Oregon is clear and unquestionable; that no portion of the same ought to be ceded to England or any other power; that the reöccupation of Oregon and the reännexation of Texas at the earliest practicable period, are great American measures, which this Convention recommends to the cordial support of the Democracy of the Union.

The candidates selected by the whig party, in opposition to the democratic nominees, were Henry Clay, of Kentucky, for president, and Theodore Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, for vice-president. Mr. Tyler, the then president, was also put in nomination for the presidency, by a convention of his friends, but he subsequently withdrew his name and gave his support to the democratic ticket.

The nomination of Mr. Polk was not only well received; a spirit of enthusiasm, that could not fail to triumph, was instantly aroused in his favor. As General Jackson had received the appellation of "Old Hickory," so that of "Young Hickory" was applied to Mr. Polk, who resembled his distinguished friend of the Hermitage in his firmness and independence of character. The election was conducted with great spirit and animation. Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Cass, with the other candidates before the national convention, and their friends, cordially supported the ticket. Mass meetings were held in every county, and processions, with music and banners, were daily seen traversing the roads and by-ways of the interior, or threading the crowded thoroughfares of our large towns and cities.

It had been usual to subject the private character of candidates to a scathing ordeal. This is one of the evils,

among the many advantages, of our system of elections. But the purity of Mr. Polk's life disarmed scandal of her weapons. In this respect he was unassailed and unassailable.

This political contest, however, was not all show and display. There were great and important principles at stake, and they were in general frankly avowed, and fairly and honorably discussed. On the one side, the whigs supported as their candidate, the father and champion of the American system; they were committed in favor of a national bank, a protective tariff, the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands, and an extensive system of internal improvements; and they opposed the annexation of Texas. On the other hand, Mr. Polk had signalized the commencement of his public career, by his opposition to the system of measures advocated by Mr. Clay; and the democratic party were opposed to the incorporation of a national bank, to the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands, and to the prosecution by the general government of an extensive system of internal improvements; they were in favor of the annexation of Texas, and of a tariff in which revenue should be the primary, and protection the secondary feature. Individual exceptions there were to this general statement in regard to the political complexion of the two great parties,—as various shades of opinion are always found in such organizations, but they were comparatively few.

In Tennessee the election was exceedingly close. Mr. Polk gained largely upon the democratic vote in 1840 ; his majority was over seven hundred in Maury county, being three hundred more than at the gubernatorial elec

tion of the previous year; but the Clay electoral ticket succeeded in the state by the diminutive majority of one hundred and twenty-four. In the electoral colleges, Mr. Polk received one hundred and seventy votes, and Mr. Clay one hundred and five.* The majority of Mr. Polk over his distinguished competitor, on the popular vote, was about forty thousand, exclusive of the vote of South Carolina, whose electors are chosen by the state legislature. The total vote was a little less than two million seven hundred thousand.

On the 28th of November—the result of the election being then known-Mr. Polk visited Nashville, and was honored with a public reception by his democratic friends, together with a number of their opponents in the late contest, who cheerfully united with them in paying due honors to the President elect of the people's choice. A brilliant civic and military procession escorted him to the public square in front of the Court-house, where he was addressed by the Hon. A. O. P. Nicholson, on behalf of the large assembly, that had collected to welcome him to the seat of government. To the address of Mr. Nicholson, congratulating him on his success, and assuring him of the high respect and admiration entertained for his intellectual capacity and his private virtues by the people of Tennessee, to whom he had been so long endeared, Mr. Polk returned the following reply, not more

*Mr. Polk received the electoral votes of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas; and Mr. Clay those of Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio.

honorable to his talents than to his kindness and generosity of heart:

"I return to you, sir, and to my fellow-citizens, whose organ you are, my sincere and unfeigned thanks for this manifestation of the popular regard and confidence, and for the congratulations which you have been pleased to express to me, upon the termination and result of the late political con

I am fully sensible, that these congratulations are not, and cannot be personal to myself. It is the eminent success of our common principles which has spread such general joy over the land. The political struggle through which the country has just passed has been deeply exciting. Extraordinary causes have existed to make it so. It has terminated —it is now over—and I sincerely hope and believe, has been decided by the sober and settled judgment of the American people.

"In exchanging mutual congratulations with each other upon the result of the late election, the Democratic party should remember, in calmly reviewing the contest, that the portion of our fellow-citizens who have differed with us in opinion have equal political rights with ourselves; that minorities as well as majorities are entitled to the full and free exercise of all their opinions and judgments, and that the rights of all, whether of minorities or majorities, as such, are entitled to equal respect and regard.

"In rejoicing, therefore, over the success of the Democratic party, and of their principles, in the late election, it should be in no spirit of exultation over the defeat of our opponents; but it should be because, as we honestly believe, our principles and policy are better calculated than theirs to promote the true interests of the whole country.

"In the political position in which I have been placed, by the voluntary and unsought suffrages of my fellow-citizens, it will become my duty, as it will be my pleasure, faithfully and

truly to represent, in the Executive department of the government, the principles and policy of the great party of the country who have elected me to it; but at the same time, it is proper to declare, that I shall not regard myself as the representative of a party only, but of the whole people of the United States; and, I trust, that the future policy of the government may be such, as to secure the happiness and prosperity of ALL, without distinction of party."

In the evening of the 28th, a number of public and private houses were illuminated. Hilarity and glee prevailed on every hand; joy sparkled in every eye and beamed on every countenance; and the festivities of the day were protracted till a late hour.

Mr. Polk left his home in Tennessee, on his way to Washington, toward the latter part of January, 1845. He was accompanied on his journey by Mrs. Polk, and several personal friends. On the 31st instant, he had a long private interview at the Hermitage, with his venerble friend, Andrew Jackson. The leave-taking was affectionate and impressive, for each felt conscious, that, in all probability, it was a farewell forever. It was the son, in the pride of manhood, going forth to fulfil his high destiny, from the threshold of his political godfather, whose trembling lips, palsied with the touch of age, could scarce invoke the benediction which his heart would prompt. Ere another harvest moon shed its holy light upon a spot hallowed by so many memories and associations, the "hero of New Orleans" and the "defender of the Constitution " slept that sleep which knows no waking. A few years passed,—and he to whom that parting blessing had been given, with so fair and bright