The Election of 1824 marked a critical turning point in American politics. Prior to this presidential election, Americans experienced a resurgence of national pride and unity with the end of the War of 1812 and the dissolving of the Federalist party. This period is now often referred to as the “Era of Good Feelings,” which occurred between 1815 and 1825. One of the key characteristics of this time was a one-party system led by President James Monroe. Although it seemed like a one-party system could resolve the issue partisan politics, divisions within the Democratic Republican party became quite evident during the Election of 1824.
Prior to the election, a caucus of Democratic-Republican leadership gathered to choose a candidate to represent the single party in the election. They nominated William H. Crawford as their candidate. However, because the United States operated under a one-party system in 1824, the previous practice of a party caucus nominating a candidate to represent the party no longer seemed relevant. In turn, Americans were faced with four candidates to choose from: John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay.
John Quincy Adams was the son of second President of the United States, John Adams. During the Monroe Administration, he served as the Secretary of State where he assisted with creating the Monroe Doctrine, negotiated with England for a joint occupation of Oregon Country and arranged for the Spanish cession of Florida. Throughout his campaign, Adams voiced support for expanding roads, canals and tariffs.
Andrew Jackson was the first congressman from Tennessee to be elected to the United States House of Representatives, and he also had a brief career in the United States Senate. However, his most significant crowning achievement had been the role of Major General in the War of 1812 where he led American troops to victory against the British in the Battle of New Orleans. It was his reputation as a military leader that earned him the nickname of “Old Hickory.” Throughout his campaign, he referred to himself as the “common man,” and he sought to break away from the institutional Democratic-Republican party.
William H. Crawford had served in the Senate from 1807-1813 representing Georgia. In the Madison administration, he served as the Secretary of War and Secretary of Treasury; he remained as the Secretary of Treasury during Monroe's Administration. Crawford—a Virginian—supported states rights and the expansion of slavery.
Henry Clay was appointed twice to fill unexpired terms in the Senate for the state of Kentucky, but he earned much of his reputation as the “Great Compromiser” in the United States House of Representatives where he orchestrated the Missouri Compromise of 1820. In addition to compromise between the North and South, Clay also supported investment in roads and canals to foster economic growth and tariffs. Clay served as the youngest Speaker of the House up to that point in U.S. History, and he remained in that position for over a decade.
In addition to four candidates from the same party, the popular vote was also quite significant during this election. By 1824, eighteen out of the twenty-four states in the Union popularly chose their electors. In the final vote tallies, John Quincy Adams received 113,112 popular votes and 84 electoral votes; Andrew Jackson received 151,271 popular votes and 99 electoral votes; William H. Crawford received 40,856 popular votes and 41 electoral votes; and Henry Clay received 47,531 popular votes and 37 electoral votes. Despite Andrew Jackson winning the popular vote by a wide margin, this election proved that candidates could secure a popular vote victory but still stop short of winning the White House. In 1824, none of the candidates achieved the 131 electoral votes required, and this meant that the election was then to be decided by the House of Representatives in a contingent election.
Essentially, the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment require the top three candidates to compete in this second contingent election where each state delegation gets one vote to decide their choice for president. Because Henry Clay received the least votes, he was eliminated from the contest. However, despite being eliminated, Clay played a crucial role in this election as the Speaker of the House.
The contingent election for the President of the United States in the House of Representatives was held on February 9, 1825. A month before the election, Clay’s decision to support Adams in the election was made public. Therefore, using his influence as Speaker of the House, he convinced his supporters to vote for Adams in the election. In the end, Adams won the election earning votes from thirteen out of the twenty-four states.
Soon after the election, Henry Clay was appointed Secretary of State in the Adams administration. From then on, the Adams administration was plagued with charges of a “corrupt bargain” from Jackson and his supporters since they felt that he was unjustly shut out of the presidency due to this exchange of political power between Adams and Clay. After this appointment, Jackson announced his run for the White House for the 1828 campaign, and he ran on a platform opposing the Adams administration. He also became one of the electoral college’s fiercest opponents and was the first major political candidate to call for its elimination. He advocated for presidential candidates to be chosen through popular mandate as he repeatedly reminded his supporters that he won the popular vote by a landslide in 1824.
Jackson’s opposition to the Adams administration led to a massive split in what was then the Democratic-Republican party. It was this division that led to the birth of the Democratic party, led by Jackson, and what would later be known as the Whig party, led by Adams. In 1828, Jackson mobilized enough supporters to defeat President Adams and became the first President of the United States from the newly formed Democratic party.
The turbulent Election of 1824 proved that it was nearly impossible to maintain one party to represent the interests of Americans. Even though each of the four candidates in 1824 were members of the same party, Americans were still divided on their choice for the White House, showing that the nation country faced increasing sectionalism as the country continued to grow.
Further Reading:
The One-party Presidential Contest: Adams, Jackson, and 1824's Five-horse Race by Donald Ratcliffe (University of Press of Kansas, 2015, 2021)
The Politics of Corruption: The Election of 1824 and the Making of Presidents in Jacksonian America
by David P. Callahan (University of Virginia Press, 2022).
