United States presidential election, 1824

United States Presidential Election, 1824

1820 ← October 26 - December 2, 1824 → 1828

Nominee John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson Party Democratic-Republican Democratic-Republican Home state Massachusetts Tennessee Running mate John C. Calhoun John C. Calhoun Electoral vote 84 99 States carried 7 11 Popular vote 113,122 151,271 Percentage 30.9% 41.3%   Nominee William H. Crawford Henry Clay Party Democratic-Republican Democratic-Republican Home state Georgia Kentucky Running mate Nathaniel Macon (replacing Albert Gallatin) Nathan Sanford Electoral vote 41 37 States carried 3 3 Popular vote 40,856 47,531 Percentage 11.2% 13.0%

Presidential election results map. Blue denotes states won by Jackson, Orange denotes those won by Adams, Green denotes those won by Crawford, Light Yellow denotes those won by Clay. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.

President before election James Monroe Democratic-Republican Elected President John Quincy Adams Democratic-Republican

In the United States presidential election of 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, 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 had dissolved, leaving only the Democratic-Republican Party as a national political entity. In this election, the Democratic-Republican Party splintered as four separate candidates sought the presidency. This process did not yet lead to formal party organization, but later, the faction led by Andrew Jackson would evolve into the Democratic Party, while the factions led by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay would become the National Republican Party and then the Whig Party.

The presidential election of 1824 is notable for being the only election since the passage of the Twelfth Amendment to have been decided by the House of Representatives in accordance with its provision to turn over the choice of the president to the House 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 (since Andrew Jackson's plurality of electoral votes was insufficient to prevent the election from being thrown into the House of Representatives). The election of 1824 is often claimed to be the first in which the successful presidential candidate did not win the popular vote, however it is not always pointed out that the popular vote was not measured nationwide at the time. Several states did not permit a popular vote, but rather allowed the state legislature to choose their electors.

General election

Campaign

The election was a contest among:

• General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, a charismatic hero of the War of 1812, former Representative, and United States Senator from Tennessee.
• John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, son of former President John Adams, former member of the Federalist Party, former United States Minister to Russia, one of the drafters of the Treaty of Ghent, former United States Senator from Massachusetts, and Secretary of State.
• William H. Crawford of Georgia, former United States Minister to France, former United States Senator from Georgia, former Secretary of War, and Secretary of the Treasury.
• Henry Clay of Kentucky, the "Great Compromiser" and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

The traditional Congressional caucus nominated Crawford for president and Albert Gallatin for vice president, but it was sparsely attended and was widely attacked as undemocratic. Gallatin later withdrew from the contest for the vice presidency. In 1823, Crawford suffered a stroke, crippling his bid for the presidency. Among other candidates, John Quincy Adams had more support than Henry Clay because of his huge popularity among the old Federalist voters in New England; by this time, even the traditionally Federalist Adams family had come to terms with the Democratic-Republican Party.

The election was as much a contest of favorite sons as it was a conflict over policy, although positions on tariffs and internal improvements did create some significant disagreements. In general, the candidates were favored by different sections of the country: Adams was strong in the Northeast; Jackson in the South, West and mid-Atlantic; Clay in parts of the West; and Crawford in parts of the East.

John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, the current Secretary of War, was initially a fifth candidate in the early stages of consideration, but opted instead to seek the vice-presidency. Later, he backed Jackson after sensing the popularity of Crawford in the South. Both Adams and Jackson supporters backed Calhoun, giving him an easy majority of electoral votes for vice-president.

Results by county explicitly indicating the percentage of the winning candidate in each county. Shades of blue are for Jackson (Democratic-Republican), shades of red are for Adams (Democratic-Republican), shades of yellow are for Clay (Democratic-Republican), and shades of green are for Crawford (Democratic-Republican).

The campaigning for this presidential election assumed many forms. Contrafacta, or well known songs and tunes which have been lyrically altered, were used to promote political agendas and presidential candidates. Below can be found a sound clip featuring "Hunters of Kentucky", a tune written by Samuel Woodsworth in 1815 under the title "The Unfortunate Miss Bailey". Contrafacta such as this one, which promoted Andrew Jackson as a national hero, have been a long standing tradition in presidential elections. Another form of campaigning during this election was through newsprint. Political cartoons and partisan writings were best circulated among the voting public through newspapers. Presidential candidate John C. Calhoun may have been one of the most directly-involved candidates in this election through his participation in the newspaper The Patriot as a member of the editorial staff. This was a sure way to promote his own political agendas and campaign. Yet it was notably unusual in that most candidates involved in early 19th century elections did not run their own political campaigns. Instead it was left to volunteer citizens and partisans to speak on their behalf.

Results

Not surprisingly, the results of the election were inconclusive. The electoral map confirmed the candidates’ sectional support, with Adams winning outright in the New England states, Jackson gleaning success in states throughout the nation, Clay attracting votes from the west, and Crawford attracting 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 (see "Contingent election" below). Meanwhile, John C. Calhoun secured a total of 182 electoral votes in a generally uncompetitive race to win the vice- presidency outright.

Presidential Candidate	Party	Home State	Popular Vote(a)		Electoral Vote
			Count	Percentage
Andrew Jackson(b)	Democratic-Republican	Tennessee	151,271	41.3	99
John Quincy Adams(e)	Democratic-Republican	Massachusetts	113,122	30.9	84
William Harris Crawford(c)	Democratic-Republican	Georgia	40,856	11.2	41
Henry Clay(d)	Democratic-Republican	Kentucky	47,531	13.0	37
(Massachusetts unpledged electors)	None	N/A	6,616	1.8	0
Other			6,437	1.8	0
Total			365,833	100.0%	261
Needed to win					131

^(a) The popular vote figures exclude Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, South Carolina, and Vermont. In all of these states, the Electors were chosen by the state legislatures rather than by popular vote.

^(b) Jackson was nominated by the Tennessee state legislature and by the Democratic Party of Pennsylvania. (The words "Democratic" and "Republican" were interchangeable at this time.)

^(c) Crawford was nominated by a caucus of 66 congressmen that called itself the "Democratic members of Congress".

^(d) Clay was nominated by the Kentucky state legislature.

^(e) Adams was nominated by the Massachusetts state legislature.

Vice Presidential Candidate	Party	State	Electoral Vote
John C. Calhoun	Democratic-Republican	South Carolina	182
Nathan Sanford	Democratic-Republican	New York	30
Nathaniel Macon	Democratic-Republican	North Carolina	24
Andrew Jackson	Democratic-Republican	Tennessee	13
Martin Van Buren	Democratic-Republican	New York	9
Henry Clay	Democratic-Republican	Kentucky	2
Total			260
Needed to win			131

Breakdown by ticket

Presidential Candidate	Running Mate	Electoral Vote
Andrew Jackson	John C. Calhoun	99
John Quincy Adams	John C. Calhoun	74
Henry Clay	Nathan Sanford	27
William Harris Crawford	Nathaniel Macon	24
John Quincy Adams	Andrew Jackson	9
William Harris Crawford	Martin Van Buren	9
Henry Clay	John C. Calhoun	7
Henry Clay	Andrew Jackson	3
William Harris Crawford	Nathan Sanford	3
William Harris Crawford	Henry Clay	2
William Harris Crawford	John C. Calhoun	2
William Harris Crawford	Andrew Jackson	1
John Quincy Adams	none	1

1825 Contingent election

The voting by state in the House of Representatives

The presidential election was thrown to the U.S. House of Representatives. Following the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment, only the top three candidates in the electoral vote were admitted as candidates in the House: 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 had said of him, “I cannot believe that killing 2,500 Englishmen at New Orleans qualifies for the various, difficult, and complicated duties of the Chief Magistracy.” Moreover, Clay's American System was far closer to Adams' position on tariffs and internal improvements than Jackson's or Crawford's, so Clay threw his support to Adams, who had many more votes than Clay. 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. Interestingly enough, not too long before the results of the House election, an anonymous statement appeared in a Philadelphia paper, called the Columbian Observer. The statement, said to be from a member of Congress, essentially accused Clay of selling Adams his support for the office of Secretary of State. No formal investigation was conducted, so the matter was neither confirmed nor denied. When Clay was indeed offered the position after Adams was victorious, he opted to accept and continue to support the administration he voted for, knowing that declining the position would not have helped to dispel the rumors brought against him. By appointing Clay his Secretary of State, President Adams essentially declared him heir to the Presidency, as Adams and his three predecessors had all served as Secretary of State. 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, ultimately attaining Jackson's victory in the Adams-Jackson rematch in 1828.

Results by state in House of Representatives

	Delegation winner	Adams vote	Jackson vote	Crawford vote
Maine	Adams	7	0	0
New Hampshire	Adams	6	0	0
Vermont	Adams	5	0	0
Massachusetts	Adams	12	1	0
Rhode Island	Adams	2	0	0
Connecticut	Adams	6	0	0
New York	Adams	18	2	14
New Jersey	Jackson	1	5	0
Pennsylvania	Jackson	1	25	0
Delaware	Crawford	0	0	1
Maryland	Adams	5	3	1
Virginia	Crawford	1	1	19
North Carolina	Crawford	1	2	10
South Carolina	Jackson	0	9	0
Georgia	Crawford	0	0	7
Alabama	Jackson	0	3	0
Mississippi	Jackson	0	1	0
Louisiana	Adams	2	1	0
Kentucky	Adams	8	4	0
Tennessee	Jackson	0	9	0
Missouri	Adams	1	0	0
Ohio	Adams	10	2	2
Indiana	Jackson	0	3	0
Illinois	Adams	1	0	0
Total votes	Adams	87 (41%)	71 (33%)	54 (25%)
Votes by state	Adams	13 (54%)	7 (29%)	4 (17%)

Electoral College selection

Method of choosing Electors	State(s)
Each Elector chosen by voters statewide	Alabama Connecticut Indiana Massachusetts Mississippi New Hampshire New Jersey North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Virginia
Each Elector appointed by state legislature	Delaware Georgia Louisiana New York South Carolina Vermont
State is divided into electoral districts, with one Elector chosen per district by the voters of that district	Illinois Kentucky Maryland Missouri Tennessee
Two Electors chosen by voters statewide One Elector chosen per Congressional district by the voters of that district	Maine

See also

• "Corrupt Bargain"
• Electoral college
• History of the United States (1789-1849)
• Realigning election
• Second Party System
• United States House elections, 1824

References

• "A Historical Analysis of the Electoral College". The Green Papers. http://www.thegreenpapers.com/Hx/ElectoralCollege.html. Retrieved March 20, 2005.