50 Fun Facts About 1824 United States Presidential Election

What did Andrew Jackson's supporters call the alleged deal that made John Quincy Adams president in 1825?

The Corrupt Bargain was the charge that Henry Clay had traded his support in the House for a Cabinet seat. Jacksonians campaigned on it for the next four years.

Andrew Jackson branded Henry Clay which biblical figure "of the West" after losing the 1825 House vote?

Judas was Jackson's name for Clay, whom he accused of selling out the voters' choice for a place in the Cabinet. Clay spent years denying that any deal was made.

On which object did John Quincy Adams place his hand to take the presidential oath in 1825, instead of a Bible?

A book of law, not a Bible, lay under Adams's hand as he recited the oath, by his own later account. He also swapped the knee breeches of earlier presidents for long trousers.

What struck William H. Crawford in 1823, leaving a leading contender for president gravely ill throughout the campaign?

A stroke felled Crawford in 1823, yet he stayed in the race and still finished third in the electoral vote. A physician's prescription of the herb lobelia was blamed for it.

Louisa Adams threw a grand 1824 ball for Andrew Jackson on the anniversary of which battle that made him famous?

New Orleans, Jackson's 1815 rout of the British, was toasted at the Adams home nine years on. John Quincy Adams hoped the general would settle for being his running mate.

John Quincy Adams was the first son of a president to become president; which later president was the second?

George W. Bush made the Bushes the second father-and-son pair of presidents, 176 years after the Adamses became the first. Benjamin Harrison was a president's grandson.

Which nickname had Andrew Jackson's soldiers given him for his toughness, long before his 1824 run for president?

Old Hickory stuck after Jackson refused an order to disband his troops and led them on the hard march home himself. They first called him plain Hickory; the Old came later.

Which powerful post in Congress did Henry Clay hold when lawmakers chose the president in February 1825?

Speaker of the House Henry Clay had finished fourth, one place too low to be considered, but his sway over the chamber helped decide which rival won.

Which French hero of the American Revolution was touring the United States as an honored guest during the 1824 campaign?

Lafayette toured all 24 states between August 1824 and September 1825, drawing huge crowds while the candidates fought it out. He was the last surviving major general of the Revolution.

How were votes cast when the House of Representatives chose the president in February 1825?

One vote per state meant that Illinois and Missouri, each with a single congressman, counted as much as Pennsylvania with 26. A candidate needed 13 of the 24 states.

Which president ran virtually unopposed in 1820, leaving a wide-open four-way race to succeed him in 1824?

James Monroe followed the precedent of earlier two-term presidents and declined to seek a third. With no obvious heir, the race to replace him was under way by 1822.

Which name is given to the period of one-party rule after the War of 1812 that the 1824 election ended?

The Era of Good Feelings got its name from a Boston newspaper in 1817. The mood soured once four candidates from the same party turned on one another.

Which constitutional amendment limited the 1825 House vote to the top three finishers, shutting out Henry Clay?

The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, had cut the House's field from five candidates to three. Clay finished fourth, so he could only decide which rival to help.

Which Cabinet post did President John Quincy Adams give Henry Clay soon after Clay's allies swung the House vote?

Secretary of State was then the stepping stone to the White House: Adams and the three presidents before him had all held it. That made the offer look like a payoff.

The 1824 race was the second presidential election decided by the House; whom had the House chosen in 1801?

Thomas Jefferson needed 36 ballots to break an electoral tie with his own running mate, Aaron Burr. In 1825 the House needed only one.

Which modern political party grew out of the coalition Andrew Jackson's supporters built after his 1825 defeat?

The Democrats began as the movement to avenge Jackson's loss and win him the White House in 1828. Theirs is now the world's oldest active political party.

Which party's collapse after the War of 1812 left all four 1824 candidates belonging to the same party?

The Federalists never recovered from opposing the war and ran their last presidential candidate in 1816. With one national party left, the fight moved inside it.

What mocking nickname did critics give the congressional meeting that made William Crawford the 1824 party nominee?

King Caucus drew only 66 members of Congress, fewer than a third of those entitled to attend, so its blessing hurt Crawford more than it helped. By 1828 the system was dead.

Which region, home to John Quincy Adams, was the only one he dominated in the 1824 popular vote?

New England backed its native son solidly, but Adams had to share the mid-Atlantic states with Jackson while his rivals divided the South and West.

Which South Carolinian was elected vice president in 1824 with backing from both the Adams and Jackson camps?

John C. Calhoun dropped his own presidential bid and won the second spot by a landslide. He went on to serve under both rivals, first Adams and then Jackson.

Which state's lawmakers nominated Andrew Jackson for president in 1822, hoping at first only to block William Crawford?

Tennessee put its war hero forward as a stalking horse to keep the state's electoral votes from Crawford. Then Jackson's popularity spread far beyond its borders.

Which state's legislature told its congressmen to back Andrew Jackson in 1825, only for Henry Clay's allies to refuse?

Kentucky had voted for Clay, its favorite son, in the general election. The delegation ignored the non-binding instruction and voted 8 to 4 for Adams.

Which Southern state was home to William H. Crawford, the Cabinet member who finished third in the 1824 electoral vote?

Georgia was where Crawford grew up to become one of the state's most popular politicians. He went home after his defeat and served as a state judge.

Which federal department did William H. Crawford run while he campaigned for president in 1824?

The Treasury had been Crawford's since 1816, and rivals accused him of using a law on reappointing its officers to plant loyal supporters across the country.

To which European country had William H. Crawford been the American minister during the War of 1812?

France was Crawford's post from 1813, in the waning years of Napoleon's empire. He came home to join the Cabinet and nearly won his party's presidential nomination in 1816.

John Quincy Adams, a career diplomat before 1824, was the first American minister to which empire?

Russia received Adams in 1809, and he became friendly with Tsar Alexander I. The tsar later offered to mediate the War of 1812.

The treaty ending the War of 1812, negotiated by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay together, is named for which city?

The Treaty of Ghent was signed on Christmas Eve 1814 by a five-man American team that included both Adams and Clay. The talks were held in what is now Belgium.

Which Spanish territory did Andrew Jackson invade in 1818, a move John Quincy Adams defended inside the Cabinet?

Florida was soon ceded by Spain, as Adams had hoped when he defended the general. Clay and Crawford opposed the invasion, which turned Jackson against them both.

To which plantation home did Andrew Jackson wish to retire rather than run for president in 1824?

The Hermitage grew into a 1,000-acre cotton plantation, one of the largest in the state, worked by enslaved laborers. Jackson was drafted into the race by his home legislature.

What name did Henry Clay give his program of protective tariffs, a national bank and federally funded roads and canals?

The American System was closer to Adams's views on tariffs and public works than to Jackson's, which gave Clay a policy reason to back Adams in the House.

Which nickname did Henry Clay, fourth in the 1824 race, earn during his decades in Congress?

The Great Compromiser led the Missouri deal of 1820 through Congress. He ran for president three times, in 1824, 1832 and 1844, and lost every time.

Which 1876 winner, like John Quincy Adams, lost the popular vote and took office amid charges of a backroom deal?

Rutherford B. Hayes was handed 20 disputed electoral votes by a special commission in 1877. Democrats were said to have accepted the result in return for federal troops leaving the South.

Which future president backed William Crawford in 1824, then built the alliance that elected Andrew Jackson?

Martin Van Buren stuck with the ailing Crawford to the end, then swung behind Jackson for 1828. He followed Jackson into the White House as the eighth president.

Which state's closely divided delegation did Stephen Van Rensselaer tip to John Quincy Adams in the 1825 House vote?

New York gave Adams his 13th state, the bare majority he needed. Van Rensselaer, one of the richest Americans in history, had meant to vote for Crawford.

Which future president from Pennsylvania sounded out Henry Clay for Andrew Jackson before the 1825 House vote?

James Buchanan floated a trade in which Jackson would give Clay a top Cabinet post in return for support. Clay gave his backing to Adams instead.

Daniel Pope Cook, whose lone vote gave Illinois to John Quincy Adams, is the namesake of the county around which city?

Chicago's Cook County was named for him in 1831. Cook, the only congressman from Illinois, was anti-slavery and cast his state's single vote for Adams.

In which capital was Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, born, making her the first foreign-born first lady?

London was Louisa's birthplace, and she did not visit the United States until adulthood. In 1824 she effectively managed her husband's campaign.

Which long-serving chief justice administered the oath of office to John Quincy Adams on March 4, 1825?

John Marshall had been put on the Supreme Court by the new president's father in 1801. He remains the longest-serving chief justice in American history.

What was the name of Henry Clay's estate, where the 1824 candidate bred livestock and grew hemp?

Ashland, begun in 1804, grew to more than 500 acres and was worked by enslaved people. Clay imported Arabian horses and Hereford cattle to stock it.

Which state was home to John Quincy Adams, whose three rivals in 1824 all came from slaveholding states?

Massachusetts had already produced his father, the second president. Its legislature stated a preference for Adams in 1823 but held back from a formal nomination.

Which body picks the vice president when no candidate wins an electoral majority, as happened only in 1837?

The Senate chooses between the top two finishers. It was spared the job in 1825 because the vice-presidential winner had taken a clear electoral majority.

What name is given to the run of presidents from a single Southern state that ended with the 1824 election?

The Virginia Dynasty bred Northern resentment, which helped make Adams the early favorite to succeed it. Four of the first five presidents were Virginians.

Which office did Andrew Jackson win in October 1823, bringing the general to Washington during the 1824 campaign?

U.S. senator Jackson used his time in Washington to form alliances and make peace with old adversaries. He resigned the seat after the session that made Adams president.

Which Roanoke planter and lawmaker did Henry Clay fight in an 1826 duel after a speech mocking his alliance with Adams?

John Randolph had likened the alliance to a puritan teaming up with a cheating gambler. He fired into the air, and Clay's bullet only tore his coat.

Which Geneva-born statesman was named William Crawford's running mate in 1824 but soon withdrew from the ticket?

Albert Gallatin never wanted the nomination and stepped aside at Crawford's own request. North Carolina's Nathaniel Macon took his place.

In which Washington building did former president John Quincy Adams suffer a fatal collapse in 1848?

The U.S. Capitol was his workplace for the last 17 years of his life. Adams remains the only former president ever elected to the House.

In which Pennsylvania city did a March 1824 state convention nominate Andrew Jackson, making him a national contender?

Harrisburg's endorsement turned Jackson from a regional candidate into the leading contender, and it drove a Southern rival out of the presidential race.

Which Pennsylvania congressman admitted writing the anonymous 1825 letter accusing Henry Clay of selling his support?

George Kremer claimed Clay had offered the same trade to Jackson first and been refused. The charge haunted Clay for the rest of his political career.

Which slave-ship case did John Quincy Adams argue before the Supreme Court in 1841, years after leaving the presidency?

Amistad captives had seized the Spanish ship that was carrying them, and the 73-year-old Adams successfully defended them. He was a sitting congressman at the time.

Which college educated John Quincy Adams and later made him a professor of rhetoric, years before his 1824 campaign?

Harvard named Adams its Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory while he was also sitting in Congress. One of its student residences now carries the family name.