In 1824, even though he won the most electoral votes in the election, Jackson lost his bid for the presidency to John Quincy Adams. Because there were four candidates that year, the electoral votes were split in such a way that no candidate was able to gain the 131 votes needed. Adams was able to gain the support of the majority of the representatives in the House, which gave him the presidency (the Constitution gives the House of Representatives the power to resolve a situation where the electoral votes do not designate a clear winner). But that defeat only fueled Andrew Jackson's successful run for the highest office in the land in the next election, the election of 1828.

The election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency marked a turning point in the history of the United States. Until Jackson's election, every president had an aristocratic or upper-class background. For forty...