's perspective on the turn of events, which he put in writing to Van Buren: “The die was cast…it was [now as] impossible to elect him…[as it would be] to turn the current of the Mississippi.” Jackson opened the starting gates to the Democratic nomination race.¹⁰

On Saturday, May 11, 1844, two letters arrived at Polk's home in Columbia, Tennessee. One missive was from Robert Armstrong, a close friend of Jackson's and the postmaster of Nashville, conveying a summons from Jackson that was more “a command than an invitation.”