Election of 1824

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2004-3-17

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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English.

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Four of the first five presidents
of the United States came from Virginia. They were George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James madison, and James Monroe. The
second president, John Adams, was a New Englander. In the national
election of eighteen-twenty-four, his son -- John Quincy Adams --
was one of four leading candidates for the presidency. And for the
first time, the west began to make its weight felt in national
politics. General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee got the most electoral
votes: ninety-nine. But he needed one-hundred thirty-one to win a
majority. The Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, was second with
eighty-four votes. Treasury Secretary William Crawford received
forty-one. And Henry Clay of Kentucky got thirty-seven.

VOICE TWO:

None of the candidates, however, got a majority of the votes. And
the decision went to the House of Representatives. The House voted
on only the three top candidates for president. The most powerful
man in Congress -- Henry Clay -- was not, therefore, a candidate.
But Clay's support would be the greatest help any of the candidates
could receive. All three wanted his support. Treasury Secretary
Crawford had suffered a serious illness before the election, and his
health was bad. Clay felt he could not support him for that reason.

VOICE ONE:

This left Adams and Jackson. Clay
did not agree with all of Adams' policies. But he did believe Adams
had the education and ability to be president. Clay did not like
Jackson, the hero of New Orleans during the war of 1812. He knew
Jackson was poorly educated and easy to anger. Clay did not think
Jackson would be a good president. So Clay decided to support Adams
for president. He said nothing about this for a time. Several of
Clay's friends visited Adams. They told him that Clay's supporters
in the west would be pleased if Adams, as president, named Clay as
Secretary of State. Adams told them that if the votes of the west
elected him president, he would put a westerner in his cabinet. But
he would not promise that the westerner would be Clay, or that the
cabinet job would be that of Secretary of State.

VOICE TWO:

Clay still had not said publicly which candidate he supported.
But it became known that his choice was Adams. Late in January, the
Philadelphia newspaper, "Columbian Observer," published an unsigned
letter. The letter charged that Clay and Adams had made a secret
agreement. Clay, the letter said, would give his support to Adams.
In exchange, Adams would name Clay his Secretary of State. Clay was
furious. He not only denied the charge, but offered to fight a duel
with the letter-writer, should his name be known. Much was made of
the charge that Clay had sold his vote to Adams. But no proof was
ever given. Clay demanded an investigation. But the man who accused
him in the newspaper letter refused to say anything. Clay was sure
Jackson's supporters were responsible.

VOICE ONE:

Snow was falling in Washington on the morning of February ninth,
the day that Congress would elect the president. At noon, members of
the Senate walked into the House of Representatives. The electoral
votes were counted, and it was announced officially that no
candidate had won. The Senators left, and the House began voting.
Each state had one vote for president. Adams was sure he would get
the votes of twelve states. Crawford had the votes of four and
Jackson, seven. New York was the question. Seventeen of the New York
congressmen were for Adams, and seventeen were opposed to him. Adams
needed just one of these opposition votes to get the vote of New
York and become president.

VOICE TWO:

One of those New Yorkers opposed to Adams was a rich old man who
represented the Albany area, Stephen van Rensselaer. Although van
Rensselaer had supported Crawford or Jackson, he really was not sure
now whom to support. Henry Clay had taken the old man into his
office that morning and talked to him. Daniel Webster also was
there. They both told the New York congressman that the safety of
the nation depended on the election of Adams as president. Clay and
Webster told the old man that his was the most important vote in the
whole Congress. . . That Stephen van Rensselaer would decide who
would be president. The old man's head was not too clear after
listening to Clay and Webster. He still did not know what to do.

VOICE ONE:

When the New York congressmen voted, van Rensselaer still was not
sure of his choice. And he put his head down on his desk and asked
God to help him make the right choice. After this short prayer, he
opened his eyes and saw on the floor at his feet a piece of paper
with Adams' name on it. Van Rensselaer picked it up and put it in
the ballot box as his vote. This gave Adams the vote of the state of
New York and made him president of the United States. A committee of
congressmen was sent to Mr. Adams' home to tell him of the vote. One
member of the committee described the Secretary of State: "Sweat
rolled down his face. He shook from head to foot and was so nervous
he could hardly stand to speak."

VOICE TWO:

Later in the evening, Adams had
control of himself. President Monroe gave a big party at the White
House. Adams was there. So was Jackson, and Clay. During the party,
Adams and Jackson met face to face. Jackson had his arm around a
young lady. "How do you do, Mr. Adams," said Jackson. "I give you my
left hand, for the right -- as you see -- is devoted to the fair. I
hope you are well, sir?" "Very well, sir," answered Adams, coolly.
"I hope General Jackson is well."

VOICE ONE:

Two days later, Adams told President Monroe that he had decided
to offer the job of Secretary of State to Clay. He said he was doing
so because of the western support he had received. Clay thought
deeply for a week about the offer. He asked a number of friends for
advice. Most of them urged him to take the job. They told him that a
man of the west was needed in the cabinet. And they said being
Secretary of State would greatly help his own chances of becoming
president some day. Clay accepted the offer. He said he would serve
as Adams's Secretary of State. Until now, General Jackson had
refused to believe the charges that Clay had sold his vote to Adams
for the top cabinet job. Now he was sure of it. He wrote to a
friend: "Was there ever before such bare-faced corruption? What is
this trade of vote for office, if not bribery."

VOICE TWO:

Many of Jackson's supporters did not believe John Quincy Adams
had the ability to be political leader of the party. They believed
that Clay would seize the party leadership and use this power to
help himself become elected the next president. Jackson, himself a
senator, showed his feelings when the Senate was asked to approve
Clay as Secretary of State. He voted no. And thirteen other senators
joined him against the nomination. But they were too few to prevent
Clay from getting the job. The next presidential election was four
years away. General Andrew Jackson promised himself this would be
one election he would not lose. Before he left Washington to return
to Tennessee, Jackson wrote a letter that soon became public. "I
became a soldier for the good of my country," Jackson wrote.
"Difficulties met me at every step. I thank God that it was my duty
to overcome them. I am in no way responsible to Henry Clay. There is
a purer court to which I will put my case. . . to the intelligent
judgment of our patriotic and honest voters."

VOICE ONE:

General Jackson returned to Nashville to rest and plan. He was
still a senator, and he questioned if it might not be best for him
to resign from the Senate. He would be free of Washington politics
and able to build his political strength for the election in
eighteen-twenty-eight. He decided to resign.

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VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THE
MAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Maurice Joyce and Stuart
Spencer. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. THE MAKING OF A
NATION can be heard Thursdays.