a United States Senate seat, again without his knowledge. He lost in the Indiana General Assembly by one vote and was defeated by former governor William Hendricks. Blackford never sought political office while he was on the court, but his political opinions were not concealed. In 1824 he was an elector on the ticket for John Adams, and in 1832 he voted for and publicly supported Henry Clay. In 1836 he backed Martin Van Buren, primarily because he opposed Andrew Jackson. He was also opposed to the election of William Henry Harrison as President, who had been governor of the Indiana territory when he had first moved; his opposition stemmed from his experience with his style of governing and support of slavery. Although he made political positions known, he did not take part in campaigning, stumping, or party leadership. Governor Ray reappointed Blackford as chief justice in 1826 in an attempt to win electoral support from the Whigs on a number of laws he was advocating for passage. Blackford was reappointed again in 1833 by Governor Noah Noble and in 1840 by Samuel Bigger who were both of same party as Blackford. Democratic Governor Whitcomb at first refused to reappoint Blackford because of his age in 1847. He nominated four different replacements for Blackford but the Indiana Senate refused to confirm them, forcing Whitcomb to give in and reappoint Blackford. Whitcomb likewise had refused to reappoint the other two members of the court, leaving Blackford as the only justice on the court for nearly a year while the governor wrangled with the General Assembly over the issue. In both 1826 and 1847, Blackford was the only member of the court to be reappointed, based largely on his popularity and the fame of his reports. His fellow court members had been ejected because of their age, or their slow pace in making decision. In his later years on the court, the docket began to increase dramatically and the court was unable to keep pace with the caseload. The Blackford court's inability to keep up took a toll on his reputation, as some state leaders blamed his age as the cause of the backlog. The growing state was in need of an appeals court, and it would be created by the new Constitution of 1851. Another significant change was the passage of the state's Practice Act which broke down many common law