In 1824 there was a hard-fought election for president between Democrat Andrew Jackson of Tennessee and Whig party candidate John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts (son of President John Adams).
Jackson had gotten 99 electoral votes and Adams received 84. Since neither man had won enough votes in the electoral college to become president, on this day in 1824 the election was thrown to the House of Representatives.
In the House both men tried wheeling and dealing to secure enough votes to become the next president. Adams was able to secure the backing of his fellow Whig party member Henry Clay and, as a result, on February 9, 1825, the House elected John Quincy Adams as president of the United States. Adams then appointed Clay to the post of Secretary of State, angering Andrew Jackson and his supporters and leading to the appointment being referred to as the Corrupt Bargain thereafter.
Jackson was elected president in 1828, getting twice as many electoral votes as his opponent, President Adams.
