Jackson’s been waiting 4 years for this…… The Election of 1828 Jackson’s been waiting 4 years for this……

Where we left off So John Quincy Adams’ presidency gets off to a rocky start, to say the least. He was never able to shake that “corrupt bargain” tag that Jackson had used to describe his deal with Henry Clay.

The Two-Party System Jackson is incredibly angry and spends most of his time attacking the President’s credibility and character. Followers of Jackson started referring to themselves as “Democrats,” and followers of John Quincy Adams referred to themselves as “National Republicans.”

Martin Van Buren He was a brilliant political strategist who was Jackson’s chief advisor. He was essential to Jackson’s campaign because he was from NY and was able to give him credibility among Northerners.

His Running Mate Jackson chose John Calhoun, from South Carolina. This made him a solid choice for “Westerners” and a solid choice for “Southerners.”

The “Mudslinging Campaign.” This one got dirty. Jackson’s wife was called out as an “adulteress.” Adams was called a “pimp.”

Adulteress? This goes back to the late 1700’s when Andrew Jackson met Rachel, who happened to be married at the time. Rachel’s husband wanted to fight Jackson. Jackson said he would fight in a duel, like a gentleman, but not with his fists. The husband declined. They ran away together and believed that Rachel was divorced.

Adulteress? When they returned to Nashville, they found that her husband actually hadn’t signed the papers. Whooops.

Jackson loves him some Rachel Rachel meant everything to Jackson. A man one time accused him of cheating on a horse race. Then the man called Rachel a “bigamist.” Jackson shot him dead. In a duel. Like a gentleman.

Wait, JQA was a Pimp???? The Jackson campaign called him a pimp because he introduced the Czar of Russia to this American maid. Which makes him a pimp, I guess. The Democrats also attacked JQA’s wife, who was British.

Anyways…. Andrew Jackson won the election. Voting restrictions had been reduced and in 1828, most states didn’t require you to “own land” in order to vote. This allowed many more “common men” to vote, and they most always voted for Jackson.