Washington in celebration of Jefferson's birthday. The Virginia patron
of democracy had been dead four years, and Jackson had become, more
truly than any other man, his successor. Jacksonian democracy was,
however, something very different from Jeffersonian, and never was the
contrast more evident than on this fateful evening. During the earlier
part of the festivities a series of prearranged toasts, accompanied by
short speeches, put before the assemblage the Jeffersonian teachings
in a light highly favorable--doubtless unwarrantably so--to the ultra
state rights theory. Then followed a number of volunteer toasts. The
President was, of course, accorded the honor of proposing the
first--and this gave Jackson his chance. Rising in his place and
drawing himself up to his full height, he raised his right hand,
looked straight at Calhoun and, amid breathless silence, exclaimed in
that crisp, harsh tone that had so often been heard above the crashing
of many rifles: "Our Union! It must be preserved!"

An account of the scene which is given by Isaac Hill, a member of the
Kitchen Cabinet and an eyewitness, is interesting:

A proclamation of martial law in South Carolina and an order to arrest
Calhoun where he sat could not have come with more blinding,
staggering force. All hilarity ceased. The President, without adding
one word in the way of speech, lifted up his glass as a notice that
the toast was to be quaffed standing. Calhoun rose with the rest. His
glass so trembled in his hand that a little of the amber fluid
trickled down the side. Jackson stood silent and impassive. There was
no response to the toast. Calhoun waited until all sat down. Then he
slowly and with hesitating accent offered the second volunteer toast:
"The Union! Next to Our Liberty Most Dear!" Then, after a minute's
hesitation, and in a way that left doubt as to whether he intended it