A history of the American nation . nt to an election, unless there were other means ofputting forth candidates. By 1824 opposition to the caucussystem had grown up. It was felt by many persons thatofficeholders held altogether too much power and that, whenCongress assumed the right to nominate candidates for thePresidency, it was time to object. New, western, self-con-fident democracy was out of patience with the notion that Congressmen should tell the people whom to vote 278 HISTORY OF THE A:MERICAN NATION There were four men ambitious for the presidency in 1824,Andrew Jackson, John Qu
A history of the American nation . nt to an election, unless there were other means ofputting forth candidates. By 1824 opposition to the caucussystem had grown up. It was felt by many persons thatofficeholders held altogether too much power and that, whenCongress assumed the right to nominate candidates for thePresidency, it was time to object. New, western, self-con-fident democracy was out of patience with the notion that Congressmen should tell the people whom to vote 278 HISTORY OF THE A:MERICAN NATION There were four men ambitious for the presidency in 1824,Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and WilliamH. Crawford. Adams was the favorite of theNew Englanders, and in general of the more con-servative people in the East; tradition moreoverpointed to the Secretary of State as a sort of heirClay, a simple Westerner, with manners of a cour-tier and the charm of a winning personality, had warm admirerseverywhere. Crawford, of Georgia, the Secretary of the Treas- King Caucusand thecandidates. The Election of 1824 ury, a capable man and a shrewd politician, was backed bymany of the office-holders and the political workers. Jackson,a picturesque figure who had made a strong impression on thegreat mass of the plain people, had wide support in the West,where he seemed to typify the vigor, self-reliance, and sim-plicity of the frontier. Of them all, Cra^^ford was the bestpolitician; he controlled the caucus and was nominated in theregular way. But the friends of the others did not was King Caucus, they asked, that it should decide thismatter? Why should a handful of Congressmen nominate the PARTY REORGANIZATION 279 President and expect the people to ratify their choice? Thepeople were competent to attend to such matters themselves. So, though Crawford had secured the coveted nomination,it did him little good. State legislatures now put forth the names of the candidates they preferred, and thusAdams. Adams, Clay and Jackson were nomin
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