When Andrew Jackson first ran for the presidency in 1824, he was frequently asked by correspondents to explain his political philosophy or his position on various topics and matters. Though Jackson claimed to dislike what he called “electioneering,” promoting himself and making appeals for public support, these letters offered Jackson opportunities to explain his presidential candidacy in his own words without the appearance of having sought publicity. In many cases, these queries and Jackson’s replies were choreographed affairs intended for public use, such as publication in newspapers.
In some instances, however, queries came from politicians genuinely uncertain about Jackson’s beliefs and undecided about supporting him. An exchange of March 1824 letters between Jackson and former New York congressman James Tallmadge is a fascinating example of the latter type. On March 6, 1824, Tallmadge wrote Jackson feeling him out about the possibility of combining his political support with that of John Quincy Adams, then the U.S. secretary of state. Tallmadge explained that, while presidential candidate William H. Crawford of Georgia had a strong following amongst New York legislators, a clear majority of New Yorkers appeared to prefer candidates other than Crawford. In order to defeat Crawford, Tallmadge felt it imperative that anti-Crawford forces in the state coalesce behind a single candidate. Both Jackson and John Quincy Adams enjoyed support in New York, and Tallmadge queried Jackson about the possibility of a fusion ticket that would bring Jackson and Adams candidates together to defeat Crawford. “In case of a concentration—Genl. Jackson President—Mr. Adams Vice President—or even vice versa—the vote of this state may be counted upon—without some concentration & that shortly—I fear, this state may not continue safe.”
Jackson’s reply to Tallmadge, which constitutes one of his most striking explanations of why he was running for president, is presented below. A draft of the response, in the hand of Jackson’s friend and political manager, John H. Eaton, survives in the Library of Congress’s Jackson Papers, but the original was thought to have been lost until 2009, when autograph dealer Joseph Rubinfine notified the Papers of Andrew Jackson that he held the manuscript and generously provided scans. Tallmadge, incidentally, had written a similar letter to John Quincy Adams on March 6, 1824 (Adams Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, microfilm edition reel 464), and Rubinfine was in possession of Adams’s response as well. Like Jackson, Adams refused to sanction the creation of a Adams-Jackson fusion ticket, which he felt was properly “the decision of others and not of me . . . . as I have not the power to transfer to any other person, a single vote which I have reason to expect will be given for myself, so in Justice to my friends and to the Country, I can under no circumstances whatever consent to such transfer.” New York ultimately awarded twenty-six of its thirty-six electoral votes to Adams, five to Crawford, four to Henry Clay, and only one to Jackson.
