# 1832 Presidential Election [[Andrew Jackson]]'s reelection, fought primarily over the **Bank War** — Jackson's veto of the recharter of the [[Second Bank of the United States]]. Jackson defeated [[Henry Clay]] (National-Republican) 219 to 49 electoral votes, with anti-Masonic candidate William Wirt taking 7 EV (Vermont) — the first third-party candidate to win any electoral votes. The election also produced the **first national party nominating conventions** in American history: the Democratic Party met in Baltimore in May 1832, formally nominating Jackson and replacing his original VP [[John C. Calhoun]] with [[Martin Van Buren]]. ## Result - **[[Andrew Jackson]]** (Democrat) — 219 electoral votes, 54.2% popular - **Henry Clay** (National-Republican) — 49 electoral votes, 37.4% popular - **William Wirt** (Anti-Masonic) — 7 electoral votes (Vermont), 8.0% popular - Total: 286 electoral votes (South Carolina's 11 electors voted for John Floyd in protest of the Tariff of Abominations) ## Right-wing relevance The 1832 election's right-wing relevance is structural in two ways. First, it produced the precedent of **veto-and-defend** — Jackson's veto of the Bank, the use of the veto as a routine political tool (rather than reserved for clearly unconstitutional bills), and the campaign argument that the veto was an expression of the people's will against entrenched interests. This established the modern aggressive use of the presidential veto. Second, the Anti-Masonic Party's appearance is the first American case of a major **conspiracy-driven political party** entering the electoral arena — a pattern that recurs through the Know-Nothings, the Populists in part, and the contemporary right's various conspiracy-driven mobilizations. ## Connections - [[Andrew Jackson]] — Reelected; the Bank War was his signature second-term project. - [[Martin Van Buren]] — New VP; architect of the Jackson succession. ---