James Monroe Effectively Ran Unopposed in 1820 US Presidential Election

Here is something that may never happen again - in the 1820 US Presidential election, President James Monroe ran unopposed.

Incumbent James Monroe, who represented the Democratic-Republican party (before their split), ended up receiving all but one of the electoral votes - only William Plumer voted against him, as Plumer cast his vote for Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.

In total, President Monroe received 231 electoral votes in the last uncontested US Presidential election that ever took place.

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In 1820, the United States was literally living through an era that would come to be known as the "Era of Good Feelings".

Partisanship was frowned upon in the country, as the nation sought to heal following the War of 1812.

The Federalist Party was witnessing a shocking drop in popularity, and they were unable to field a candidate in the 1820 election.

There was the Democratic-Republican party, led by James Monroe, and nobody else, which allowed Monroe to win the 1820 US Presidential election uncontested.

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President Monroe declined to run in the 1824 election as he had already served two terms.

This was before the 22nd Amendment, so Monroe COULD have run again if they wanted to, though he elected not to. There was a quiet understanding amongst Presidents that two terms was the limit, as George Washington had elected to only serve two terms in the White House.

The 1824 election would see the "Era of Good Feelings" come to an end. The Democratic-Republican party would witness a tremendous amount of in-fighting in the lead-up to the election, as they would field four candidates - John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay.

Alliances would form within the party, and eventually the Democratic-Republican party would completely splinter.

By the 1828 US Presidential election, Andrew Jackson would run under the Democratic banner, while John Quincy Adams would run under the National Republican banner.

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It's funny, in this day and age, to think that there was a time, just 200 years ago, when the country was so unified that there was a Presidential candidate that ran uncontested in the name of bipartisanship.

Will this ever happen again? Probably not.

Filed under: General Knowledge