Clay's companion in measures,
John Quincy Adams, was an apostate from Federalism, and never at ease
in the strict-construction ranks. Inheritance and early training
cannot be so readily overcome. These two statesmen, representing the
old and the new, the North-east and the South-west, the college-bred
lawyer and the country-bred orator, formed as strange a partnership
under the banner of nationalism as has ever been witnessed.
In using the people to further his American system, Clay was following
the tactics of his former chief, Jefferson, in the early days. But the
Republicans maintained their way as stubbornly and ignored the people
as persistently as the Federalists had done. If Clay had been Monroe's
successor in 1824, a return toward centralisation must have inevitably
followed. Supported by the people, he would have brought unification
a long step forward. Unfortunately, when it came to political strength,
Clay's people were confined to the Western section, where his efforts
in their behalf had made him an idol. He was a legislative hero, so
to speak. But there was a war hero, whose popularity was not measured
so much by a section.
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