The Election of 1824, Part 4

I’m finally at the point where I’m converting some of my research at the Massachusetts Historical Society this past summer into lesson plans. As a major focus of College Board is quantitative analysis, I thought I’d take the charts I’ve been working on and make an entire lesson plan around students analyzing and applying the data. This isn’t a format that I would usually choose for lesson plans, but I’m conforming to what MHS asked for:

Essential Questions

• How does the Electoral College work?
• How do presidential campaigns and elections evolve over time?
• How can we use data to better understand historical events?
• How democratic was the election of 1824?

Introduction

The Election of 1824 is one of the most interesting presidential elections in history. During a time of one-party rule, and prior to the modern primary process, four candidates from the Democratic-Republican Party ran in the general election, resulting in the race going to the House of Representatives when no candidate won a majority of the electors. Second place John Quincy Adams won the election in the House after fourth-place finisher Henry Clay endorsed him. Shortly after his election, Adams appointed Clay Secretary of State. An anonymous letter in a Philadelphia newspaper alleged Clay had offered a deal to Andrew Jackson (the first-place finisher in the initial vote), but when he was rejected, Clay took his “corrupt bargain” to Adams. Both Clay and Adams denounced the allegation. The events of this election are confusing but fascinating, and can be used to teach the electoral process and hone students skills. The lesson plan here presupposes students have a general understanding of the Electoral College, though it can be adapted to be an introduction to the subject.

An array of questions have been provided designed to help students develop quantitative analytical skills, to understand why the election wasn’t won outright by Andrew Jackson, to gain a better understanding of how the Electoral College is designed and functions, to recognize the limited degree of democracy in the United States in 1824, and how the ⅗ Compromise gave increased influence to southern states to the disadvantage of the northern voters.

Objectives

Student will be able to:

• Use quantitative analytical skills to make sense of data.
• Evaluate the evolution of presidential elections over time.
• Understand the American democratic system has not always been representative of large segments of the American population.
• Explain the process for electing a president when there is no electoral majority.

Standards

Massachusetts GOV.T4.2

Research the platforms of political parties and candidates for state or national government and analyze data on campaign financing, advertising, and voter demographics, to draw conclusions about how citizens in the United States participate in public elections.

Common Core CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1.B

Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.

Materials

• Table 1: General Election Data 1824
• Table 2: State Electoral and Population Data 1824
• Table 3: Electoral College Comparison 1824/2020
• Quantitative Analysis Questions and Answer Sheet
• Calculators or computers

Activities

Bellringer / Activating Prior Knowledge:
What happens if in the next presidential election a third party candidate wins enough votes to prevent any one candidate from getting a majority?

Teacher may opt to have students think-pair-share, write their answers, or just have a class discussion.

Place students in groups of 4 to 6 students. Distribute Table 1 and the Quantitative Analysis questions. Students should work together on each question rather than divide up tasks. 

Debrief with students after they complete the first six questions.

Distribute Table 2. Explain that although the Electoral College still functions in the same manner, there were some distinctions from the way the actual elections were held that they will learn from this second segment.

Debrief with students after they complete question 12. Discuss what people were excluded from voting (free people of color, enslaved people, white women, white men who did not meet financial requirements). 

Tell students that a very intelligent and handsome historian has estimated that without the ⅗ clause, Jackson would lose 3 electors, Adams would gain 11, Clay would gain 2, and Crawford would lose 10. How would that have changed the results of the election? (Jackson 96, Adams 95, Clay 39, Crawford 31. The election would still go to the House of Representatives as no candidate earned 131 electors, but now Clay would be the third candidate instead of Crawford. Begin the intriguing speculation about what would have occurred!)

Distribute Table 3. Have students answer the last set of questions.

Debrief answers with students.

Exit ticket — Write an answer to the following question: If the presidential election of 2020 ended with no candidate getting a majority and the top two candidates were only separated by a few votes, how do you think the public would respond if the second place finisher was elected president by the House of Representatives?

Time permitting, students can pair-share their answers or this can be used as an opener for a subsequent class.

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Quantitative Analysis for the Election of 1824 and the Electoral College Questions

1. How many more popular votes did Andrew Jackson get than John Quincy Adams? (Table
2. How many more electors did Andrew Jackson get than John Quincy Adams? (Table 1)
3. How many electors were there in 1824? (Table 1)
4. How many electors were needed to win the election outright? (Table 1)
5. What is the fewest number of states needed to win election in 1824? (Table 1)
6. What were the three largest states (in terms of electors) in 1824? (Table 1)

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1. What is the fewest number of states needed to win election in 2020? (Table 3)
2. What are the three largest states (in terms of electors) in 2020? (Table 3)
3. What three states that had electors in both years had an increase in overall influence? (Table 3)
4. What three states that had electors in both years had the largest decrease in influence? (Table 3)
5. Why did so many states have their percentage of the Electoral College reduced from 1824 to 2020? (Table 3)
6. If the Election of 1824 were held using 2020 numbers (but only those 25 states), what would the likely result be? (Table 1 and 3)

Quantitative Analysis (Answers)

1. How many more popular votes did Andrew Jackson get than John Quincy Adams? 27,940
2. How many more electors did Andrew Jackson get than John Quincy Adams? 15
3. How many electors were there in 1824? 261 
4. How many electors were needed to win the election outright? 131
5. What is the fewest number of states needed to win election in 1824? 6 (NY, PA, VA, OH, NC, MA)
6. What were the three largest states (in terms of electors) in 1824? New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia

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1. How many states had financial requirements for (white male) citizens to vote? 18 (CT, DE, GA, LA, MA, MS, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA)
2. How many states chose electors without a popular vote? 6 (DE, GA, LA, NY, SC, VT)
3. What is the total number of eligible voters from the states that did not have a popular vote election? 531,000
4. How might the popular vote have turned out differently if those six states held a popular vote election? Although it’s impossible to know for sure, it is likely Adams would have had a significant percentage of the New York vote and the overall numbers would have been closer.
5. What would you have to do to figure out how different Electoral College votes would have been apportioned if there was no ⅗ Compromise in the Constitution and enslaved people were not counted towards the total population? Subtract the enslaved population from the total population. Use that number to determine the percentage of the available electors for each state. (Estimated calculations results in AL, KE, LA, MD, MS each losing 1 elector, NC losing 2, GA losing 3, SC losing 4, and VA losing 7, while CT, IN, ME, MO, NH, NJ, and VT gaining 1 elector, MA and OH gaining 2, and NY and PA gaining 5.)
6. Generally speaking, if we did reapportioned Electoral votes in that manner, how might the results of the election have changed? Although it’s impossible to for several reasons, including some question over the accuracy of the population data and not knowing how states that split their votes between candidates would have voted with fewer or more electors, it is likely that Crawford and Jackson would lose some electors, while Clay and Adams would gain.

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1. What is the fewest number of states needed to win election in 2020? 12 (CA, TX, NY, FL, IL, PA, OH, MI, GA, NC, VA, and any other state or DC)
2. What are the three largest states (in terms of electors) in 2020? California, Texas, New York/Florida
3. What three states that had electors in both years had an increase in overall influence? Illinois, Indiana, Missouri
4. What three states that had electors in both years had the largest decrease in influence? New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia
5. Why did so many states have their percentage of the Electoral College reduced from 1824 to 2020? The number of states in the union more than doubled. 
6. If the Election of 1824 were held using 2020 numbers (but only those 25 states), what would the likely result be? State populations have significantly shifted. There would be 219 electors, meaning 110 would be needed to win. Jackson would win about 96 electors, falling shy of the majority. Adams would only win around 58 electors, while Clay would win 36, and Crawford would win 29. The election would be thrown to the House of Representatives, but Clay would be the third name submitted.