Willard went to the south to advocate unsuccessfully for his release, and became despised by southerners who accused him of having a secret involvement in the raid.

In 1843 he made a trip to Texas on horseback and on his return stopped in Carrolton, Kentucky; he so liked the town he settled there for a year and became a local school teacher.

Finding there to be a lack of clients, he also worked for a time as a writer in the clerk's office to obtain extra income.

The ticket won, in large part because of the stumping of Willard, and he served with Governor Joseph A. Wright.

Knowing that given the number of Know-Nothings in the House they would be a majority in a joint session, Willard refused to break the tie and Indiana remained several years with only one Senator in Congress.

Wright and other members were expelled from the party when they failed to support the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which the leaders treated as a loyalty test.

[7] Shortly after his election, Willard traveled to a Mississippi governors' meeting where he openly voiced his support for state-rights, southern slavery, and the Fugitive Slave Law.

[7] In 1857 mid-term elections, the Republicans gained control of the Senate, and the Democrats retook the House after absorbing the remaining Whigs.

The dubious legality of the issue was considered outrageous by the Republicans and raised the tension to a fever pitch.

Willard, determined to save his brother-in-law, went to him in prison and arranged to have his cell left open so he could escape.

[dubious – discuss] Cook refused to be released and was subsequently executed despite Willard's pleas to Virginia Governor Henry A.

[11] Governor Wise accused Willard of being behind the entire affair, claiming to have secret intelligence from Washington D.C.

Wise claimed that Willard had sought Brown's services through his brother-in-law and secretly commissioned the insurrection.

That year the Democratic Party was struggling with internal problems, and the nation was on the brink of Civil War.

Willard was succeeded by his Lieutenant Governor Abram Hammond who fulfilled the final three months of his term.

Willard's death had profound negative consequences for the state Democratic Party, who lost the election primarily because they were unable to field a new candidate very quickly, although it has been debated whether they could have won.

[12][14] Although he helped keep the Democrats in control of the General Assembly going into the Civil War, things quickly feel apart for his party.

As the primary enforcer of party unity, the duty fell to Jesse D. Bright, who was soon caught up in scandal.