The Election of 1824

UNIT 8: Changing Nation

lesson: THE Presidential Election of 1824

Tennessee State Standard:

8.45 Examine the importance of the elections of 1824 and 1828, including: the "Corrupt Bargain," the "Spoils System," and "Jacksonian Democracy."

THe Presidential Election of 1824

In 1821, Andrew Jackson resigned from the US Army and moved back to Tennessee. Two years later, he was elected to the United States Senate from Tennessee. Then, in 1824, Andrew Jackson decided to run for President of the United States.

The Presidential Election of 1824 was notable for two main reasons:

There were four main candidates, not two: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and William H. Crawford.
All four candidates claimed to represent the Democratic-Republican Party.

Andrew Jackson

The 12th Amendment

The 12th Amendment was passed in 1803, after the chaos that took place during the election of 1800. The 12th Amendment created new rules for the Electoral College. It specifically states that each elector in the electoral college must choose two candidates: one for president and one for vice president, that way someone running for VP could not be elected President (like Aaron Burr almost was in the Election of 1800)...

...It also states that if no candidate for president receives a majority (over 50%) of electoral votes, then the House of Representatives will choose the next president of the United States with a brand new vote.

The "Corrupt Bargain"

Henry Clay did not have enough votes to be chosen by the House of Representatives, only the top 3 made it to the new vote.

So Clay persuaded members of the House of Representatives to choose John Quincy Adams as president instead. Some of these house members that changed their votes were from states had originally voted for Andrew Jackson.

On February 9, 1825, the house elected John Quincy Adams as the 6th President of the United States. For the first time in US history, the nation had a President who had not won the popular vote.

Afterward, President Adams chose Henry Clay as his new Secretary of State. The results of the election convinced many Americans that the US political system was unfair.

John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States (Son of John Adams)

Andrew Jackson and his supporters saw this act as proof that Adams and Clay had made a "Corrupt Bargain" to make sure both men achieved political victory! It also convinced Jackson to run for President again in 1828, and it lead to the formation of two new political parties, the National Republicans and the Democrats.

The Corrupt Bargain (The Election of 1824)

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