Diary of Charles Francis Adams, volume 8
1838-11-13
Fine day. Ride to Quincy. Return to dine at Mr. Brooks’. Evening at home.
Immediately after breakfast my father accompanied me to Quincy. I took the opportunity to go and see Mrs. T. B. Adams about the settlement of the Estate of her son.
The town in a tremendous struggle about the election. It seems that Dr. Duggan has worked with some effect upon the town so that this year it is tolerably democratic. He procured his own election as a Representative and almost surprised a vote against my father for Congress. Today they were attempting to choose two more and doubted their result. Such are the humours of elections to produce what result! I am afraid to look at that part of the Picture. The Democrats without opposing my father openly have endeavoured to throw a combined vote on another candidate so as to weaken the force of his position.1
We returned to dine after I had accomplished my business, with Mr. Brooks. Nobody there but the family and Governor Everett and Edward. Pleasant dinner enough and home in the evening.
“In the 12th Congressional District, there was no nomination of a candidate in opposition to me. But an opposition was secretly organized throughout the District, utterly unknown in many of the Towns until the opening of the polls. No preparation had been made for such resistance, and multitudes did not vote from the mere presumption that as there would be no opposition it would be useless. To play the game with more effect a highly charged democratic abolitionist was selected for the Candidate, and the whole Van Buren phalanx in every town of the District voted for him. Instead of an unanimous vote, my majority in the District will be but a few hundreds” (JQA, Diary, 13 Nov.). Official returns would show that JQA received 4,100 of the 6,951 votes cast in the District (Daily Centinel & Gazette, 27 Nov. 1838, p. 2, col. 1).