1824 Election and The Corrupt Bargain
The election of 1824 signaled the Era of Good Feelings. The candidates in the election were John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Crawford and Henry Clay, who were all members of the Democratic-Republican Party, due to the demise of the Federalist Party after the War of 1812. Although Jackson got the most votes from the people, no candidate got the majority and following the 12th amendment to the Constitution, the election was sent to the House of Representatives with Crawford, Adams, and Jackson in the running. The vice president, however, had been chosen winning in 14 states outright and majorities in three others was Calhoun, who would later be seen as an enemy of Jackson.
John Quincy Adams was determined to win and so began what came to be called the Corrupt Bargain. Jackson, who had in reality won more popular and electoral votes than Adams, was outraged. Adams and Henry Clay had had their differences but ultimately respected each other. However, Clay detested Jackson and saw him only as a military leader. Clay believed that if Jackson took office, then he would use his military credentials to seize control and establish a tyranny. Of Jackson, Clay said that the accomplishment of "killing 2,500 Englishmen at New Orleans" did not qualify him for "the various difficult and complicated duties of the chief magistrate." On January 9, 1825, Clay met with Adams for three hours, and no one knows what truly transpired, but Adams wrote it was to "satisfy [Clay] with regard to some principles of great public importance, but without any personal considerations for himself".
Later in the month of January, states such as Kentucky and Ohio that had voted for Jackson by popular vote had now voted in Adams' favor. Believing they were catching on to what was happening, the Jackson forces decided to strike back. On January 25, a letter from an anonymous congressmen claimed Adams' supporters had sent a message to Clay supporters offering an appointment to secretary of state in exchange for Clay's support in the House vote. Clay issued a statement denying this, but either way Adams eventually won over enough House votes to win the presidency over Jackson.
John Quincy Adams was determined to win and so began what came to be called the Corrupt Bargain. Jackson, who had in reality won more popular and electoral votes than Adams, was outraged. Adams and Henry Clay had had their differences but ultimately respected each other. However, Clay detested Jackson and saw him only as a military leader. Clay believed that if Jackson took office, then he would use his military credentials to seize control and establish a tyranny. Of Jackson, Clay said that the accomplishment of "killing 2,500 Englishmen at New Orleans" did not qualify him for "the various difficult and complicated duties of the chief magistrate." On January 9, 1825, Clay met with Adams for three hours, and no one knows what truly transpired, but Adams wrote it was to "satisfy [Clay] with regard to some principles of great public importance, but without any personal considerations for himself".
Later in the month of January, states such as Kentucky and Ohio that had voted for Jackson by popular vote had now voted in Adams' favor. Believing they were catching on to what was happening, the Jackson forces decided to strike back. On January 25, a letter from an anonymous congressmen claimed Adams' supporters had sent a message to Clay supporters offering an appointment to secretary of state in exchange for Clay's support in the House vote. Clay issued a statement denying this, but either way Adams eventually won over enough House votes to win the presidency over Jackson.
Even though he won the most popular and electoral votes in 1824, the presidential rug is pulled out from under Andrew Jackson by Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams as the debilitated William Crawford, a befuddled Stephen Van Rensselaer, the calculating Daniel Webster and a stunned John Calhoun look on.
Rise of Democracy (Election of 1828)
Jackson's 1828 Inaugural Party at the White House
Andrew Jackson's presidency campaigned the day that Adams was elected to office, and won by a landslide in the 1828 presidential election, earning nearly seventy percent of the votes in the electoral college and popular votes of sixty percent. However, between 1824 and 1828, the election process and regulations altered drastically. In 1824, very few people could vote, the group limited to white males that owned property. As the Adams presidency wore on, many of these voting limitations were eliminated. By 1828, in contrast to 1824, nonwhite people could not vote, as well as women, however all white men could vote. The moral changed and the belief came to be that voting rights were necessary to ensure freedom and liberty. In addition, some blacks had been allowed to vote until the 1820s. They came to be stripped of this right, because America was viewed as a "white man's country", which eventually paved the way for the removal of the Native Americans.
Another difference in the election of Jackson in 1828 was the fact that Jackson was the first westerner president. Previous presidents had been from either Virginia or Massachusetts and came from wealth, whereas Jackson came from a poor childhood, earning his way to the top. Jackson proclaimed himself to be "Champion of the Common Man" and believed that the economic interests were ignored by the aggressive national plans of Adams and Clay.
John Quincy Adams had acted as a transition in power, as he was the first president who was not a founding father. Although he was not popular among the people, he was a better transition than Jackson for the fact that he was a son of a founding father and held ideas similar to those in the past. Jackson, on the other hand, reacted regardless of public opinion, which inevitably led to enemies. Jackson's strong leadership endeared him to supporters, and the opposers of the Jacksonian Democrats came to be known as the Whig Party.
Another difference in the election of Jackson in 1828 was the fact that Jackson was the first westerner president. Previous presidents had been from either Virginia or Massachusetts and came from wealth, whereas Jackson came from a poor childhood, earning his way to the top. Jackson proclaimed himself to be "Champion of the Common Man" and believed that the economic interests were ignored by the aggressive national plans of Adams and Clay.
John Quincy Adams had acted as a transition in power, as he was the first president who was not a founding father. Although he was not popular among the people, he was a better transition than Jackson for the fact that he was a son of a founding father and held ideas similar to those in the past. Jackson, on the other hand, reacted regardless of public opinion, which inevitably led to enemies. Jackson's strong leadership endeared him to supporters, and the opposers of the Jacksonian Democrats came to be known as the Whig Party.