With New York, Mr.Clay would have had a total of one hundred and forty-one.

Mr.Polk, with New York added to his vote, received a total of one hundred and seventy, and was elected President of the United States.
No contest for the Presidency, either before or since, has been conducted with such intense energy and such deep feeling.

Mr.
Clay's followers were not ordinary political supporters.

They had the profound personal attachment which is looked for only in hereditary governments, where loyalty becomes a passion, and is blind and unreasoning in its adherence and its devotion.

The logical complement of such ardent fidelity is an opposition marked by unscrupulous rancor.