Presidential Election of 1828

Summary

The Presidential Election of 1828 saw Andrew Jackson elected to the White House while accelerating organized party competition. Martin Van Buren built a nationwide political network that framed Jackson as “Old Hickory,” a people’s candidate who was blocked from winning the presidency in 1824 due to a “Corrupt Bargain.” John Quincy Adams’s support for a strong federal role, internal improvements, the Bank of the United States, and protective tariffs fueled opposition, especially in the South and West. The campaign relied heavily on personal attacks. Jackson won 56% to 44% in the popular vote and 178 to 83 in the Electoral College. Jackson’s victory opened the “Age of Jackson” by creating a new dynamic between politicians and elected officials, known as “Jacksonian Democracy.”

Facts

• Dates: October 31–December 2, 1828.
• Tickets:
  • National Republican: John Quincy Adams (President), Richard Rush (Vice President).
  • Democrat: Andrew Jackson (President), John C. Calhoun (Vice President).
• Outcome: Jackson was elected President, while Calhoun was elected Vice President.
• Part of: United States Presidential Elections, Jackson Administration.
• Era: Expansion and Reform, Age of Jackson.

Key Details

• Westward Expansion: The Election of 1828 shifted political influence toward western voters and their priorities.
• Jackson’s Appeal:
  • Martin Van Buren organized a national party network to help secure Jackson’s victory.
  • Jackson’s supporters claimed that elites denied Jackson the presidency in 1824.
  • The campaign emphasized “Old Hickory’s” personal background, exploits, and values over detailed policy positions.
  • Jackson’s supporters promised “rotation in office,” which expanded the Spoils System.
  • Van Buren presented Jackson as a “common man” who understood the everyday needs and issues of Americans.
• Adams’s Shortcomings:
  • Adams supported stronger federal leadership, which concerned western and southern voters.
  • Adams backed federal protection of Native American Indian lands to uphold treaty rights, which upset many western supporters of Jackson.
  • Southern leaders opposed Adams’ programs and increasingly emphasized States’ Rights to protect slavery.
  • Southern planters denounced the 1828 Tariff as the “Tariff of Abominations.”

Significance

The Presidential Election of 1828 is important to American History because it accelerated the transition to mass party politics by pairing a disciplined national organization with a persuasive public narrative. It strengthened the presidency by making popular campaigning and party loyalty central to executive power. The election also sharpened sectional conflict by tying federal authority, tariffs, banking policy, and States’ Rights to economic interests and the defense of slavery, which drove most of the political debate through the 1830s.

History

Van Buren’s Political Machine

The Presidential Election of 1828 marked a turning point in U.S. politics because it put Andrew Jackson in the White House and shifted national political influence toward the western states and territories.

• Jackson’s election contributed to a major rise in the power and public role of the presidency.
• Martin Van Buren built an early political party machine to organize voters and win the election. His organization used coordinated messaging, alliances, and local political networks to mobilize support.
• The outcome of the election showed how organized parties could shape outcomes more effectively than loose personal alliances.

The Election of 1824 and the Collapse of One-Party Unity

The conflict that shaped the 1828 Election grew out of the electoral deadlock of 1824. During that election, the Democratic-Republican Party fractured after years of operating without a major national rival.

In 1824, party leaders failed to unite behind a successor to President James Monroe. Regional factions formed and competed for control of national politics.

• Southern agricultural interests generally supported Treasury Secretary William H. Crawford.
• Northern merchants and manufacturers gave limited support to Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.
• Speaker of the House Henry Clay sought support by appealing to settlers in newer western territories with his American System.

Western voters chose Andrew Jackson instead of Henry Clay as their main political champion. Jackson was a hero of the War of 1812, served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee, and built a strong public identity as an outsider.

• Jackson presented himself as a defender of the poor and an opponent of wealth and privilege.
• His political style concerned some of his early supporters who had expected him to follow in the model of traditional elite leadership.
• Jackson wanted his campaign to draw support beyond a single region or social class.

The “Corrupt Bargain”

In the 1824 Presidential Election, Jackson won the popular vote and had the most electoral votes, but did not earn the majority in the Electoral College, which was required to secure the presidency.

• The Constitution required the House of Representatives to decide the election when no candidate won an electoral majority.
• Jackson’s supporters claimed the popular vote gave him a clear mandate to be elected by the House.
• The House had to choose between the top three finishers, who were Adams, Jackson, and Crawford.

Henry Clay, who was eliminated after finishing fourth, rejected Jackson’s claims of a mandate and pushed House members to support John Quincy Adams.

• The House elected Adams by a single vote, creating suspicion among Jackson’s supporters.
• After the House vote, Adams appointed Clay as Secretary of State.
• Jackson’s supporters described the appointment as proof of a “Corrupt Bargain” that blocked Jackson, whom they called the “legitimate” winner.

Democratic-Republican Party Division

The Corrupt Bargain deepened divisions and split the Democratic-Republican Party beyond repair.

• Supporters of Adams adopted the name National Republican Party, which operated from 1825 to 1833.
• Supporters of Jackson kept the older party name, called it the “Democratic Party,” and built a competing national organization.
• The split set the stage for the party competition and organized campaigning that shaped the 1828 Presidential Election.

Van Buren’s Effort to Boost Jackson and Discredit Adams

Martin Van Buren of New York played a central role in organizing Andrew Jackson’s rise to national power. He led a deliberate, four-year effort to weaken the Adams Administration and organized a national network that promoted Jackson everywhere as the champion of the “common man.”

• Van Buren pushed the message that “Old Hickory” represented frontier honesty and popular rule.
• The narrative claimed wealthy and well-connected leaders cheated Jackson and his supporters in 1824.

Van Buren directed the placement of pro-Jackson editors in newspapers across the country.

• Duff Green, editor of the Washington-based Telegraph, repeatedly questioned Adams’ honesty and patriotism.
• Jackson’s supporters used coordinated newspaper attacks to shape public opinion and maintain pressure on Adams.

Adams’ Public Image

Adams presented himself as being sophisticated, educated, and experienced in international affairs. Jackson’s supporters carried out character attacks that focused on these character traits and his elite background as the son of John Adams.

• Many voters interpreted Adams’ stubbornness and argumentative nature as arrogance.
• Critics described him as being out of touch with ordinary voters.

Adams rejected political factionalism and the Spoils System, refusing to reward allies with government jobs. He generally tried to appoint the most capable officials for public service instead of building a loyal political team. He was known to keep people in office even when they openly opposed him.

Adams’s Unpopular Policies

Adams promoted a strong federal role in national leadership that Van Buren used against him to create support for Jackson in three main areas:

Control of Federal Lands: 

• Adams supported federal control of public lands to encourage planned settlement.
• Adams backed federal protection of Indian lands to support treaty rights.

Jackson’s western supporters rejected these ideas because they wanted easier access to land and fewer federal limits.

Expanded Education and Infrastructure:

• Adams proposed a national university and a broader federal role in education.
• He supported scientific and artistic institutions as part of national development.
• Adams proposed broad public works and infrastructure programs.

Some southern elites feared these programs because they associated strong federal power with threats to slavery.

Bank of the United States and Protective Tariffs:

• Adams supported the Bank of the United States, which angered debtors and business rivals who opposed the bank.
• Adams supported high tariffs to encourage U.S. manufacturing and economic development.

Southern planters opposed the tariff because European retaliation threatened their export markets. Critics labeled the tariff of 1828 the “Tariff of Abominations.”

Van Buren’s Strategy in the 1828 Election

Martin Van Buren helped shape the Jacksonian campaign’s public message and strategy, portraying him as:

• Self-made, closely tied to ordinary rural voters.
• Plainspoken and passionate
• Agrarian and democratic in contrast to elite leaders, like Adams.
• Strict on States’ Rights.

Jackson avoided taking detailed positions on complex legal and economic issues. He campaigned primarily on his reputation and criticism of Adams.

Escalating Personal Attacks

Adams’s supporters rejected accusations that he acted as “corrupt,” “aristocratic,” and “undemocratic.” In return, they attacked Jackson, calling him “vicious” and “barbaric,” especially due to his reputation for committing atrocities against Indians.

• The campaign included attacks on Jackson’s wife, Rachel, over allegations of bigamy during the early years of her marriage to Jackson.
• Jackson’s supporters responded by accusing Adams of misusing federal funds and spending public money on personal luxury.

Jackson’s Promise to Expand the Spoils System

Jackson offered campaign promises that appealed to many voters, most importantly that he would make extensive use of the Spoils System.

• Jackson argued that any decent man with a basic education could perform most government jobs.
• He promised to remove the appointees of John Quincy Adams from office.
• Jackson planned to replace Adams’ appointees with his loyal supporters.
• William Marcy summarized the idea by saying, “To the victor belong the spoils!”

Van Buren resigned from the U.S. Senate to run for Governor of New York to secure New York’s electoral support for Jackson.

Outcome

Jackson’s Democratic Party built a political organization and a public story that helped carry Jackson to victory in 1828. Jackson defeated John Quincy Adams by a wide margin in the election of 1828.

• Jackson won 56% of the popular vote, and Adams won 44%.
• Jackson won 178 electoral votes, and Adams won 83 electoral votes.

The Democratic Party used similar tactics to win five of the next seven Presidential Elections.

AP US History

Alignment

The Presidential Election of 1828 is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:

• The Rise of Mass Democracy (1824–1840)

Terms

Electoral College — The body that meets every four years to elect the President and Vice President of the United States, in a process established by Article II of the Constitution. Each State in the Union has delegates, or Electors, who cast ballots for both offices. The number of Electors for each state is determined by the number of members it has in the two houses of Congress. Today, most Electors are required to cast their votes for the candidates who win their state’s popular vote.

First Party System — The name given to the nation’s first system of political parties, in which the Federalist Party clashed with the Democratic-Republican Party over how to protect the United States during the Federalist Era, when the French Revolution (1789–1799) threatened stability in Europe. The rivalry between the two parties contributed to the outbreak of the War of 1812 with Britain. It was followed by the Second Party System in the 1830s.

Federalist Party — Established by Alexander Hamilton in 1791, it was the first political party in the United States. Federalists were advocates of a strong national government and a broad interpretation of powers granted to the Federal Government by the United States Constitution. The party declined in the early 19th Century due to internal divisions, opposition to the War of 1812, and a shift in public opinion towards their rivals, the Democratic-Republicans.

Democratic-Republican Party — Founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 1972, it opposed the Federalist Party and was the second political party in the United States. The Democratic-Republicans favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution, a weak central government, and strong state governments. The party split in the mid-1820s, and a faction that emerged from it exists today as the modern Democratic Party.

Second Party System — The Second Party System refers to the competitive electoral politics that emerged in the 1830s and reached maturity by the election of 1840. It was characterized by close organizational and electoral competition between two major parties, the use of nominating conventions, and the formalization of party names. The system also involved party loyalty reinforced through the Spoils System. 

National Republican Party — The National Republican Party was a designation adopted by supporters of John Quincy Adams during the 1824 Presidential Election and the 1828 Presidential Election. Known for support of Henry Clay’s American System and opposition to Andrew Jackson, the party rose after the collapse of the First Party System and before the formation of the Second Party System. Afterward, it evolved into the Whig Party. 

Democratic Party — Founded in 1800 as the Democratic-Republican Party by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, it became a dominant force in U.S. politics by emphasizing limited Federal Government power, a narrow reading of the U.S. Constitution, and westward expansion that favored white settlers. Under President Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, it built a national coalition that dominated national politics until 1860.

Jacksonian Democracy — Jacksonian Democracy refers to a shift in political power that took place starting in the late 1820s, when Andrew Jackson and his supporters moved their focus from appealing to wealthy elites to working-class Americans, including farmers and laborers. The ideology embraced westward expansion, called for the expansion of voting rights, and opposed the National Bank. It placed the “common man” at the center of American politics and established the Democratic Party as the “party of the people.”

Age of Jackson (1829–1857) — The Age of Jackson was an era that promoted Manifest Destiny and westward expansion, supported the expansion of voting rights for white males, embraced political patronage through the Spoils System, and followed a strict interpretation of the United States Constitution. It was highlighted by the clash between the Democratic Party and the Whig Party, also known as the Second Party System. The Presidents during this era were Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and James K. Polk. Key events were the Nullification Crisis (1832–1833), the Annexation of Texas (1845), and the Mexican-American War (1846–1848).