|
N.J. Congressman Praises Andrew Jackson After His 1824 Presidential Election Loss in the House of Representatives |
Click to enlarge:
Select an image:
“The great struggle is over…. no one, friend nor foe, expected a defeat, so sudden & signal. But we must submit like good citizens; I hope for better & brighter times. The Genl bears his disappointment, as he always bore his victories, like—a hero.”
Congressman George Holcombe, a loyal Jacksonian, bemoans the loss of the election. New Jersey had given its one vote in the House of Representatives election to Jackson.
GEORGE HOLCOMBE.
Autograph Letter Signed, to William Imlay, February 10, 1825. 1 p., 7⅞ x 9 ¾ in.
Inventory #24286.01
Price: $750
Historical Background
From 1800 to 1820, the Democratic-Republican Party won six consecutive presidential elections. In 1824, the party split into factions that fielded four candidates: John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts; Andrew Jackson of Tennessee (the hero of the Battle of New Orleans); William H. Crawford of Georgia (former Secretary of War and Secretary of the Treasury); and Henry Clay of Kentucky (in his first of five unsuccessful presidential campaigns).
In the election held between October 26 and December 2, 1824, Andrew Jackson received 41% of the popular vote and 99 electoral votes, while John Quincy Adams garnered 31% of the popular vote and 84 electoral votes. Crawford and Clay divided the remaining popular vote and together gained 78 electoral votes. John C. Calhoun was easily elected as Vice President with 182 electoral votes, more than twice the total of all other candidates combined.
As no presidential candidate won a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives had to decide the outcome, based on the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment. In the original election, five states had divided their electoral votes, with New York apportioning votes among all four candidates. However, in the House, each state had only one vote, and could consider only the top three candidates—Jackson, Adams, and Crawford. The fourth candidate, Speaker of the House Henry Clay, detested Jackson and threw his support behind Adams, who won on the first ballot with thirteen states, to Jackson’s seven, and Crawford’s four.
Jacksonians were shocked by the results. They accused Adams and Clay, who became Adams’ Secretary of State, of a “corrupt bargain.” Jackson’s supporters coalesced into the Democratic Party, while Adams and Clay founded the National Republican Party and then the Whig Party.
Complete Transcript
Washington / Feby. 10th 1825.
Dear sir,
The great struggle is over. The friends of Jackson had been preparing (at least, I had) for some time, to be beaten. But no one, friend nor foe, expected a defeat, so sudden & signal.
But we must submit like good citizens; I hope for better & brighter times.
The Genl bears his disappointment, as he always bore his victories, like—a hero.
I am, Dear Sir, with Compliments to Mrs Imlay, [your gd?] & sert.
Geo: Holcombe.
Wm Imlay Esqr
<2>
[Address:] Geo: Holcombe
William Imlay Esq / Allentown, / N.J.
George Holcombe (1786-1828) was born in New Jersey and graduated from Princeton University in 1805. He studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and was a physician in Allentown, New Jersey, from 1808 to 1815. He served in the New Jersey General Assembly in 1815 and 1816, and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1821-1828. Initially a Republican, he became a Jacksonian over that time.
William Imlay (1790-1880) was a resident of Allentown, Monmouth County, New Jersey. He served as a justice of the peace in Monmouth County and as postmaster of Allentown (1820-1844). He also owned a drug and hardware store, and raised silk worms and mulberry trees. His cousin, James H. Imlay, had represented the district in Congress from 1797 to 1801.
