in the united states presidential election of 1824, john quincy adams was elected the sixth president of the united states. there were five candidates for president: john quincy adams, john c. calhoun, william h. crawford , henry clay and andrew jackson. jackson was by far the most popular candidate. the winner of the electoral college was jackson who had 99 votes. adams was second with 84 votes. crawford won 41 votes while clay won only 37. for the first time since 1801 the united states house of representatives would decide the election. under the twelfth amendment to the united states, with no electoral college winner, the president would be voted on from among the top three candidates. meeting in february 1825, adams won by a single vote. adams was the son of the second president of the united states, john adams.