The End of the One-Party System in America: The Election of 1824

In 1824 Andrew Jackson received both the most popular votes and the most electoral votes in the presidential election. However, since he failed to win a majority of the latter, the decision went to Congress. There, his nemesis, House Speaker Henry Clay used his influence to get John Quincy Adams elected instead of Jackson, for which President Adams rewarded him with the Secretary of State position in a ‘corrupt bargain’. The furious Jackson came back to defeat Adams in the 1828 election, then founded the Democratic Party in 1832, the party that occupies the White House today.