The Election of 1828 is remembered as one of the nastiest in U.S. history. It was a rematch between Andrew Jackson and incumbent President John Quincy Adams, and it ended with the rise of a new political order in America.
The Shadow of 1824
The campaign was haunted by the controversial finish of the Election of 1824. In that contest, Jackson had won both the largest share of the popular vote and the most electoral votes, but fell short of a majority. The decision went to the House of Representatives, which selected Adams as president after Speaker Henry Clay threw his support behind him. When Adams appointed Clay as Secretary of State, Jackson’s supporters cried foul, denouncing it as a “Corrupt Bargain.”
Jackson never forgave Adams or Clay. Endorsed by the Tennessee legislature as early as 1825, he began preparing almost immediately for a rematch in 1828.
The Birth of the Democratic Party
Out of Jackson’s movement grew the foundations of a new political organisation: the Democratic Party. Rallying poor and middle-class white voters, the Democrats positioned themselves as champions of the common man against entrenched elites.
Led by Jackson and political strategist Martin Van Buren, the party promoted limited government, opposition to centralised banking, and strong support for states’ rights. It also embraced slavery as part of its Southern base, ensuring sectional divisions would remain central to American politics.
For the first time since the collapse of the Federalists, the United States had two distinct political forces. Jackson’s Democrats stood against Adams’ supporters, who came to be known as National Republicans.
John Quincy Adams’ Presidency
Adams entered office with a strong résumé as a diplomat and Secretary of State, but his presidency was troubled from the start. His ambitious support for the American System — protective tariffs, a national bank, and federal investment in internal improvements like canals and railroads — was popular in the North but deeply unpopular in the South.
The most controversial of these measures was the Tariff of 1828, dubbed the “Tariff of Abominations” by Southern critics. It drove up prices on imported goods and fuelled resentment that Adams was favouring Northern industrial interests.
Even Adams’ vice president, John C. Calhoun, broke ranks, resigning from Adams’ ticket and joining Jackson as his running mate in 1828. Calhoun’s defection bolstered Jackson’s Southern support, but it also set the stage for their eventual falling-out during the Nullification Crisis in the 1830s.
The First Modern Campaign
The Election of 1828 marked the arrival of a new style of politics. For the first time, a presidential race was organised as a mass popular campaign, with rallies, parades, songs, slogans, and newspapers mobilising voters on a national scale. Jackson’s supporters promoted him as “Old Hickory,” a tough and unyielding hero of the common man, while Adams was painted as an out-of-touch aristocrat.
This new political culture dramatically expanded voter participation. Property restrictions had been eased in many states, allowing far more white men to cast ballots than in previous elections.
The Dirtiest Campaign Yet
If the style of campaigning was modern, the tone was vicious.
- Jackson was smeared as a violent hothead, unfit for the presidency because of his duels and battlefield ruthlessness. His marriage to Rachel Jackson became a scandal when opponents claimed her previous divorce was not final at the time of their wedding, branding her an adulteress.
- Adams was accused of corruption and immorality. His opponents spread false claims that, while serving as U.S. Minister to Russia, he had procured prostitutes for the czar. Others painted him as a gambler and elitist, far removed from the realities of ordinary Americans.
The personal attacks overshadowed most policy debate, leaving the campaign as one of the nastiest in U.S. history.
The Results
The election produced a decisive outcome:
- Andrew Jackson (Democrat) – 178 electoral votes; 56% of the popular vote
- John Quincy Adams (National Republican) – 83 electoral votes; 44% of the popular vote
The sectional divide was stark. Jackson swept the South, the West, and much of the Middle Atlantic, with Pennsylvania proving crucial. Adams held firm in New England and parts of the Northeast, but his support outside that base collapsed. Like his father before him, Adams was turned out of office after a single term.
Jackson’s running mate, John C. Calhoun, became the second vice president in U.S. history to serve under two different presidents.
The Scars of Battle
Victory came at a personal cost. In December 1828, just weeks after the election, Rachel Jackson died of a heart attack. Andrew Jackson believed the relentless attacks on her character had hastened her death. He declared bitterly: “May God Almighty forgive her murderers, I never can.”
When Jackson entered office, he did so as a widower consumed by grief and fury. Adams, for his part, refused to attend the inauguration, becoming only the second president (after his father) to spurn his successor’s swearing-in.
At Jackson’s inauguration in March 1829, throngs of supporters poured into Washington. The celebration at the White House descended into chaos, with crowds breaking furniture, spilling food and drink, and leaving the mansion in disarray. For critics, it was proof that Jackson had unleashed mob rule. For supporters, it was democracy triumphant, as ordinary people stormed the halls of power.
Significance
The Election of 1828 was transformative. It marked the birth of the Second Party System, with Jackson’s Democrats pitted against Adams’ National Republicans (soon to merge into the Whigs). It was the first election truly shaped by mass popular campaigning, where ordinary voters rather than congressional caucuses decided the outcome.
It also reshaped the presidency itself. Jackson entered office as a symbol of the people’s will, determined to break what he saw as aristocratic corruption in Washington. His victory laid the foundation for a more assertive, populist executive branch — and a far rougher political climate.
Legacy
The Election of 1828 followed the bitterly disputed Election of 1824, when Jackson lost in the House despite winning the most votes. Four years later, he had his revenge, sweeping Adams aside and transforming the political landscape.
Next came the Election of 1832, when Jackson would seek a second term, confronting both the Bank of the United States and the growing opposition that coalesced into the Whig Party.
