Blood Feud III: Jackson vs. Adams

The Election of 1824 brought back the two party system. The Election ended up in the House of Representatives because no one candidate could garner enough electoral votes to be president. Four candidates split the votes. In the end, Jackson and Adams went head to head in the House of Representatives. Adams won the battle, but lost the war.
Andrew Jackson was the only candidate for president with a national following. He was a war hero, an Indian fighter, and marketed himself as the champion of the common man. Jackson drew a large following and decided to run for president. In the election of 1824, he faced three opponents.
The other candidates had regional followings. The leading candidate was Secretary of Treasury William Crawford of Georgia. Most insiders believed he would win. Unfortunately for Crawford, he suffered a stroke and finished third.
The Western Candidate was Henry Clay of Kentucky. Clay was known as "The Great Compromiser" for his work on the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Clay did not have a very large following and was a long shot. The young Speaker of the House finished fourth.
John Quincy Adams was one of the most qualified men to ever run from president, but no one at the time knew it. Washington insiders knew Adams' resume, but few voters did. Adams had been a foreign minister, negotiated the end of the War of 1812, and was the greatest Secretary of State ever, but no one knew it. Adams failed to appreciate the vast changes taking place in America and almost lost in 1824.
America was democratizing. During the 1820's, more and more states allowed its citizens to vote. Prior to this era, most states only allowed property holders the franchise. Then, people began to clamor for universal suffrage for white men. The call was deafening and by 1828, all white men could vote if they chose.
However, in 1824, this historical trend was only visible to Jackson's people. Jackson even encouraged it. He won the popular vote appealing to commoners, but failed to gain enough electoral votes to win the presidency. The election went to the Clay controlled House of Representatives.
Once in the House, Clay used his powers as Speaker to swing the election to Adams. Jackson lost. Clay became Secretary of State. This positioned Clay for a White House run in 1832. Jackson cried foul and accused Adams and Clay of a corrupt bargain. He began campaigning for 1828. Adams was mortally wounded and became a lame duck immediately.
In 1828, Adams ran for re-election with no presidential accomplishments. A recent biography of Adams focused only one chapter on Adams' presidency. Adams was an inconsequential president battling the tide of history. Jackson smoked Adams in the rematch and became president in 1828. In this election, Rachel Jackson was accused of bigamy and died before Jackson's inauguration. He never forgave those that attacked her and blamed them for her death. Once inaugurated, Jackson had to jump out a White House window to avoid being crushed by the masses that came to party. The common man had spoken. The Age of Jackson had begun.