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Feb. 4, 2024

S009 - The Corrupt Bargain Elections: 1824 and 1876

S009 - The Corrupt Bargain Elections: 1824 and 1876

Year(s) Discussed: 1824 and 1876

In the first of a special series of conversations about past US presidential elections, I am joined in this episode by Zachary DeBacco of Drinks with Great Minds in History to discuss the two "corrupt bargain" elections of 1824 and 1876. In addition to the ins and outs of these elections, we also compare and contrast the two in terms of why they were labeled corrupt, the implications of each election, and what lessons they hold.

Special thanks to Zachary DeBacco of Drinks with Great Minds in History for joining me for this episode!

To read more about the elections of 1824 and 1876:

  • Holt, Michael F. By One Vote: The Disputed Presidential Election of 1876. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2008.
  • Mooney, Chase C. William H. Crawford: 1772-1834. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1974.
  • Morris, Roy, Jr. Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 1876. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
  • Ratcliffe, Donald. The One-Party Presidential Contest: Adams, Jackson, and 1824's Five-Horse Race. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2015.
  • Schlesinger, Arthur M., ed. History of American Presidential Elections 1789-1968, Volume I. New York: Chelsea House Publishers and McGraw-Hill, 1971.

Featured Images:

  • "A foot-race. 1824" by David Claypoole Johnson [c. 1824], courtesy of Wikipedia
  • "Caucus curs in full yell, or a war whoop, to saddle on the people, a pappoose president" by James Akin [c. 1824], courtesy of Wikipedia
  • "Hayes-Wheeler Campaign Print" by Currier & Ives [c. 1876], courtesy of Wikipedia
  • "1876 Democratic Campaign Poster of Tilden and Hendricks" [c. 1876], courtesy of Wikipedia