Omar Bennett
The corrupt bargain is a term used to describe three events in American political history: the 1824 United States presidential election, the Compromise of 1877, and Gerald Ford's 1974 pardon of Richard Nixon. In all three cases, the president elevated served a single term and did not get re-elected. The 1824 election, also known as the corrupt bargain of 1824, is particularly notable as it involved a backdoor deal for the U.S. presidency that violated the principle of the Constitution that the House of Representatives should decide the president when no candidate wins the majority of the Electoral College. In this case, Andrew Jackson received the most popular and electoral votes but did not have enough to win the presidency, so the House of Representatives, led by Henry Clay, voted for John Quincy Adams, who made Clay his Secretary of State. This led to widespread accusations of a corrupt bargain and a four-year campaign of revenge by Jackson and his supporters, resulting in Jackson's victory in the 1828 election.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Principle violated | Will of the people |
| Event | 1824 United States presidential election |
| People involved | Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson |
| Outcome | Adams elected president, Clay appointed Secretary of State |
| Result | Jackson's supporters denounced the outcome as a "corrupt bargain" |
| Long-term result | Jackson's landslide victory in the 1828 election |
| Other "corrupt bargains" | Compromise of 1877, Gerald Ford's 1974 pardon of Richard Nixon |
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What You'll Learn
The 1824 election
The election was significant for several reasons. Firstly, it marked the rise of Jacksonian democracy and the
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Henry Clay's role
The "corrupt bargain" refers to an accusation made by Andrew Jackson and his supporters regarding the 1824 United States presidential election. Jackson claimed that Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams conspired to overturn the will of the people.
Henry Clay was the Speaker of the House of Representatives and a presidential candidate in the 1824 election. Clay had led some of the strongest attacks against Jackson during the election. Clay, who had the fewest electoral votes, was eliminated from the deliberation. However, as Speaker of the House, he played a crucial role in determining the election's outcome.
Clay is believed to have offered a deal to both Adams and Jackson—he would support whoever appointed him as Secretary of State. Jackson refused, and Clay made the deal with Adams. Clay then lobbied members of Congress to support Adams, who ultimately won the election by a one-vote margin. Soon after, Adams appointed Clay as his Secretary of State.
The "corrupt bargain" accusation damaged Clay's political reputation. Jackson and his supporters claimed that Clay had sold his influence and that the Adams-Clay alliance represented a corrupt system where elites pursued their interests without regard for the will of the people. The accusation helped Jackson's campaign for the 1828 election, which he won in a landslide.
The 1824 election marked a shift in American politics, with Jackson's victory in 1828 ushering in the concept of Jacksonian democracy and the formation of the Democratic Party. The election also signalled the collapse of the Republican-Federalist political framework, as no candidate ran as a Federalist.
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John Quincy Adams' victory
John Quincy Adams was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He was the son of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and First Lady Abigail Adams.
Adams' victory in the 1824 election was a result of a ""corrupt bargain"" between himself and Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Andrew Jackson had won the most popular and electoral votes but failed to receive a majority, so the House of Representatives decided the election. Clay, as the candidate with the fewest electoral votes, was eliminated from the deliberation. However, as Speaker of the House, he played a crucial role in determining the outcome.
Clay offered to support whichever of the remaining candidates, Adams or Jackson, appointed him as Secretary of State. Jackson refused, but Adams agreed, and Clay threw his support behind Adams, convincing enough states to switch their votes and give Adams the election. Adams then appointed Clay as his Secretary of State.
Jackson and his supporters denounced the outcome as a "corrupt bargain," claiming that the will of the people had been overturned. Jackson's anger and his supporters' resentment fueled a campaign of revenge, which ultimately helped Jackson win the 1828 election in a landslide.
John Quincy Adams had a long diplomatic and political career before becoming president. He served as an ambassador, a member of Congress, and as Secretary of State under President Monroe. Historians generally rank Adams as an average president, as he had an ambitious agenda but struggled to get it passed by Congress. However, they praise his strong stance against slavery and his fight for the rights of women and Native Americans. Adams is also recognised for his intellectual ability and prose style.
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Andrew Jackson's revenge
In the 1824 election, four candidates ran for president, but none received a majority of the votes. Andrew Jackson had the most popular votes and electoral votes, but the election was ultimately decided by the House of Representatives, as dictated by the 12th Amendment of the United States Constitution. Henry Clay, as Speaker of the House and the candidate with the fewest electoral votes, was eliminated from the deliberation. However, he became the most crucial player in determining the election's outcome. Clay offered to support Jackson in return for the position of secretary of state in Jackson's administration. When Jackson refused, Clay allegedly made the same offer to Adams, who accepted. Adams won the election by a one-vote margin, and he appointed Clay as his secretary of state.
Jackson was furious about the outcome of the election and launched a four-year campaign for revenge. He and his supporters denounced the Adams administration as illegitimate and tainted by aristocracy and corruption. Jackson's campaign gained significant support, and he won the 1828 election in a landslide victory, becoming the first president to represent the Democratic Party. Jackson's victory marked the genesis of modern political parties and the concept of Jacksonian Democracy, which emphasized a more egalitarian government.
Andrew Jackson was known for his fierce temperament and often resorted to violence to resolve conflicts. He was involved in duels, brawls, and executions, which only added to his popularity among his supporters, who saw him as a defender of democracy. Jackson's presidency was marked by his expansion of executive power, which led to criticism and the formation of the Whig Party in opposition. Jackson's unpredictable mix of anger and calculated rage made him a formidable opponent, and he was known to use his temper strategically to intimidate others.
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The birth of Jacksonian Democracy
The "corrupt bargain" refers to an incident in the 1824 United States presidential election, where Henry Clay, Speaker of the House, voted for John Quincy Adams, who then made Clay his Secretary of State. Andrew Jackson, who had the most popular votes and electoral votes, denounced this as a "corrupt bargain", claiming that the people had been cheated of their choice. Jackson's supporters believed that congressional leaders had conspired to revive the caucus system, allowing Congress to determine the selection of the president.
Four years later, in 1828, Jackson won the election in a landslide, with a margin of 95 electoral votes. This victory brought about the concept of Jacksonian Democracy, which was the beginning of the modern Democratic Party. Jackson and his supporters sought to form a more egalitarian government, though these concerns were not extended to people of colour. Jackson's expansion of democracy was exclusively limited to white men, and his supporters celebrated the extension of voting rights to adult white males. Jackson's supporters formed a loose coalition of diverse men and interests, united by the belief that Jackson was a magnificent candidate and that his election would benefit those who helped bring it about. Jackson's central message was that the nation had been corrupted by "special privilege", particularly by the policies of the Second Bank of the United States. Jackson believed that the proper road to reform lay in an absolute acceptance of majority rule as expressed through the democratic process.
Jacksonian Democracy was characterized by a democratic spirit, promoting the strength of the presidency and the executive branch, while seeking to broaden the public's participation in government. Jacksonians demanded elected, not appointed, judges, and rewrote many state constitutions to reflect these new values. They also favoured geographical expansionism, justifying it in terms of manifest destiny. Jacksonianism represented a provocative blending of the best and worst qualities of American society. While it was an authentic democratic movement with a principled egalitarian thrust, this powerful social critique was always cast for the benefit of white men. Jackson's beliefs took white men's egalitarian government to its racial limits and far beyond the class limits of the Founding Fathers' aristocratic republicanism. Jacksonianism was also notably punitive towards African Americans, abolitionists, and southern Indian tribes, brushing aside treaties protecting Native American rights.
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Frequently asked questions
A "corrupt bargain" is a backdoor deal for or involving the U.S. presidency.
In the 1824 United States presidential election, Andrew Jackson received the most popular and electoral votes but did not have enough to win the presidency. The election was then decided by the House of Representatives, where Speaker of the House Henry Clay voted for John Quincy Adams, who became president and named Clay as his secretary of state. Jackson and his supporters accused Clay and Adams of striking a "corrupt bargain", claiming that Clay had offered his support to Adams in return for the position of secretary of state.
Two other events have been labelled "corrupt bargains": the Compromise of 1877, in which Congress appointed a special Electoral Commission to settle a dispute over contested vote counts in three Southern states, and Gerald Ford's 1974 pardon of Richard Nixon, which some critics claimed was quid pro quo for Nixon's resignation, allowing Ford to become president.
