| Andrew Jackson. |
And lastly, Jackson, the noblest Roman of them all; ignorant and irascible indeed, but virtuous, brave, and patriotic beyond any cavil or question; faithful and devoted in his domestic life, absolutely unapproachable by pecuniary inducements; the best of friends and the most implacable of enemies; quick, hasty in forming his judgments and tenacious beyond expression in holding to them; prone to elevate every whim and impulse to a behest of conscience; earnest, terrible in the inflexibility of his purposes; excited by opposition to an ever-increasing degree of determination; unflinching and recklessly daring in the performance of what he felt to be his duty; restless under the legal restraints which might appear to hinder him in the discharge of duty and the accomplishment of any great enterprise intrusted to him; hostile to all gradations of power and privilege, and inclined to break through any official net-work interposed between himself and the rank and file subject to his command; a great soldier, and yet a man of the people; the military hero of the country and a martyr to the persecutions of the politicians—here were certainly qualities calculated to rouse the enthusiasm of the masses, if not of the classes. He was now fifty-seven years of age, and was not in strong health. He had shown no qualities of statesmanship, although he had been twice a member of the Senate of the United States, and was at the moment holding that most advantageous position for a display of civic talent; but he had the fortune to live at a time and in a country when and where the lower strata of society were just coming to a full participation in political power, and when and where high qualifications simply to discharge the duties of an office were beginning to be regarded by the majority of the people as disqualifications for holding the office.
These were by no means all of the great characters from among whom the nation had its choice in 1824, but they were unquestionably the first on the list. Different as they were in personal qualities, they were not yet far apart in political opinions. Crawford leaned more toward "States' rights" than the others. Clay was more pronounced in the opposite direction. While Jackson was rather more uncommitted.
| The nomination of presidential candidates in 1824. |
Webster was not put forward by anybody, and did not offer himself as a candidate. Clay was nominated by the legislature of Kentucky. Jackson was nominated by the legislature of Tennessee, and by two Pennsylvania conventions. While Adams had the advantage of the precedent which, for nearly a quarter of a century, had pointed to the Secretary of State as the natural successor to the presidential office.
| Failure of the electors to elect the President. |
As was to be expected, the electors did not choose any one of the four, since the Constitution requires a majority of the whole number of the electors for a choice. Jackson led with ninety-nine votes; Adams was next with eighty-four; Crawford followed with forty-one; and Clay came last with thirty-seven.