The Result of the Election

What it is

This is a written article titled "The Result of the Election," published in The American Review: A Whig Journal in February 1845, shortly after James K. Polk won the presidency. The piece reflects the views of the Whig Party, which opposed Polk's Democratic Party.

Why it matters

Written by political opponents just after the election, this article shows how Polk's victory was received by the rival Whig Party, who saw it as alarming for the country. It gives students a firsthand look at the partisan reactions and anxieties that followed a hard-fought presidential campaign, rather than a later historian's summary of events.

Look closer

• What words does the writer use to describe the Whig Party's reaction to losing the election?
• How might a Democratic newspaper have described the same election result differently?
• Why is it useful to read a losing party's reaction to an election, rather than only the winner's point of view?