Andrew Jackson 1828-1832

From the beginning, the campaign and election of 1828 was personal. Ever since the previous election in 1824, when John Q. Adams was elected through the U. S. House of Representatives, even though Andrew Jackson won the electoral and popular votes. Jackson was convinced that he was the rightful President, and John Q. Adams supporters were horrified at the thought of a vulgar frontiersman in the White House. The year 1828 brought a complete and permanent change in presidential dynamics. For the first time, the West flexed its new political muscle, offering the possibility that someone might be President who was not a member of the Virginia or New England elite. Upper-class men were nervous at the prospect of this; those below them on the ladder reveled in it. There had never been so much at state.
All but two states in the nation selected electors by popular vote in 1828, and thousands of new voters flocked to the polls. Still, Jackson swamped Adams by more than ...