Returning to Dartmouth in the spring of 1810, Kendall's social standing at school improved. He participated in a prank in which the cattle of the townspeople were herded into a basement room at the college. When several students were brought up on charges, Kendall defended them so ably that the charges were dropped. Kendall, like most people from Dunstable, was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. But most students at Dartmouth belonged to the Federalist Party. When asked to provide an oration at the Independence Day celebrations in 1810, he declined by arguing that the Federalists were taking over the event. When he was embraced by the radical Democratic-Republicans, he refused their support by announcing that he found them too "Frenchified" (e.g., too supportive of Napoleonic France and not patriotic enough). His determination to stand his ground but not embrace radicalism won him a great deal of admiration. Kendall taught school again during winter term 1810-1811.