Monroeâ??s â??Era of Good Feelingsâ? came crashing down in 1824. Before 1824, Congressional Republicans caucused during presidential election years in order to choose a consensus candidate. The nomination process reflected Republican ideology that Congress best reflected the wishes of the people. The caucus also helped maintain party unity. The decisions for Madison and Monroe were fairly straightforward. The system worked.
With the Presidency up for grabs in 1824, the Congressional caucus selected William Crawford, a distinguished statesmen from Georgia, as their nominee. Not everyone was pleased with the decision. Indeed, only one-third of the members participated. The remaining two-thirds had given up on the system and had left D.C. in order to support their own candidates.
As the election unfolded, the once-unified party fractured along regional lines, although the geographic divisions also had underlying ideological differences. Four competing camps developed, but only two gained real traction.
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