The Election of 1820 stands out as one of the most unusual contests in American history. Incumbent President James Monroe effectively ran unopposed, marking only the third and final time a presidential candidate faced no serious competition — and the last time a Founding Father sought the presidency.
The Era of Good Feelings
Since the end of the War of 1812, the United States had entered a period of heightened nationalism and political calm, famously dubbed the “Era of Good Feelings.” The phrase first appeared in 1817, when Monroe embarked on a Goodwill Tour of the Northern states to symbolise unity. Newspapers seized on the image of a president who sought to bridge divisions, and Monroe became the embodiment of national consensus.
The Federalist Party, already crippled by the Hartford Convention and repeated electoral defeats, was now virtually extinct. With no credible opposition, Monroe stood as the overwhelming favourite for re-election. His moderate leadership style, blending Jeffersonian ideals with selective Federalist policies such as support for a stronger national bank and internal improvements, only reinforced his reputation as a unifier.
So secure was Monroe’s position that many Democratic-Republicans didn’t even bother to attend the caucus. His vice president, Daniel D. Tompkins, was kept on the ticket, while the remaining Federalists put forward Richard Stockton of New Jersey for vice president but failed to mount any serious campaign.
The Panic of 1819
Despite the air of optimism, Monroe’s presidency faced serious challenges. The Panic of 1819 — the nation’s first major financial crisis — was triggered by land speculation, collapsing agricultural prices, and the mismanagement of the Second Bank of the United States. The crisis led to foreclosures, bankruptcies, and widespread unemployment.
Farmers, western settlers, and debtors were particularly hard hit, and many grew disillusioned with what they saw as an unresponsive government. Though Monroe and Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford worked to stabilise the situation, the panic’s effects lingered into 1821, leaving a legacy of distrust toward banks and elites that would re-emerge in future elections.
The Missouri Compromise
Even more divisive than the economic troubles was the debate over slavery’s expansion. Missouri’s application for statehood as a slave state threatened to upset the fragile balance between free and slave states in the Union.
The controversy was resolved by the Missouri Compromise of 1820: Missouri would enter as a slave state, Maine would be admitted as a free state, and slavery would be prohibited in most of the Louisiana Purchase north of latitude 36°30′.
While the compromise averted a crisis, it drew a literal boundary between North and South. For the first time, Americans saw the Union’s stability hinge on the sectional conflict over slavery — an issue that would dominate politics in the decades ahead.
The Results
The outcome of the election was never in doubt. Monroe won all 24 states, including Missouri, whose electoral votes were counted despite controversy. Still, the election was not entirely without its quirks:
- Three electors died before casting ballots, leaving Mississippi short by one vote.
- About 16 percent of the popular vote went to “No Candidate,” reflecting lingering Federalist discontent.
- DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York and former 1812 candidate, received 1.8 percent of the popular vote despite not running.
- Monroe received every electoral vote but one. William Plummer, an elector from New Hampshire, cast his ballot for John Quincy Adams. Some claimed this was to preserve Washington’s unique unanimous record, but in truth Plummer simply disliked Monroe and the continuation of the Virginia Dynasty.
In the end, Monroe won 80.6 percent of the popular vote, the third-highest share for any president since Washington.
Significance
The Election of 1820 symbolised the height of the Era of Good Feelings. With the Federalists all but dead, Monroe’s dominance left the Democratic-Republicans as the only national party. Yet this apparent harmony masked deeper tensions. The lingering effects of the Panic of 1819, the divisive Missouri question, and even the protest vote cast for John Quincy Adams all hinted at the fractures ahead.
In truth, 1820 froze competition rather than resolved it. Without the Federalists, the next great political battles would erupt within the Democratic-Republican Party itself.
Legacy
The Election of 1820 followed Monroe’s landslide over Rufus King in 1816, confirming the collapse of the Federalists and the triumph of one-party rule. But beneath the veneer of unity, Americans were already wrestling with economic discontent and sectional divides that would shatter the illusion of consensus.
Next came the Election of 1824, one of the most controversial contests in U.S. history, when Monroe’s successors turned on each other in a four-way battle that fractured the Democratic-Republicans and produced the infamous “Corrupt Bargain.”
