Age of Jackson
Dig Deeper: Was it a corrupt bargain?
Taken at face value, it wasn’t. Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams did meet privately before the vote. It is doubtful that Clay asked outright to be secretary of state in return for delivering votes to Adams.
But it was probably understood between the two men that Clay wanted to be rewarded for helping Adams secure the presidency. At that time many people who had served as secretary of state had gone on to become president. Clay wanted to be president so he wanted the job of secretary of state. Today we would call it a political bargain.
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