1824 U.S. presidential election

In 1824 four men from the same Democratic-Republican Party ran for president: war hero Andrew Jackson, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Treasury Secretary William H. Crawford and House Speaker Henry Clay. Jackson won the most popular votes, about 153,000 in the 18 states that held a popular vote, and the most electoral votes, 99. Adams won 84, Crawford 41 and Clay 37. No one had the 131 needed for a majority, so for the second and last time the House of Representatives chose the president.¹²³

The one-party system of the Era of Good Feelings had broken into personal factions. The congressional caucus, which had picked Republican nominees since 1800, chose Crawford, but by then most voters saw it as an insider club and few members attended. Jackson, famous since his victory at New Orleans in the War of 1812, ran as an outsider; Adams carried New England; Clay pushed his 'American System' of tariffs, a national bank and roads and canals. Most states now let voters, rather than legislatures, choose electors, though six still left the choice to their legislatures.²

Under the 12th Amendment the House chose among the top three, which excluded Clay, but Clay as Speaker was the most powerful man in the chamber. He disliked Jackson and shared Adams's economic views. On February 9, 1825, the House elected Adams with 13 of 24 state delegations; Jackson won 7 and Crawford 4. Days later Adams named Clay secretary of state, then the usual stepping stone to the presidency. Jackson's supporters called it a 'corrupt bargain.' No proof of an explicit deal has ever been found, but the charge crippled Adams's presidency and powered Jackson's organizing for 1828.¹²³