Why did the Jacksonian charge john Quincy adams and henry clay with striking a “corrupt bargain” in 1824?
The Election of 1824 was very close in the Electoral College (they didn’t start counting popular votes until 1828) and Adams, Jackson, William Crawford and Henry Clay split up the votes. Adams, Jackson and Crawford had the three highest vote totals, so their ballots were delivered to the House of Representatives to decide the tie. A candidate has to have a clear majority. If there are a total of 300 votes in the Electoral College, and it is divided between three candidates, one with 125, one with 100 and one with 75, the House of Representatives must confirm the vote totals, and then vote and whoever should receive at least one more than half of the votes, that person would be the next President. Clay had come fourth, so his electoral votes were not a concern of the House, and Crawford was seriously ill, in fact he died shortly after this, but Henry Clay was the Speaker of the House, giving him a lot of influence over the decision. As it happened John Quincy Adams was chosen over Andre
