In 1824 , Andrew Jackson found himself in a confusing situation : He won both the popular voteandgot the most vote in the electoral college , but lose the election anyway .
That year , there were four main contenders for Chief Executive , all from the popular - Republican party : Secretary of State John Quincy Adams , Secretary of the Treasury William Harris Crawford , Speaker of the House Henry Clay , and Tennessee Senator Andrew Jackson .
At the time , a candidate needed131 electoral college votesto win the presidency . After all the balloting were counted , Jackson had received99 votesto John Quincy Adams ’s 84 . The remaining votes were split between Crawford and Clay—41 and 37 respectively .
Though Jackson clearly obtain the most voter turnout — both pop and electoral — he did n’t arrive at that magic 131 number . Because no one did , the election waskicked to the House of Representatives . According to the 12th Amendment , which refined the process of vote for the president and vice president , the House could only consider the top three prospect , which meant Clay was out .
And that ’s when thing got interesting . Clay did n’t particularly handle for John Quincy Adams , but we know the two of themmet privatelybefore the House vote . It ’s since been alleged that the duet made what is now know as a “ Corrupt Bargain”—Clay prognosticate to crop behind the scenes to get the House vote to go Adams ’s fashion , and in restoration , Adams assure Clay the Secretary of State locating .
Both humanity denied making such a deal , but the validation may have been in the pud . stiff began actively campaigning for Adams , go hard to turn his right to vote into votes for the latter . In the end , Adams deport 13 states , Jackson took seven , and Crawford four . As the results were announced , there was so much booing , hissing , and ecumenical uproar from the public galleries in the House that the Speaker of the House — Henry Clay — had them all bewilder out .
Jackson eventually had his revenge , though . In the 1828 election , hehandily defeatedthe officeholder John Quincy Adams , and served two terms to Adams ’s one .
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A version of this level to begin with ran in 2016 ; it has been update for 2024 .
