Recap of the Popular Vote
Eighteen of the 24 states chose their Presidential Electors by popular vote in 1824. They divided their votes among the four candidates: Jackson 84, Adams 48, Clay 33, and Crawford 25. Of the four, Jackson and Adams had performed much better than expected, and the clear loser was Crawford.
Choosing the Presidential Electors by the Legislatures
Six states chose their Presidential Electors through their legislatures. Of the six, Crawford was expected to win GA and NY (45 electoral votes). Jackson was expected to win LA and SC (16 electoral votes). Adams was expected to win VT (7 electoral votes). Clay was not expected to win any additional votes. Some of these states were being hotly contested, to be sure. The last state was Delaware, whose legislature was controlled by the Federalists and seemed totally up for grabs (3 electoral votes).
The biggest story was in New York. There, Martin Van Buren headed the Crawford campaign. The Adams faction, buoyed by the strong finishes by JQA, outmaneuvered Van Buren and managed to obtain 25 of the 36 electoral votes. Crawford won six Electors to four for Clay and one for Jackson.
In Louisiana, where Jackson was expected to win all Electors, the legislature decided to give him three to two for Adams.
The only other story was in Delaware. There, the legislature divided the Electors among thre
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Recap of the Popular Vote
Eighteen of the 24 states chose their Presidential Electors by popular vote in 1824. They divided their votes among the four candidates: Jackson 84, Adams 48, Clay 33, and Crawford 25. Of the four, Jackson and Adams had performed much better than expected, and the clear loser was Crawford.
Choosing the Presidential Electors by the Legislatures
Six states chose their Presidential Electors through their legislatures. Of the six, Crawford was expected to win GA and NY (45 electoral votes). Jackson was expected to win LA and SC (16 electoral votes). Adams was expected to win VT (7 electoral votes). Clay was not expected to win any additional votes. Some of these states were being hotly contested, to be sure. The last state was Delaware, whose legislature was controlled by the Federalists and seemed totally up for grabs (3 electoral votes).
The biggest story was in New York. There, Martin Van Buren headed the Crawford campaign. The Adams faction, buoyed by the strong finishes by JQA, outmaneuvered Van Buren and managed to obtain 25 of the 36 electoral votes. Crawford won six Electors to four for Clay and one for Jackson.
In Louisiana, where Jackson was expected to win all Electors, the legislature decided to give him three to two for Adams.
The only other story was in Delaware. There, the legislature divided the Electors among three candidates, with one for Adams, one for Crawford, and one for Clay. [Note: the Clay Elector ended up voting for Crawford.]
The result of the legislative choices was dramatically different from what had been expected. Adams won 35 of the 71 Electors available. Crawford, who had expected 45 of the 71, ended up with only 16 - one more than Jackson. Clay, who had not expected any, won five.
Casting the Electoral Vote
The Presidential Electors met in the state capitols on 12/1/1824 to cast the electoral votes. With the increased interest in the campaign, local newspapers carried more information than in 1816 or 1820. The first item of interest came in New York State. There, one Crawford Elector failed to appear, and the Adams majority filled the vacancy with another Adams Elector. The only other surprise came in Delaware, where the Clay Elector voted for Crawford. The result was Jackson-99, Adams-84, Crawford-41, and Clay-37.
John C. Calhoun was elected Vice President. He won 182 electoral votes to 78 for five others. All Jackson Electors voted for Calhoun, along with 74 of the 84 Adams Electors, seven Clay Electors, and two Crawford Electors. Nathan Sanford placed second with 30 votes - 27 from Clay Electors and three from Crawford Electors. Sanford had been Clay's running mate, but 10 Clay Electors voted for Jackson or Calhoun for VP. Nathaniel Macon placed third with the 24 votes of Virginia; Crawford's Electors scattered his vote among six different VP candidates. Jackson won 13 votes for VP (nine from Adams Electors), and Van Buren won the nine votes of Georgia. Clay received two votes from Crawford Electors in Delaware, and one Elector in Rhode Island abstained from voting for VP.
Joint Session of Congress
Congress assembled in joint session at noon on 2/9/1825 to count the electoral votes. While it was customary for many members of Congress to miss these joint sessions, only one member of the House was absent in 1825. PPT Gaillard sat in the seat of the Speaker of the House, with Clay to his left. The certificates of vote were read from the states, beginning with New Hampshire. When finished, the tellers made a table showing the number of votes cast for each candidate for president and vice president. PPT Gaillard "declared that no person had received a majority of the votes given for President," and that the U.S. House would need to choose from among Jackson, Adams, and Crawford. He declared Calhoun to be the VP-elect. At that time, the Senators left the chamber so the House could proceed with the Contingent Election.
Popular Vote of 1824
Contingent Election of 1825
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