ABSTRACT
The federal officers, who in reality held their places from the members of Congress, were at their mercy, and in the election campaigns they made themselves their most zealous agents. But soon the Caucus was not satisfied with these personal exertions. All the officials were made liable to a direct and proportional tax for the benefit of the Organization. To the organic weakness of the position was added that of the men who filled it; the convention system made it impossible, apart from chance, for men of strong character to attain to the chief magistracy; for in the words of Benton. The ostensible object of these assessments was to defray the expenses of the election campaign, such as outlay for printing, postage, and other lawful disbursements. Most of the money collected went to corrupt voters and to local managers of the Machine and their "workers".
