1828 United States Presidential Election

The 1828 United States presidential election was the 11th quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Friday, October 31 to Tuesday, December 2, 1828. 35 Year old Sam Houston defeated Federalist Vice President Henry Clay for the Presidency.

Henry Clay was swiftly and quite easily nominated by the Federalist Party, and was seen by most as President Adams' successor. Despite this, Adams and Clay were known to have a strained relationship, with Adams opposing Clay at the Federalist Convention. For the Democratic-Republicans, it had seemed as if Martin Van Buren would be the eventual nominee, but with the backing of Andrew Jackson, dark horse Sam Houston clinched the nomination, with Aaron Burr, the former Vice President and Bucktail being chosen as his running mate.

The campaign was nasty, with mudslinging being done by both sides, but ultimately Houston came out on top, and won the Presidency. Clay came in a close second, winning 46.4% of the Popular Vote to Houston's 53.6%. Houston would later oversee the American Civil War as President, with both Clay and Houston having a rematch in 1832. Clay would eventually defeat John Adams Dix in the Presidential Election of 1848, finally becoming President, 20 years after the Presidential Election of 1828.

Democratic-Republican Party nomination
There were three main contenders for the Democratic-Republican nomination: Martin Van Buren, William H. Crawford, and Richard M. Johnson. In a surprising twist, dark horse candidate Sam Houston, the governor of Tennessee unexpectedly won the Democratic-Republican nomination for the Presidency, with the backing of Andrew Jackson. Due to Houston's young age, with him only being 35 at the time he was nominated, Martin Van Buren and his allies attempted to nominate Aaron Burr to be his running mate, while Crawford and his allies supported Albert Gallatin. Despite Crawford's hopes, the 72 year old former Vice President to Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr of New York, was nominated for the Vice Presidency. Burr would later die in the middle of Houston's second term.

Federalist Party nomination
The Federalist Convention was divided between Pro-Adams Federalists and Pro-Clay Federalists. The Pro-Adams Federalists supported President John Quincy Adams, and attempted to nominate Richard Rush. The Pro-Clay Federalists backed Henry Clay, the Vice President to Adams. Despite the Pro-Adams factions hopes, Rush was reluctant to run. Thus, Vice President Henry Clay was able to defeat a divided opposition, and he became the Federalist Party's nominee. Rush finally accepted to be Clays running mate, with the backing of the Pro-Adams faction.

Results
Sam Houston won the election with 53.6% of the vote, with Henry Clay winning 46.4% of the vote. Despite Houston's victory, some disgruntled Federalists claimed that Houston had stolen the election, even nicknaming the election the "Hou-steal." Though, the allegations went nowhere, and were quickly dismissed. Houston would later go on to preside over the American Civil War, and he has been high regarded as one of the best Presidents in American History, with him either being ranked first or second by historians.