The Election of 1824
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, and according to some, that one was cast as a tribute to George Washington, who had been the only president to be elected unanimously. The electors of 1820 wanted Washington to retain that honor, so one electoral vote was cast against Monroe for that purpose. (There is not universal agreement on whether or not this was so, but whatever the case, political animosity appeared to at an all-time low).
1824 was a different matter. The election, held from Tuesday, October 26, to Thursday, December 2, 1824. In the end, John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, but only after the election failed to provide a winner with a majority of the electoral votes. This meant that the election was decided by the House of Representatives. The previous years had seen a one-party government in the United States. But as the Federalist Party dissolved, it left only the Democratic-Republican Party as a national political party. This in turn resulted in factions occurring within this one party. In the 1824 election, the Democratic-Republican Party splintered as four separate candidates sought the presidency. This process did not yet lead to the formation of new official political parties, 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 Constitution, which is in play when no 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 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. Previously both James Madison and James Monroe had gone from being Secretary of 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. However before the voting began, Calhoun decided there was no way he could win the presidency against such tough competition and he decided not to run.
The results of the election did not give any candidate a clear majority. Andrew Jackson received 151,271 votes and 99 electoral votes. John Quincy Adams got 113,122 votes and 84 electoral votes. William Harris Crawford received 40,856 votes and 41 electoral votes, and Henry Clay finished third in the popular vote with 47,531, but last in electoral votes with 37.
The presidential election was sent to the U.S. House of Representatives to be decided according to the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment, under which only the top three candidates in the electoral vote were admitted as candidates: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and William Harris Crawford. Henry Clay, who happened to be Speaker of the House, was left out.
Clay detested Jackson, and said, "I cannot believe that killing 2,500 Englishmen at New Orleans qualifies for the various, difficult, and complicated duties of the Chief Magistracy." Clay's position on many issues was closer to Adams than Jackson or Crawford. Clay threw his support to Adams and John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, on the first ballot, with 13 states, followed by Jackson with 7, and Crawford with 4.
Adams' victory shocked Jackson, who, as the winner of a plurality of both the popular and electoral votes, expected to be elected president. A Philadelphia paper, called the Columbian Observer, accused Clay of selling Adams his support for the office of Secretary of State. According to Adams, Clay was offered the position only after Adams was victorious in the election, and Clay accepted. Jackson and his followers accused Adams and Clay of striking a "corrupt bargain". The Jacksonians would campaign on this claim for the next four years and Jackson would ultimately attain victory in the Adams-Jackson rematch in 1828.
When Jackson was elected President in 1828, defeating Adams, those in Clay's camp included a group known as the National Republicans. This group referred to themselves as "Whigs" in honor of their ancestors during the Revolutionary War. They likened their ancestors' opposition to the tyranny of King George III to their own opposition of the "tyranny" of Andrew Jackson.
1824 was a different matter. The election, held from Tuesday, October 26, to Thursday, December 2, 1824. In the end, John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, but only after the election failed to provide a winner with a majority of the electoral votes. This meant that the election was decided by the House of Representatives. The previous years had seen a one-party government in the United States. But as the Federalist Party dissolved, it left only the Democratic-Republican Party as a national political party. This in turn resulted in factions occurring within this one party. In the 1824 election, the Democratic-Republican Party splintered as four separate candidates sought the presidency. This process did not yet lead to the formation of new official political parties, 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 Constitution, which is in play when no 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 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. Previously both James Madison and James Monroe had gone from being Secretary of 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. However before the voting began, Calhoun decided there was no way he could win the presidency against such tough competition and he decided not to run.
The results of the election did not give any candidate a clear majority. Andrew Jackson received 151,271 votes and 99 electoral votes. John Quincy Adams got 113,122 votes and 84 electoral votes. William Harris Crawford received 40,856 votes and 41 electoral votes, and Henry Clay finished third in the popular vote with 47,531, but last in electoral votes with 37.
The presidential election was sent to the U.S. House of Representatives to be decided according to the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment, under which only the top three candidates in the electoral vote were admitted as candidates: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and William Harris Crawford. Henry Clay, who happened to be Speaker of the House, was left out.
Clay detested Jackson, and said, "I cannot believe that killing 2,500 Englishmen at New Orleans qualifies for the various, difficult, and complicated duties of the Chief Magistracy." Clay's position on many issues was closer to Adams than Jackson or Crawford. Clay threw his support to Adams and John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, on the first ballot, with 13 states, followed by Jackson with 7, and Crawford with 4.
Adams' victory shocked Jackson, who, as the winner of a plurality of both the popular and electoral votes, expected to be elected president. A Philadelphia paper, called the Columbian Observer, accused Clay of selling Adams his support for the office of Secretary of State. According to Adams, Clay was offered the position only after Adams was victorious in the election, and Clay accepted. Jackson and his followers accused Adams and Clay of striking a "corrupt bargain". The Jacksonians would campaign on this claim for the next four years and Jackson would ultimately attain victory in the Adams-Jackson rematch in 1828.
When Jackson was elected President in 1828, defeating Adams, those in Clay's camp included a group known as the National Republicans. This group referred to themselves as "Whigs" in honor of their ancestors during the Revolutionary War. They likened their ancestors' opposition to the tyranny of King George III to their own opposition of the "tyranny" of Andrew Jackson.