In The Rhetoric of the “Corrupt Bargain” in the 1824 Election: Clay, Jackson, and Democratic Strategy, Amos Kiewe explores the story of the 1824 presidential election, when the House of Representatives elected the president after no candidate won outright the majority of the Electoral College. Though most in the nation assumed that Andrew Jackson, who won the popular vote and the plurality of the Electoral College, would be elected the presidency by the House, Kiewe demonstrates how maneuvering, vote trading, and special favors dictated a different outcome. Through inspecting speeches, statements, private letters, and published accounts, Kiewe simultaneously intersects rhetoric, history, and politics to tell the story of the 1824 presidential election. Scholars of communication, political science, and history will find this book of particular interest.
