The Election of 1828

---

Also on This Site The History of the Presidential Election

The presidential election of 1828 represented a changing of the guard in American politics: the arrival of the Democratic Party.

The President at the time, John Quincy Adams, was running for re-election. His opponent, in a rematch, was Andrew Jackson. Jackson had won more popular votes and more electoral votes in the previous election, but the electoral total wasn't a majority and so the election had gone into the House of Representatives, from which Adams had emerged victorious.

Jackson remained bitter for the entire four years of Adams's presidency and vowed to get political revenge. That he did, definitely. Building on his reputation as a military hero, Jackson stressed that he was from the "newer" part of the country and, therefore, understood more about what "the common man" wanted from government. Adams knew that he could count on the support of big business and wealthy voters.

John C. Calhoun, Adams's vice-president, jumped the political ship and ran as Jackson's running mate. The result was a landslide, with Adams carrying the Northeast and Jackson everything else.