This is a list of electors (members of the Electoral College) who cast ballots to elect the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States in the 1824 presidential election.[1] [2]
Of the 261 electoral votes cast, 99 went to Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, 84 to John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, 41 to William H. Crawford of Georgia, and 37 to Henry Clay of Kentucky. All were members of the Democratic-Republican Party.[3] [4]
For the second time in United States history, no presidential candidate won a majority of the Electoral College, throwing the race to a contingent election in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Vice presidential candidate John C. Calhoun did win a majority in the Electoral College and did not face a similar contingent election in the U.S. Senate.) While Andrew Jackson had led in both the popular and electoral vote, the House of Representatives voted to name John Quincy Adams president.[5] [6]
In the contingent election, seven states' House delegations voted for a candidate who had not won all or most of their state's electoral votes. Illinois, Louisiana, and Maryland each went for Jackson in the Electoral College, but Adams in the House. North Carolina gave all 15 of its electoral votes to Jackson, but its House delegation voted for Crawford. Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio all favored Clay in the Electoral College but Adams in the House. (The rules for contingent elections allowed only the top three in the electoral vote to advance, leaving Clay out. He threw his support to Adams, who later named Clay his secretary of state. Jackson partisans labeled this a "corrupt bargain.")[7] [8] [9]
Jackson's plurality was a result of the Three-fifths Compromise, which let slave states count 60% of its enslaved population in calculating its House representation, thus inflating their share of Electoral College votes. If only the free population of states had been counted, Adams would have edged Jackson 83 to 77.[10]
Unusually, two candidates — Jackson and Clay — received electoral votes for both president and vice president.
The two vice presidential votes for Martin Van Buren meant this Electoral College cast votes for the sixth (Adams), seventh (Jackson), and eighth (Van Buren) presidents. Jackson, angered at having been denied the 1824 election, ran again against Adams in 1828 and defeated him handily. He won reelection against Clay in 1832, with Van Buren as his running mate. Van Buren was then elected president in 1836 before losing reelection to William Henry Harrison in 1840.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Alabama. All 5 of Alabama's electors voted for Andrew Jackson for president and John C. Calhoun for vice president.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Connecticut. All 8 of Connecticut's electors voted for John Quincy Adams for president and Andrew Jackson for vice presidents.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Delaware. Two of Delaware's electors voted for William H. Crawford for president, while one voted for John Quincy Adams. For vice president, Henry Clay received two electoral votes — the only ones he received for vice president — while John C. Calhoun received one. There is no known record indicating which electors voted for which. However, a news account describing the three men's selection by the Delaware General Assembly listed Rowland as an Adams supporter, Tunnell as a Crawford supporter, and Caldwell as a Clay supporter.[11]
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Georgia. All 9 of Georgia's electors voted for William H. Crawford for president and Martin Van Buren for vice president. These were the only electoral votes Van Buren received.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Illinois. Two Illinois electors, Henry Eddy and Alexander Pope Field, voted for Andrew Jackson, while William Harrison voted for John Quincy Adams. (Harrison should not be confused with future president William Henry Harrison, who was an 1824 elector from Ohio.) All three voted for John C. Calhoun as vice president.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Indiana. All five Indiana electors voted for Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Kentucky. For president, Kentucky's 14 electors voted for Henry Clay. For vice president, they cast seven votes each for John C. Calhoun and Nathan Sanford. There is no known record indicating which electors voted for which.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Louisiana. Three Louisiana electors — Sebastian Hiriart, Pierre Lacoste, and Jean Baptiste Plauché — voted for Andrew Jackson for president. Two — William Nott and James H. Shepherd — voted for John Quincy Adams. All five voted for John C. Calhoun for vice president.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Maine. All 9 Maine electors cast ballots for John Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Maryland. Seven Maryland electors — William Brown, Dennis Claude, Thomas Hope, Samuel G. Osborn, Thomas Post, William Tyler, and George Winchester — voted for Andrew Jackson for president. Three — Henry Brawner, Littleton Dennis, and John C. Herbert — voted for John Quincy Adams. One, James Sangston, voted for William H. Crawford. For vice president, 10 of the 11 electors voted for John C. Calhoun, with the 11th choosing Andrew Jackson. There is no known record indicating which elector chose Jackson for vice president, though Herbert is described in contemporary news coverage as a Jackson/Calhoun supporter who was elected from an Adams-majority district as a result of two Adams candidates splitting the vote.[12] [13]
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Massachusetts. All 15 Massachusetts electors voted for John Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Mississippi. All three Mississippi electors voted for Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Missouri. All three Missouri electors voted for Henry Clay for president and Andrew Jackson for vice president.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in New Hampshire. For president, all 8 New Hampshire electors voted for John Quincy Adams. For vice president, seven voted for John C. Calhoun while one voted for Andrew Jackson. There is no known record indicating which elector chose Jackson for vice president.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in New Jersey. All 8 New Jersey electors voted for Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in New York. For president, New York's electors cast 26 votes for John Quincy Adams, 5 votes for William H. Crawford, 4 votes for Henry Clay, and 1 vote for Andrew Jackson. For vice president, they cast 29 votes for John C. Calhoun and 7 for Nathan Sanford. (There were two different electors named Isaac Sutherland — one from Dutchess County and one from Genesee County.
There is no known record indicating which electors voted for which candidate in either race, but in news coverage before the vote, the men's preferences were listed as follows: Adams supporters (25): Blanvelt, Coffin, Coon, Clark Crandall, Edward Crandall, Dorr, James Drake, John Drake, Hicks, Lawyer, Mooers, Patterson, Sage, Savage, Azariah Smith, Benjamin Smith, Burnham, St. John, Stagg, Strong, Sutherland (Dutchess), Sutherland (Genesee), Townsend, Walsh, and Willet; Clay supporters (7): Barker, Bentley, Brooks, Porter, Russell, Sibley, and Thompson; Crawford supporters (4): Bailey, Cady, Lansing, and Samuel Smith.[14]
Most records list Ebenezer Sage and Timothy H. Porter as electors, but contemporary news reports say neither one appeared on the day of the state's Electoral College vote. Sage sent a letter stating that "through age and ill health, he was unable to attend" the proceedings.[15] The other electors selected John Taylor and William Mann to fill their positions, and the two men cast votes in Sage's and Taylor's place.[16] [17] [18]
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in North Carolina. All 15 North Carolina electors voted for Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Ohio. All 16 Ohio electors voted for Henry Clay and Nathan Sanford.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania electors cast 28 votes for Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun. (One elector, Isaac Smith, was unable to make the vote due to illness; his fellow electors selected James Clarke to vote in his place.)
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Rhode Island. For president, all four Rhode Island electors voted for John Quincy Adams. For vice president, three electors voted for John C. Calhoun and the fourth did not cast a ballot. There is no record of which elector that was.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in South Carolina. All 11 South Carolina electors voted for Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Tennessee. All 11 Tennessee electors voted for Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Vermont. Vermont's 7 electors voted for John Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun.
See main article: 1824 United States presidential election in Virginia. All 24 Virginia electors voted for William H. Crawford for president and Nathaniel Macon for vice president. These were the only votes Macon received.