Corruption Abounds

Robert Bell

History 131

Dr. James

Corruption Abounds

 

The 10th presidential election for the United States, held in 1824 has been billed as the “Corrupt Bargain,” and naming John Quincy Adams the sixth President of the United States on on February 9, 1825.

 

During the 1824 election the federalist party offered no viable candidates to run for the highest political office the new union had to offer, however the Democratic-Republicans were able to field five noteworthy candidates to run for the presidency; John C. Calhoun, William H. Crawford, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson.

With many candidates being given the go ahead endorsement, in the months and years, leading up to the election William Crawford was the official candidate named by the congressional caucus.  Andrew Jackson received approval from the Tennessee legislature in 1822 and was given a second nod in 1824 by a mass public meeting held in Pennsylvania where John C. Calhoun was endorsed for the Vice Presidency.  Also in 1822 Henry Clay received his endorsement form the Kentucky legislature and Massachusetts gave the go ahead to John Quincy Adams in 1824.

There were several issues that fueled the flames of corruption during the 1824 election; it was the first election since the passage of the 12^th Amendment to the Constitution to have been decided by the House of Representatives, and the candidate who received the most electoral votes and also the popular vote, lost! Andrew Jackson had won both, but John Quincy Adams reined as high ruler of the United States after the election was final.

After the initial election, no candidate received the majority if the votes so it was thrown to the House of Representatives where it was decided by a vote from each state. Speaker of the house, Henry Clay, quickly jumped into the ring with John Quincy Adams due to similar views on some of the hot bed issues of the day such as; high tariffs, internal transportation improvements, and a strong national bank. Having a very influential voice in the house he swayed his supporters to vote for John Quincy Adams with an expectation that he would be named Secretary of State. His dealings worked as expected, John Quincy Adams won the presidency and he was named the Secretary of State, and also labeled “the Judas of the west” (Shi) by Jackson and charged that he entered into a “corrupt Bargain.”