Presidential Election of 1828

THE ELECTION OF 1828 was a rematch of the 1824 presidential election, pitting Andrew Jackson against John Quincy Adams. Jackson's campaign brought party organization to new levels by taking the campaign to the common man. This election was also the first time that the parties brought questions about the candidates' behavior into the campaign. Jackson's campaign portrayed Jackson as a common man and Adams as an elitist.

Jackson won the election, which had the highest percentage of voter turnout of any presidential election to that point. In 1824, although Jackson had the largest number of electoral votes of any candidate, he lost the election to Adams. The reason for this was that none of the four candidates had a majority of the electoral votes, thus forcing the election into the hands of Congress, which selected Adams. Although it was never proven, Jackson claimed that Congress voted for Adams because of a deal with Henry Clay, who had placed fourth in the election. Rumors of the “corrupt deal” only intensified when Adams appointed Clay secretary of state. Jackson and his supporters believed that Jackson had been cheated out of the presidency, and almost immediately set about campaigning for the 1828 election.

Both candidates left public campaigning to others. Adams did so in keeping with the tradition set by George Washington. Jackson campaigned in private, making no public appearances in support of his quest to be president. The campaign became more about the personalities of the candidates than about the issues.

Adams's views on the issues were known as he was the current president, and in the case of Jackson, he and his people avoided talking about them. But even if the issues of substance had been discussed, there was not a big difference between the stances of the two candidates. The Jacksonians used the “corrupt bargain” of the 1824 election as a symbol of how the aristocrats had taken control of the government away from the common man. When Adams purchased an ivory chess set and a billiard table with his own money for the White House, he was attacked for spending public money on luxuries and gambling. Efforts by his people to set the record straight were ignored. The Jacksonians insisted that Adams was a monarchist who did not trust the people to rule themselves and believed that government should be in the hands of the few.

In 1828, more than 1 million votes were cast, the highest turnout of any presidential election up to that time.

Adams's supporters fought back, pointing to Jackson's inexperience in politics and what they called his reckless lifestyle. Pointing to his involvement in duels, [Page 568]gambling, brawls, and his well-known bad temper, they said that these were not qualities of a president.

In particular, they criticized Jackson's ordering executions during the War of 1812. Six militiamen led a group of soldiers who deserted their unit (during a time of war), claiming that their enlistments were up. While most of the soldiers were fined and dishonorably discharged, the leaders were executed. Adams's advocates used the story to portray Jackson as a murderer who had no compassion for the soldiers. Like so many of the events during this election, only some of the facts were used to construct a story that made Jackson look bad. Jackson's reputation as the hero of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 was hard to overcome. One way to attack Jackson was to try to get him to lose his temper in public. Jackson resented the attacks on his character, especially on his war record, and refused to give in to this tactic.

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