Adams ran for the presidency against Monroe. However, this was the Era of Good Feelings and Monroe was very popular with the public. In 1824, five men ran for Presidency. John C. Calhoun dropped out to be vice-president (McGrady, 2004). Since everyone was from the same party, there were no presidential tickets in this election. They voted for each separately. Jackson won the most votes, followed by Adams, William Crawford and Henry Clay. Still, Jackson did not have a majority, so the election was sent to the House of Representatives.

The 12th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States requires that if no candidate for president receives a majority, the election is decided by the House of Representatives from among the three candidates with the highest electoral votes (Encarta, 2004).

Since only the top three candidates were looked at, Clay was eliminated. Because Clay believed he would face Jackson in 1828 for the presidency, he did not want him to already be in office when 1828 rolled around. Thus, he supported Adams in the election. After Adams won, he made Clay his Secretary of State, which had Jackson supporters screaming that a "Corrupt Bargain" had been made.

Clay's support gave Adams the necessary majority, and he was elected president with John C. Calhoun as his vice president. The cry of "Corrupt Bargain" was to haunt Adams throughout his presidency, and it contributed to his defeat in 1828 (Encarta, 2004).

According to U.S.-History.com (2004), "Jackson clearly expected to win, figuring that the House would act to confirm his strong showing. However, Clay, as Speaker of the House, used his influence to sway the vote to Adams. Although they were not close, Clay knew that he and Adams shared a common political philosophy; Clay also knew that Jackson was an avowed opponent...

Clay also was not interested in doing anything to further the career of the hero of New Orleans, his main rival in the West."
The presidential election of 1824 is seen as a watershed in American politics. The demise of the Federalist Party led to a group of candidates who were all Democratic-Republicans. The result was the end of the Congressional Caucus system for nominating candidates, and ultimately, the development of a new two-party system in the United States.

In the election, Andrew Jackson won much of both the popular and electoral vote. But John Quincy Adams won the title of president. Four crucial elements of our election system were demonstrated in the election of 1824: the nomination of candidates, the popular election of electors, the Electoral College, and the election of the president in the House when no candidate receives a majority in the Electoral College.