Presidents Who Were Elected by the House of Representatives
Henry Clay was fourth place in electoral votes won and, therefore, was eliminated from competition in the Electoral College vote. Clay, however, was a staunch political rival of Jackson's and threw his support in the House to Adams, who, as a direct result of Clay's support, was elected. Thus, history recorded the irony of the least successful presidential candidate having been ultimately responsible for determining who would be president.
Presidents Who Won Fewer Popular Votes Than Their Nearest Opponent Won
The quirkiness of the Electoral College system has resulted in the election of four presidents who lost the popular vote, yet won the election by a majority of the Electoral vote, or won in the House of Representatives in absence of winning a majority of the electoral vote. These four people were John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, and George W. Bush.
John Quincy Adams
In the election of 1824, Andrew Jackson received 43.12 % of the popular vote, but John Quincy Adams won the election with only 30.54 % of the popular vote, the lowest of any president in history. (Guess who was elected with the second lowest percent of the popular vote. Answer: Abraham Lincoln in 1860, with 39.87% Of the popular vote). Incidentally, to the best of my knowledge, this was the first year that any electors were chosen by popular vote. Prior to that time, state legislatures chose them.
Rutherford B. Hayes
In the election of 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes won the election with 47.87% of the popular vote, whereas Samuel J. Tilden lost with 51.01%. This was one of the two most disputed presidential elections in American history, the other being the election of 2000.
As it turned out, the resulting committee was composed of seven Republicans, seven Democrats, and one independent, Supreme Court Justice David Davis. However, just as the Electoral Commission Bill was passing Congress, the Legislature of Illinois elected Davis to the Senate. He promptly resigned as a Justice to take his Senate seat. All the remaining available justices were Republicans, so the four justices already selected chose Justice Joseph P. Bradley, who joined the other seven Republicans to result in an 8-7 vote in favor of Hayes, giving all 19 disputed electoral votes to Hayes, resulting in his 185-184 electoral vote victory.
The returns accepted by the Commission placed Hayes's victory margin in South Carolina at 889 votes, making this the second-closest election in U.S. history, after the 2000 election. Also, Tilden became the first presidential candidate in American history to lose in the electoral college, despite winning a majority of the popular vote.
Benjamin Harrison
In 1888, Benjamin Harrison won the presidency with 47.79% of the popular vote, whereas Grover Cleveland lost with 48.68 %. Cleveland, incidentally, was the only president in history to win two non-consecutive turns. Harrison won the term in between.
George W. Bush
In 2000, George W. Bush, a Republican, won the election with 47.87% of the popular vote, whereas Al Gore, a Democrat, lost with 48.68 %. This was the second of the two most disputed presidential elections in American history, the first being that of 1876 (Hayes versus Tilden).
Bush narrowly won with 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266 (with one elector abstaining in the official tally). The election was noteworthy for a vitriolic controversy over the awarding of Florida's 25 electoral votes and its recount process. It was the closest election since 1876. The Supreme Court chose George W. Bush by a vote of 5-4.
Some people thought that the Supreme Court had no business getting involved, it being a State matter and not a Federal matter, since Article II, Section 1 states that “each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature may direct, a Number of Electors …” These people believed that the Supreme Court should have left it to Florida to make the call. The problem was that Florida appeared to be at an impasse, thus creating a risk that a president would not be chose in time for Inauguration Day.
Father and Son Presidents
The president of the United States is not elected by popular vote, but rather by a group of 538 people referred to collectively as the Electoral College. In the event that no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives decides. Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams were the only two presidents ever elected by the House.
When the House elected Jefferson in 1801, most states still allowed their legislators to choose electors, and the Electoral College still voted for president and vice president on the same ballot. Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied in electoral votes, and the House could not decide between the two men until the 36th ballot. The voting went on for so long that there was serious concern that a president would not be elected before inauguration day. This prolonged election was what led to the 12th Constitutional amendment, which changed the voting rules of the Electoral College.
When the House elected John Quincy Adams in 1825, Andrew Jackson had won far and away more popular votes, as well as more electoral votes, than any other candidate, but he did not win a majority of either. Consequently, the election defaulted to the House, which, as stipulated by the Constitution, had to choose a president from the top three electoral vote winners.
Henry Clay was fourth place in electoral votes won and, therefore, was eliminated from competition in the Electoral College vote. Clay, however, was a staunch political rival of Jackson's and threw his support in the House to Adams, who, as a direct result of Clay's support, was elected. Thus, history recorded the irony of the least successful presidential candidate having been ultimately responsible for determining who would be president.
Presidents Who Won Fewer Popular Votes Than Their Nearest Opponent Won
The quirkiness of the Electoral College system has resulted in the election of four presidents who lost the popular vote, yet won the election by a majority of the Electoral vote, or won in the House of Representatives in absence of winning a majority of the electoral vote. These four people were John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, and George W. Bush.
John Quincy Adams
In the election of 1824, Andrew Jackson received 43.12 % of the popular vote, but John Quincy Adams won the election with only 30.54 % of the popular vote, the lowest of any president in history. (Guess who was elected with the second lowest percent of the popular vote. Answer: Abraham Lincoln in 1860, with 39.87% Of the popular vote). Incidentally, to the best of my knowledge, this was the first year that any electors were chosen by popular vote. Prior to that time, state legislatures chose them.
Rutherford B. Hayes
In the election of 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes won the election with 47.87% of the popular vote, whereas Samuel J. Tilden lost with 51.01%. This was one of the two most disputed presidential elections in American history, the other being the election of 2000.
Tilden won 184 electoral votes to Hayes's 165, with 20 electoral votes uncounted. These 20 electoral votes were in dispute in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, and each party reported its candidate had won the state. There were double sets of returns from these three states. Congress passed a law forming a 15-member Electoral Commission to settle the result. Five members came from each house of Congress, and they were joined by five members of the Supreme Court.
As it turned out, the resulting committee was composed of seven Republicans, seven Democrats, and one independent, Supreme Court Justice David Davis. However, just as the Electoral Commission Bill was passing Congress, the Legislature of Illinois elected Davis to the Senate. He promptly resigned as a Justice to take his Senate seat. All the remaining available justices were Republicans, so the four justices already selected chose Justice Joseph P. Bradley, who joined the other seven Republicans to result in an 8-7 vote in favor of Hayes, giving all 19 disputed electoral votes to Hayes, resulting in his 185-184 electoral vote victory.
The returns accepted by the Commission placed Hayes's victory margin in South Carolina at 889 votes, making this the second-closest election in U.S. history, after the 2000 election. Also, Tilden became the first presidential candidate in American history to lose in the electoral college, despite winning a majority of the popular vote.
Benjamin Harrison
In 1888, Benjamin Harrison won the presidency with 47.79% of the popular vote, whereas Grover Cleveland lost with 48.68 %. Cleveland, incidentally, was the only president in history to win two non-consecutive turns. Harrison won the term in between.
George W. Bush
In 2000, George W. Bush, a Republican, won the election with 47.87% of the popular vote, whereas Al Gore, a Democrat, lost with 48.68 %. This was the second of the two most disputed presidential elections in American history, the first being that of 1876 (Hayes versus Tilden).
Bush narrowly won with 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266 (with one elector abstaining in the official tally). The election was noteworthy for a vitriolic controversy over the awarding of Florida's 25 electoral votes and its recount process. It was the closest election since 1876. The Supreme Court chose George W. Bush by a vote of 5-4.
Some people thought that the Supreme Court had no business getting involved, it being a State matter and not a Federal matter, since Article II, Section 1 states that “each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature may direct, a Number of Electors …” These people believed that the Supreme Court should have left it to Florida to make the call. The problem was that Florida appeared to be at an impasse, thus creating a risk that a president would not be chose in time for Inauguration Day.
Father and Son Presidents
John Adams, our second president, was father to John Quincy Adams, who was our sixth president. George H. W. Bush, our 41st president, is father to George W. Bush, who was our 43rd president. These are the only two cases in history where a father and his son were both presidents. Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt were just fifth cousins.
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