Efforts to draw him out, however, proved not
very successful. Lewis saw to it that Jackson's utterances while yet
he was a candidate were safely colorless; and the single mention of
the tariff contained in the inaugural address was susceptible of the
most varied interpretations. The annual message of 1829 indicated
opposition to protection; on the other hand, the presidential message
of the next year not only asserted the full power of Congress to levy
protective duties but declared the abandonment of protection "neither
to be expected or desired." Gradually the antiprotectionist leaders
were made to see that the tariff was not a subject upon which the
President felt keenly, and that therefore it was useless to look to
him for effective support.
Even the adroit efforts which were made to get from the incoming
executive expressions that could be interpreted as endorsements of
nullification were successfully fended off. For some months the
President gave no outward sign of his disapproval. With more than his
usual deliberateness, Jackson studied the situation, awaiting the
right moment to speak out with the maximum of effect.
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