A dismissive Henry Clay once described the Democratic Party to a small group of Louisville notables as "the Jackson party . . . a mere personal party." And certainly as the 1832 presidential election approached, the coalition, entering only its second national contest, lacked Jackson's prestige and popularity. What is more, the president seemed to will even his unfolding opposition into existence. The National Republicans attacked the Indian Removal Act and Bank veto while stressing the emanating danger of executive usurpation, thus making Jackon himself the main campaign issue. Certainly no single individual did more to provide a rallying cry for enemies and allies alike during this pregnant period of partisan formation.
-David S. Brown, The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson
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