E. W. Clay
Caucus on the Surplus Bill
Publisher: H. R. Robinson
Lithograph
1836 |
Clay ridicules President Andrew Jackson (right) and his allies, Vice President Martin (Matty) Van Buren (left) and Jackson’s legal advisor and former Secretary of the Treasury Roger B. Taney (center) for their reluctant support of the Surplus Bill. The bill directed surplus federal funds gained from land sales in the west to be distributed among the states. Clay implies that Jackson, who initially opposed the bill, folded under popular pressure and the realization that the Whigs in Congress had the votes to override a veto. |