what was the controversy surrounding the election of 1824
Corrupt bargain After the votes were counted in the U.S. presidential election of 1824, no candidate had received the majority needed of the Presidential Electoral votes (although Andrew Jackson had the most[1]), thereby putting the outcome in the hands of the House of Representatives. There were four candidates on the ballot: John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, and William H. Crawford. Following the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment, however, only the top three candidates in the electoral vote were admitted as candidates, leaving out Henry Clay. To the surprise of many, the House elected John Quincy Adams over rival Andrew Jackson. It was widely believed that Clay, the Speaker of the House at the time, convinced Congress to elect Adams, who then made Clay his Secretary of State. Jackson's supporters denounced this as a "corrupt bargain."[2][3] The "corrupt bargain" that placed Adams in the White House and Clay in the State Department launched a four-year campaign of revenge by the friends of Andrew Jackson. Claiming the people had been cheated of their choice, Jacksonians attacked the Adams administration at every turn as illegitimate and tainted by aristocracy and corruption. Adams aided his own defeat by failing to rein in the pork barrel frenzy sparked by the General Survey Act. Jackson's attack on the national blueprint put forward by Adams and Clay won support from Old Republicans and market liberals, the latter of which increasingly argued that Congressional involvement in internal improvements was an open invitation to special interests and political logrolling.[4]
United States Congress The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the Federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
United States Congress The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Article One of the United States Constitution The purpose of this clause is twofold. First, it makes clear the division of responsibility with respect to the conduct of the election of federal Senators and Representatives. That responsibility lies primarily with the states and secondarily with Congress. Second, the clause lodges the power to regulate elections in the respective legislative branches of the states and the federal government, not with the executive or judicial.[45][46] As authorized by this clause, Congress has set a uniform date for federal elections: the Tuesday following the first Monday in November.[47]