1824 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The 1824 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

This election occurred during the collapse of the Republican-Federalist political framework. For the first time no candidate ran as a Federalist, instead five candidates competed as Democratic-Republicans. The candidates were Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay The official candidate of the Democratic-Republicans to replace Monroe was William H. Crawford who was the Secretary of the treasury at the time.

The Outcome of the Election:

The election was very close and the outcome shocked the political leaders. The winner in the Electoral College was Andrew Jackson, the hero of the War of 1812

Candidate: Party: Electoral Votes: Popular Votes:

Although Jackson seemed to have won a narrow victory, receiving 43 percent of the popular vote versus just 30 percent for Adams, he was not the country's sixth president. Because nobody had received a majority of votes in the electoral college, the House of Representatives had to choose between the top two candidates.

After losing the Presidency to Andrew Jackson in 1828, John Quincy Adams was elected to the House of Representatives where he served until his death in 1848.

The Corrupt Bargain:

After losing, Clay had led some of the strongest attacks against Jackson. Because Clay hated Jackson, he would have rather seen John Quincy Adams as president. He forged an Ohio Valley-New England coalition that secured the White House for John Quincy Adams. In return Adams named Clay as his secretary of state. This however, was not beneficial for either Adams or Clay. Denounced immediately as a "CORRUPT BARGAIN" by supporters of Jackson, the presidential election of 1828 began practically before Adams even took office. To Jacksons followers, the relationship between Adams and Clay symbolized a corrupt system where insiders pursued their own interests without heeding the will of the