“Roger that– I’ll meet you there to discuss the suspects” buzzed Officer Spormore’s voice through my walkie-talkie as I sat down in the meeting room in the police station. Ten minutes later, the familiar push of the door marked the beginning of our suspect discussion.
“Hey Andy! What’s good?” said Officer Spormore, also known as Jonathan, as he gave me a firm pat on the back.
“All’s good, brother. Now, let’s get to business,” I declared.
I dumped all of the satchel’s contents (courtesy of our investigative team for gathering all nineteen clues!) and got straight to work. We first examined copies of Coffin Handbills, which were a series of anti-Jacksonian bills that were being distributed around as John Quincy Adams ran against Andrew Jackson during the election of 1828. The bills actively attacked Jackson’s moral character, accusing him of adultery, slaughtering Native Americans as well as American soldiers, among other accusations.
“Well, I think it’s pretty obvious that John Quincy Adams was in pursuit of power and revenge with this smear campaign he had. He could definitely be a suspect,” posited Jonathan.
“Agreed. I’ll jot that down,” I replied as I scribbled his name down in our notepad.
Next, we took a look at a copy of the Wilkins Bill.
“Ah, isn’t that also known as the Force Bill of 1833? It’s got to do with Calhoun then. I know he hated Jackson because of the whole Nullification Crisis. Jackson was using governmental force to make South Carolina pay the Tariff of 1832, but Calhoun was a huge proponent of state rights, and wasn’t having it” I proclaimed.
“Definitely. What really makes him suspicious is the fact that he used to be Vice President under Jackson until 1832, and then resigned to become the Senator of South Carolina, due to the Nullification Crisis. The fact that he went from such a high role to resigning almost immediately after a disagreement poses a suspicious look. An obvious adversary to Jackson, and a potential murderer. Add him to the list of suspects.” Jon added.
I grabbed the notepad and penned Calhoun’s name. I decided to star it, because I had a feeling he could be a prime suspect.
Next, we had a dog-eared map of Chestnut Street to take a look at.
“Hmm… this one is a little tougher, since it has less of a clear-cut connection to a person. But let’s think… Chestnut Street is a major historical street in Philly… who are some important people from Pennsylvania?” Jon asked aloud.
“Forget people, it could be buildings! The Second National Bank is in Philadelphia!” I exclaimed.
“You’re so right! And we all know the word bank, during this era, instantly makes you think of the Bank War. Since President Jackson vetoed the recharter bill for the Second Bank, (claiming it was an elitist monopoly), Nicholas Biddle understandably got very upset. As the bank’s president, he just lost his entire institution and job in the public eye, making him another likely suspect. If I were him, I’d honestly hate Jackson too. Star his name next to Calhoun, they’re my top suspects so far” explained Jonathan.
We then examined a receipt from Brown’s Indian Queen Hotel from 1830, which is known to be a common meeting spot for politicians in Pennsylvania.
With Calhoun fresh in our minds as a suspect, it hit us that since so many politicians met up here, it’s not farfetched to assume that the heated debates of the Petticoat Affair could’ve occurred here. During this scandal, John Calhoun’s wife, Floride Calhoun, socially shunned Peggy Eaton on rumors about her past. Peggy Eaton is the wife of John Eaton, the Secretary of War. During these debates, Jackson sided with the Eatons, which led to feelings of division within the cabinet. Clearly, the President publicly sided against Calhoun, who already had broiling tensions due to the Nullification Crisis in addition to the affair.
Since the receipt was labeled 1830, that would’ve been smack dab in the middle of the time frame of when the affair was going on (1829-1831), which makes this a very plausible conclusion.
Jon and I agreed to double star Calhoun’s name, because his murder motives were really starting to stack.
Now, it was time for us to take a look at a ticket stub from the Baltimore Athenaeum, dated 1831.
“It seems like our best strategy is a group brainstorm of important buildings, people, and events tied to some of these cities mentioned in the clues we’re looking at. It definitely helped with the Chestnut Street map clue” I announced.
So, we followed this strategy throughout. We were able to recall that William Wirt launched his presidential campaign from Baltimore in 1832 as the anti-Masonic candidate. Since Jackson was a proud freemason, this clue alluded to a clash between Wirt and Jackson, since Wirt believed Jackson’s “power and secrecy” threatened political virtue. Definitely could be a motive, so he got added to the list.
Moving right along, we took a look at the Foote Resolution. This resolution called for the limitation on the sale of western public lands, and was proposed by Samuel Foote of Connecticut. This ended up sparking debates over what the Union’s goal should be, since Foote was technically stifling the West and wanted to keep industry in the Northeast. This ended up leading to the Webster-Hayne debate in 1830, which was a senatorial clash between Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Robert Hayne of South Carolina. Webster argued that the Union should promote the common good for all states, while Hayne viewed the Union as something that should focus on giving in to the states’ particular interests and their right to nullify.
“If we put it into the crime at hand, both Webster and Hayne are very much against Jackson. They both view him as a tyrannical populist.”
“Agreed,” I added. “An important thing to note is that Hayne and Calhoun are both from South Carolina, and were some of the largest proponents of the nullification order. Hayne also helped organize militias against the Force Bill… big red flag… especially since he’s familiar with weapons”
“Great catch. Adding both Webster and Hayne to the list since they were fierce rivals against Jackson, and could've potentially allied despite them disliking Jackson for different reasons”.
Time to examine a bill of lading from the Cumberland River. Knowing that a bill of lading is a receipt from carrier to shipper that recaps what the goods are, we were set on this clue having to do with an official who could’ve been involved with overseeing such activities. We landed on Louis McLane, a former cabinet member.
“We know McLane has a complicated past. Within the Jackson administration, he was initially Secretary of Treasury, but then was moved to be Secretary of State over conflicts about the Second Bank recharter getting vetoed, and then resigned after Jackson gave the French more time to pay reparations from the Napoleonic Wars without consulting McLane first. Definitely some tensions going on. Making decisions without asking him first, and disagreements over a political issue as big as the Second Bank” explained Jon. “I’m sure dealing with vessels in terms of tariffs and revenue collections occurred during his time as Secretary of Treasury… which means he could be connected to this clue. Given his former cabinet status, he’d know his way around the White House pretty well… ” I responded as I wrote his name down.
We were at six suspects now, including McLane. We’ll definitely have to narrow it down later, but we decided to keep on moving along.
I then pulled out a voucher from the American Fur Company to take a look at next.
“I’d take a bet that this clue isn’t connected to a cabinet member, but instead, a Native American. Take Chief John Ross– he vehemently stood up against the American Fur Company, which was looking to encroach on native land by expanding westward” I said aloud.
“Piggy backing off of that, it’s important to realize that this is a voucher we are looking at. A voucher likely has to do with a business deal with the natives, potentially even a bribe. Obviously, such an active figure for native rights would despise someone like Andrew Jackson, who quite literally instated the Indian Removal Act” Jon added on.
“Very true points. But we have to think like detectives here– Mr. Ross was the guy who played a role in drafting the Cherokee Constitution, and heavily supported the Worcester vs Georgia case, which although the case failed, it was an entirely peaceful ruling. Worcester went to court to solve the issue, not to war. Does John Ross really seem like a guy that would go to murder Jackson? If anything, he would probably try to stand up to him civilly through court” I declared.
Jon concurred and applauded my critical thinking skills. Taking into consideration the nuances and character of each of the potential suspects would really help us narrow down the list.
“I’d say not suspicious. Let’s leave him off the list” Jon said.
We chugged right along and took a look at an autographed copy of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, authored by Washington Irving. I guess the investigative team wanted us to pay attention to Irving being a potential suspect.
“I wonder if Irving was thrown in here by accident, because I really don’t see him being a suspect. He’s an author and was an informal advisor to Jackson, as well as a Democrat who supported him. Additionally when he was appointed as U.S Minister to Spain in 1842 by President John Tyler, that required him to relocate to Spain. When Jackson died in 1845, he was still in Spain, so it physically couldn’t have been him. And I highly doubt the possibility of him conspiring with someone else to do it if he seemed to have no issues with him.” Jon said.
“I couldn’t have said it better. Now you’re really getting into it! We’ve going to get to the bottom of this, Jonathan.” I said with a triumphant fist bump and a sip of pale ale.
We had two off the hook now, and about ten more clues to sift through. I was starting to feel really confident about where this was going.
Reaching his hand towards the back of the pile, Jon brought forth a note that had the message “X the M” scribbled on it.
We decided to put our heads together for this one because it was a bit more of a riddle than the other ones…
“Let’s think of it phonetically” I said.
“X. Well, that’s like cross, or crossed out potentially? And then M, what’s big that starts with M… Cross the M…”
“I think I know! The Mississippi River. That was only in my mind because of that bill of lading clue from the Cumberland River, haha.”
“So smart! I bet that’s it. They say use a test to take a test, but here we are, using other clues to uncover another clue! I love this!”
“So if it’s about the Mississippi River, it definitely has to do with the natives. I’m thinking Black Hawk, the Sauk tribe leader. Him and his tribe forcefully had to cross the Mississippi River due to the Indian Removal Act, but during Black Hawk War, the Sauks crossed back to reclaim their ancestral lands”.
“And since the war unfortunately ended with the American militias succeeding, I’m sure Black Hawk had lots of resentment… which could certainly be a motive for murder. William Lloyd Garrison also could be a potential suspect since he was very against the Indian Removal Act, but he was a pacifist, so I think he’s off the hook. I’d write Black Hawk down just in case though, especially due to his past experience with federal conflict”.
We next brought up a copy of the Globe paper from 1830– the highly democratic newspaper that was used to promote Jacksonian policies and ideals. When thinking of employees at the Globe, Frank Blair Sr. and Amos Kendall both come to mind, but since they were so close and amicable with Jackson, we doubted it would be either of them.
“If this clue doesn’t have to do with workers at the Globe, maybe it’s to make us think about opponents of the Globe. Think Whigs and National Republicans.”
“Insane catch. I’m thinking Henry Clay, head of the National Republican party, and Daniel Webster again, head of the Whig Party. These are some of Jackson’s most direct opponents that hated how the Globe rashly promoted Jacksonian ideals, so it’s definitely worth adding Clay since we already have Webster down.”
Clay was added and we moved onto observing a pass to the Supreme Court.
“Supreme Court I’m seeing. Well, this ought to do with John Marshall, Chief of Justice”. I said plainly.
Ever since judicial review was established following the Marbury vs. Madison case, it was expected that the president would follow that ruling. However, President Jackson actively ignored the case in Worcester vs. Georgia.
“Following the aftermath of Worcester vs. Georgia there was definitely a rift between Marshall and Jackson, since he was actively disacknowledging a decision that Marshall partook in. The abusement of power definitely could’ve been a motive.”
I stopped myself a couple seconds later, though.
“But now that I think of it, you really can’t get more diplomatic than a Chief of Justice. It would crumple his public image to bits if he was caught killing the President like this. I feel like he’d be the bigger person in this situation. I’m sure he’s upset, but he can’t be that upset that he’d end Jackson’s life.”
“I was about to chime in and say the same. He’s in the clear.” Jon replied.
I then decided to grab the box of Locofocos to analyze. The Locofocos were a radical faction of Democrats that happened to have a match brand named after them. But again, I don’t think the investigative team picked these clues to make us think a democrat killed Jackson, but rather make us think of the polar opposite– his enemies.
“I’d say this could point to Henry Clay again, since he very openly supported bank policies. Evidently, Jackson quite literally shut down the Second Bank, so I’d point a finger at Clay. We already have his name down, so we can move on” I commented.
It was Jon’s turn to grab a clue, and he grabbed The Walker’s Appeal out of the pile. It was a pamphlet written by David Walker that advocated for the abolition of slavery.
“This mostly just makes me think of William Lloyd Garrison. He started many anti-slave societies and was very against Jackson’s policies. But again, what would be more hypocritical than a pacifist murdering the President?”
“Exactly, it can’t be him. It’d have to be someone with a more violent and rash character.”
I then grabbed an engraved hand towel from The Court of St. James. This court referred to the British Royal Court, and from there we started to brainstorm possibilities.
“First, let’s think U.S conflicts with Britain. I know Martin Van Buren and General Winfield Scott worked to make sure the Rebellions of 1837-1838 between Canada and Britain didn’t turn into a full scale war, especially because of the financial panic that was going on in the US following the veto of the bank recharter. Van Buren was a close ally of Jackson’s, and his chosen successor, so he definitely isn’t suspicious. However, I think this clue was supposed to lead us to think about the possibility of Winfield Scott being the murderer. He was a general chosen to carry out the orders of the Indian Removal Act, and tried to minimize the deaths due to the brutality of the order. Jackson criticized this “softness”, which enraged Scott. He is also a Whig, which demonstrates a clash between his political ideals and Jackson. Let’s add him to the list” Jon summarized.
We next decided to look at a copy of a real estate brochure from Lexington, Kentucky.
“It’s definitely Clay again. Throughout his career, he’s represented Kentucky in both the House and the Senate, and lived in Lexington to study law. A strong opponent of Jackson’s anti-bank policy as well. But again, we have to think of the likelihood of distinguished candidates going on to actually end their opponents lives. He’s definitely suspicious because of his dislike towards Jackson, but I wouldn’t bid on it, you know?”
“I second that. I think the investigative team probably just grabbed whatever they thought would be the most helpful, and it’s definitely reasonable to assume that his political enemies would do such a thing, but again, we’re the ones who determine likelihood of that based on context, tensions, and nuances between the suspects and historical situations with Jackson.”
“100%. Let’s keep it going!”
“Damn, this is a clue of large size!” Jonathan chuckled as he grabbed a flask of hard cider. “Gosh, they really have us thinking it’s a Whig! Maybe it is, since we all know the hard cider symbolized the Whig party during the 1840 William Henry Harrison campaign. At this rate, it could be Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, or John Quincy Adams, all Whigs. Kind of an inconclusive clue to be honest, since it’s not very specific. No new suspects, let’s just move onto the next one.”
I grabbed an old calendar of 1832, and quickly flipped through it.
“January 9, February 2, June 11, July 3 and July 10 are all circled. I don’t exactly remember the first few dates, but July was definitely an eventful month in the year of 1832.”
“For sure. I remember in early July that was when the Tariff of 1832 was passed, which led to the whole Nullification Crisis. Around a week later, President Jackson vetoed to recharter the Second Bank, which led to Biddle’s resentment towards him. Essentially, this clue is reminding us to keep Biddle and Calhoun at the forefront of our minds due to the Bank Wars and Nullification Crisis, respectively” I rehashed.
“Onto our final clue! Let’s take a look.” Jon exclaimed. He took a look at a printed article about the disappearance of William Morgan.
“Ooh, this is a fun one to discuss. William Morgan was an anti-mason who mysteriously disappeared after he threatened to publish that book exposing Masonic rituals and the fraternity’s secrecy. We previously mentioned William Wirt being a suspect, due to his anti-Masonic candidate title. Because of his clash with Jackson over his Masonic standing, this brings up the possibility of Wirt being a murderer. Jackson was hypocritical in that his entire campaign revolved around state rights and common man politics, while he himself was an active member of an elitist fraternity. Additionally, William Wirt legally represented the Cherokee Nation in the Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia case, so the Indian Removal Act directly contradicted what he stood up for. Furthermore, Wirt viewed Jackson as militaristic and violent, which fueled a negative sentiment towards him” I explained.
“Very valid points. But as we discussed before, with his personal character as a lawyer, and his view as cordial and cheerful by the public, I doubt he would be the type to murder Jackson. I’d go for more violent suspects. We should take a look at suspects who have a demonstrated history of violence or patterns of immediate resignation or retaliation towards Jackson. I’m thinking Calhoun, and maybe a bit of a collaboration with–” I started.
“Ok ok ok, I’m liking this. I just want to lay out the list of the current suspects we have, and maybe we can decide possible alliances from there. We already kind of took Wirt off the list, so we can cross him out. That leaves us with the Whig suspects, consisting of John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, and Henry Clay. We then have a potential alliance that could’ve went on with Robert Hayne and John Calhoun of South Carolina, due to them both being proponents of nullification. We then have the personal-beefers, like Louis McLane, Black Hawk, and Winfield Scott who had more individual clashes with Jackson and his policies.”
Discussion ensued, and we started by eliminating Louis McLane. Although he did have several disputes with Jackson on certain issues, he didn’t fundamentally ever go against Jacksonian ideas. Lasting into Jackson’s death, McLane has continued his stance as a Democrat. It’s also worth noting that he helped draft the Force Bill in 1833, which was a big part of Jackson’s presidency. It was also the root of some of his biggest clashes with true opponents, such as Calhoun. We then decided to eliminate Winfield Scott due to lack of clues and the clash being minor compared to others, and Black Hawk, due to lack of probable success. Despite a history of federal uprisings in the Black Hawk War, the fact that it failed doesn’t give much hope that he would be able to kill the president if he couldn’t defeat a militia. That leaves us with the Whigs. They all have a really strong probability of doing so, and I’m sure they had strong negative sentiments towards him, but the Whig Party tends to lean into political actions that favor stability and diplomacy.
“Honestly, I feel like Calhoun would be the most likely to do it– with help from Hayne.”
“Ditto! I was honestly thinking Biddle would do it with him, but I feel like Biddle’s image has already been crushed enough. I don’t know if him hypothetically hearing Democrats buzzing in his ear about how he’s a murderer would help him out. He just lost his job. Plus, I don’t think a Whig would ally with a Democrat like Calhoun, even though they both hate Andrew Jackson. People can switch up real quick, and Calhoun is the epitome of that. His volatile behavior of resigning from his VP role and his personal clash with Jackson during the Petticoat Affair are all pointers to murder. As a supporter of state’s rights, it seems like he doesn’t have issues fighting for what he wants. The perfectly plausible conspirator sidekick for him would be Robert Hayne, another fellow South Carolinian. And bingo– they live in the exact same state too. Hayne has a history of organizing militias against Jackson’s Force Bill alongside Calhoun. A pattern of reactive behavior and gun experience is raising all sorts of red flags,” I went on.
“Gimme five brother. I think this case is on its way to being closed. Next step– court for Robert Hayne and John Calhoun” declared Officer Spormore triumphantly as we clinked our ale glasses.
Comments
Log in or register to post comments.