Words and Phrases in American Politics

VERYBODY agrees that political slogans and catchwords are an integral part of political history. Such phrases, far from being merely ornamental by-products of political events, are an active element in the formation of public opinion. One would therefore assume that historians and philologists would have made adequate studies of political words, both because of their importance and their fascination. The truth is, however, that the whole field is, to say the least, in a highly unsatisfactory condition. Wherever you look, you are confronted with undocumented statements, inaccurate quotations, and unverified anecdotes. As an example, take the phrases in which Salt River is used to symbolize political defeat. It is true that these phrases can hardly be considered active parts of the present American political vocabulary, but for more than a hundred years, to go up Salt River or to be rowed up Salt River were used as synonyms of to lose an election, and the older generation is still familiar with them. The Dictionary of American History says that these phrases had their origin in an incident which occurred during Henry Clay's campaign for President in 1832. Clay, who was opposed by Jackson, hired a boatman to row him up the Ohio to Louisville, where he was scheduled to make a speech. The boatman, so the story goes, was a Jackson man and intentionally or unintentionally rowed Clay up Salt River instead and thus caused him to miss his speaking engagement. Clay's later defeat for the Presidency led to derisive references to this incident. The Dictionary of American History goes on to give Representative Alexander Duncan, of Ohio, credit for spreading the fame of the expression by using it in a speech in the House in the year 1839. The reader, accustomed to considering the work in question an authority, and knowing that historians can usually give the chapter and verse for everything they state, will undoubtedly be inclined to accept the statements as well-documented facts. If, however, the reader is an ingrown

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