The Election of 1824
Only once in history has a candidate become President without winning the most electoral votes. That happened in 1824 when the second place finisher won the presidency. From Tuesday, October 26, to Thursday, December 2, 1824, those Americans who could vote were casting their ballots in the 1824 election. In 1824, US presidential politics went through a significant transformation. Four years earlier, James Monroe had won election to a second term virtually unopposed. He won every electoral vote except one.
1824 was a different matter. In the end, John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, but only after the election was decided by the House of Representatives. The previous years had seen a one-party government in the United States. As the Federalist Party dissolved following the War of 1812, it left only the Democratic-Republican Party as a national political party. In the 1824 election, the Democratic-Republican Party splintered as four separate candidates sought the presidency. This process did not yet lead to formal political parties yet, but later, the faction led by Andrew Jackson would evolve to become the Democratic Party, while the factions led by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay would become the Whig Party.
The presidential election of 1824 is the only election to have been decided by the House of Representatives in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution because no single candidate secures a majority of the electoral vote. It was also the only presidential election in which the candidate who received the most electoral votes did not become president. The election of 1824 is also the first (but not the last) in which the successful presidential candidate did not win the popular vote.
In 1824, there were five serious contenders for the presidency:
1. William H. Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury, nominated by a caucus of a minority of the Republican members of Congress.
2. John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State, who held the second most prominent position in the American government at that time. Both James Madison and James Monroe had gone from State to the presidency.
3. Henry Clay, Speaker of the House.
4. Andrew Jackson, a military hero, former governor, and former senator, who was presented as the champion of the common man.
5. John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War and a rigid defender of states' rights. But Calhoun decided there was no way he could win the presidency against such tough competition and he decided not to run.
After the votes were counted, no candidate had received a majority of the Electoral votes. As the electoral map confirmed, the four main candidates received regional or sectional support, but no candidate could garner a majority. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams won his in the New England states. War hero Andrew Jackson was successful in a number of states throughout the nation and had the widest range of support. Kentucky Senator Henry Clay attracted votes from the west, and William Crawford of Georgia attracted votes from the east.
Andrew Jackson received more electoral and popular votes than any other candidate, but not the majority of 131 electoral votes needed to win the election. As no candidate received the required majority of electoral votes, the presidential election was decided by the House of Representatives. The race for Vice-President was more decisive. John C. Calhoun easily defeated his rivals in the race for the vice-presidency, as he had the support of both the Adams and Jackson camps.
The lack of a clear winner of a majority of the electoral college votes put the outcome of the election in the hands of the House of Representatives. Although Jackson was the first place finisher, many were surprised when the House elected John Quincy Adams. Many people believed that Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House at the time, convinced Congress to elect Adams, and in return, Adams made Clay his Secretary of State. Supporters denounced this as a "corrupt bargain." Whatever discussions took place in private behind the scenes are lost to history.
The "corrupt bargain" that placed Adams in the White House and Clay in the State Department launched a four-year campaign of revenge by the friends of Andrew Jackson, who claimed that the people had been cheated of their choice. Jacksonians attacked the Adams administration as illegitimate and tainted by aristocracy and corruption.
Adams and Clay insisted that the result was not a consequence of any "corrupt bargain". Supporters of this theory maintain that the anti-Jackson faction united behind Adams, who was the natural alternative to Jackson. Third place candidate William H. Crawford was in poor health and had no realistic chance of winning the House vote.
Regardless of the various theories concerning the matter, John Quincy Adams was a one-term President, and his rival, Jackson, was elected President by a large majority of the Electors in the election of 1828, the first of two consecutive terms as president.
Today, as the outcome of the current election remains uncertain, having another election decided by the House of Representatives remains a remote possibility. If results end up very close, the potential for "faithless electors"to cast their electoral votes for a third candidate (as occurred in 2016) could potentially result in no candidate acquiring the requisite 270 electoral college votes. While this appears unlikely, it remains a possibility that students of presidential history should be aware of.
1824 was a different matter. In the end, John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, but only after the election was decided by the House of Representatives. The previous years had seen a one-party government in the United States. As the Federalist Party dissolved following the War of 1812, it left only the Democratic-Republican Party as a national political party. In the 1824 election, the Democratic-Republican Party splintered as four separate candidates sought the presidency. This process did not yet lead to formal political parties yet, but later, the faction led by Andrew Jackson would evolve to become the Democratic Party, while the factions led by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay would become the Whig Party.
The presidential election of 1824 is the only election to have been decided by the House of Representatives in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution because no single candidate secures a majority of the electoral vote. It was also the only presidential election in which the candidate who received the most electoral votes did not become president. The election of 1824 is also the first (but not the last) in which the successful presidential candidate did not win the popular vote.
In 1824, there were five serious contenders for the presidency:
1. William H. Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury, nominated by a caucus of a minority of the Republican members of Congress.
2. John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State, who held the second most prominent position in the American government at that time. Both James Madison and James Monroe had gone from State to the presidency.
3. Henry Clay, Speaker of the House.
4. Andrew Jackson, a military hero, former governor, and former senator, who was presented as the champion of the common man.
5. John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War and a rigid defender of states' rights. But Calhoun decided there was no way he could win the presidency against such tough competition and he decided not to run.
After the votes were counted, no candidate had received a majority of the Electoral votes. As the electoral map confirmed, the four main candidates received regional or sectional support, but no candidate could garner a majority. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams won his in the New England states. War hero Andrew Jackson was successful in a number of states throughout the nation and had the widest range of support. Kentucky Senator Henry Clay attracted votes from the west, and William Crawford of Georgia attracted votes from the east.
Andrew Jackson received more electoral and popular votes than any other candidate, but not the majority of 131 electoral votes needed to win the election. As no candidate received the required majority of electoral votes, the presidential election was decided by the House of Representatives. The race for Vice-President was more decisive. John C. Calhoun easily defeated his rivals in the race for the vice-presidency, as he had the support of both the Adams and Jackson camps.
The lack of a clear winner of a majority of the electoral college votes put the outcome of the election in the hands of the House of Representatives. Although Jackson was the first place finisher, many were surprised when the House elected John Quincy Adams. Many people believed that Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House at the time, convinced Congress to elect Adams, and in return, Adams made Clay his Secretary of State. Supporters denounced this as a "corrupt bargain." Whatever discussions took place in private behind the scenes are lost to history.
The "corrupt bargain" that placed Adams in the White House and Clay in the State Department launched a four-year campaign of revenge by the friends of Andrew Jackson, who claimed that the people had been cheated of their choice. Jacksonians attacked the Adams administration as illegitimate and tainted by aristocracy and corruption.
Adams and Clay insisted that the result was not a consequence of any "corrupt bargain". Supporters of this theory maintain that the anti-Jackson faction united behind Adams, who was the natural alternative to Jackson. Third place candidate William H. Crawford was in poor health and had no realistic chance of winning the House vote.
Regardless of the various theories concerning the matter, John Quincy Adams was a one-term President, and his rival, Jackson, was elected President by a large majority of the Electors in the election of 1828, the first of two consecutive terms as president.
Today, as the outcome of the current election remains uncertain, having another election decided by the House of Representatives remains a remote possibility. If results end up very close, the potential for "faithless electors"to cast their electoral votes for a third candidate (as occurred in 2016) could potentially result in no candidate acquiring the requisite 270 electoral college votes. While this appears unlikely, it remains a possibility that students of presidential history should be aware of.