Thursday, November 13, 2014

Why was the election of 1824 said to have resulted from a "Corrupt Bargain" between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay?

The election of 1824 was a very interesting election. There were four candidates running for President. Since no candidate got a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives had to choose the President. The four candidates were Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, and William Crawford. Andrew Jackson got the most electoral votes, but not the majority he needed to become President. According to the Constitution, the House of Representatives would choose from the top three candidates based on the number of electoral votes each candidate had received. This eliminated Henry Clay who had the smallest number of electoral votes.


The House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams to become President. When John Quincy Adams became President, he made Henry Clay the Secretary of State. This led Andrew Jackson and his supporters to claim that a deal, which became known as the Corrupt Bargain, was made between Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams. Andrew Jackson believed that in return for Henry Clay’s supporters to vote for John Quincy Adams, John Quincy Adams would make Henry Clay the Secretary of State. Andrew Jackson was furious because he felt he should have won the election and not John Quincy Adams. Andrew Jackson was determined to win the presidency in the next election, which he did in 1828.

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