The presidential election of 1824 was a mess from the start. There were four candidates vying for the White House that year and they were all from the same party, the Democratic-Republican party. The Federalist Party of George Washington and John Adams fell apart after Jefferson won the presidency in the election of 1800, leaving the country with one-party rule under the presidencies of Madison and Monroe. The candidates for 1824 were:
Andrew Jackson-Former Congressman, sitting Senator, hero of the Battle of New Orleans, and spokesman for the “common man”. Jackson, if elected, would be the first President not to attend college, the first President self-taught, and the first President from a state that was not part of the original 13 colonies: Tennessee.
John Quincy Adams-Secretary of State under President James Monroe, former ambassador to Russia, drafter of the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812, former US Senator from Massachusetts, son of President John Adams.
Henry Clay-Sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives and Congressman from Kentucky. Like Jackson, if elected, he would be the first President from a state not part of the original colonies.
William H. Crawford-Secretary of the Treasury, former Secretary of War, former US Senator from Georgia, former US ambassador to France.
Each candidate ran strongly in the region where they were from, and when the dust settled the electoral college vote was:
Jackson-99
Adams-84
Crawford-41
Clay-37
Total Electoral Votes=261
Votes needed to win the White House-131
The 12th Amendment to the Constitution mandates that the President must win a majority of the electoral college votes to secure the White House, and if no candidate wins a majority, the election is thrown into the House of Representatives, with the top 3 electoral vote recipients vying for the prize. On 1 December 1824 the electoral votes were certified and the presidential election was placed in the hands of the House. Clay would have been eliminated under the provisions of the 12th Amendment, but Crawford, who had suffered a stroke earlier in the year, withdrew his name from the contest, leaving the election to Jackson, Adams and Clay. Clay despised Jackson, viewing him as uncouth and a butcher, as Jackson’s victory over the British at New Orleans came after the Treaty of Ghent was signed, thus ending hostilities. As they say in combat, “there’s always some son of a bitch who doesn’t get the word”. Clay realized that as the man with fewest electoral votes, and coming from the small state of Kentucky (taking notes, Senators McConnell and Paul?) there was little chance of him entering the White House; however, he was in an excellent position to act as kingmaker for the eventual winner. His position on tariffs and national funding of roads and other infrastructure projects was closer to that of John Quincy Adams, so he threw his support behind Adams. When the House voted on 9 February 1825, the support of Clay put Adams over the top. Under the 12th Amendment, each state delegation votes together, and Clay’s position as Speaker also helped Adams.
Jackson was outraged, as he had entered the contest with a plurality of electoral votes and strong popular vote support as well. His rage exploded when Adams offered the position of Secretary of State to Clay. Prior to the House vote an article had appeared in a Philadelphia newspaper stating that as a price for Clay’s support, Adams would name him Secretary of State. This was never investigated before the House voted, but once the vote was certified and Clay accepted the offer, Jackson screamed that a “corrupt bargain” had been reached, and he swore revenge come the 1828 election. The position of Secretary of State carried extra potency in the early 1800s, as Jefferson, Madison and Monroe had all served in the office and gone from there to the White House. To the casual observer it appeared that Adams was offering Clay a stepping stone to the White House via the top office in the cabinet.
No comments:
Post a Comment