Once again in 1828, John Quincy Adams faced Andrew Jackson. Four years of an Adams presidency had not done much good for the northerner. Critics charged that his policies expanded the powers of the President. In Georgia, for example, he renegotiated a treaty with the Creek Indians on their removal that had already been agreed to by the state and the Creek Nation. He increased spending on education, arts and science and enacted Vice President John C. Calhoun's plan for a network of roads and canals to link the expanding U. S. Although technically still a single party still ruled, it had broken into two factions, the Administration Democrats and the Jacksonian Democrats.

As the election grew close, Jackson and his allies began reminding voters of the "corrupt bargain" that had given Adams the Presidency. Adams responded with attacks on Jackson's wife, Rachel, calling her an adultress. Jackson sucessfully painted Adams as a puppet of the Eastern power brokers, in spite of his plan for extensive internal improvements, a pro-Western concept.

Even Henry Clay's support for Adams did no good. Colonel Charles Hammond, who was publisher of the Cincinnati Gazette and a friend of Clay's published a series of pamphlets against Jackson. One of these, titled The Coffin Handbill was widely circulated. It featured the story of John Woods, whom Jackson had executed as a mutineer during the Creek Wars, along with six Tennessee militia. In the pamphlet, Jackson slashes a citizen who had stopped to pick up a piece of garbage in the street.

The country, however, had been changing to the popular election of the President, and the voters, who were all men, simply liked "Andy" Jackson. When the votes were counted, Jackson won with 56% of the vote.


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Andrew Jackson
John C. Calhoun
John Quincy Adams

Election of 1828 was last changed on - March 4, 2006
Election of 1828 was added in 2005