in 1824, america was a republic, but still developing as a democracy. at the time people were not as directly involved in the political process as they would become. there were 24 states and six of them left the choice of president up to their state legislatures. so a presidential campaign was not the popularity contest it would later become. the choice of a president was in part made by other elected officials and in part by citizens who could vote. unlike modern politicians, presidential candidates did not campaign personally. instead, their campaign managers and others would place ads in newspapers that criticized their candidate's rivals while promoting the virtues of their candidate. the candidates left the campaigning to their friends.