Second Party System
The United States presidential election in 1824 did not have any political parties. There were four main candidates for president: Henry Clay, William Crawford, Andrew Jackson, and John Quincy Adams. At the end of the race, none of the candidates had enough votes in the electoral college to win, and the United States House of Representatives had to choose the winner. The three final candidates were Adams, Crawford, and Jackson. Even though Clay was not one of these finalists, he was the Speaker of the House, and it was his job to negotiate who would become president. Jackson had the most popular votes (votes cast by citizens) and the most electoral votes (votes cast by the electoral college), but was not elected. Instead, John Quincy Adams was elected president. He immediately chose Clay to be his Secretary of State.