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The 1824 presidential election featured four main candidates, with the candidates being Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and William Crawford (Figure 1). Because there were four main candidates, with each having some support, the results led to a contested election in which no candidate was able to obtain the majority of the electoral college. This election featured only one party, the Democratic-Republican Party, although numerous factions existed, which eventually gave rise to the Democratic and Republican parties. As the majority of the electoral college votes are needed to become president, the election led to one of the few times the House of Representatives ultimately chose chosing who became president. Andrew Jackson had won the most electoral votes, and he had expected to be voted by the House as the next president, but he ultimately proved unsuccessful and John Quincy Adams was voted by the House. It was (likely) the first election where the winner did not receive a majority of the popular vote, where Adams only obtained about 32% of the total vote. Clay, who finished fourth, lent Adams supsupport and lobbied for him to be elected by the House, which helped to overcome Jackson's challenge. Clay was effectively out of the running so he had decided he would gain more by supporting Adams. Unlike today, more than a couple of states split their electoral votes based on districts. Maryland, Louisiana, Illinois, and New York split their votesin that election. The help by Clay led for Adams did lead Jackson to accuse Adams of striking a corrupt bargain, as Clay was appointed Secretary of State in the Adams' administration. That This controversy continued well after the election and motivated Jackson to run again. In fact, that message and accusation of corruption helped Jackson win the next presidential election.<ref>For more on the 1824 election, see: Waldstreicher, D. (Ed.), 2013. <i>A companion to John Adams and John Quincy Adams</i>, Wiley-Blackwell companions to American history. Wiley-Blackwell, A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication, Malden, MA.</ref>

Perhaps the most disputed election, and certainly one with a controversial result, in US history is the presidential election of 1876, which saw Rutherford Hayes (Republican) vs. Samuel J. Tilden (Democratic). In that election, Tilden had obtained the majority of the popular votes and, initially, the majority of the electoral votes (Tilden had won 184 electoral votes to Hayes's 165). However, 20 electoral votes were unresolved after days of counting, with results missing from the states of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Each party declared their candidate won in those states but ultimately it could not be resolved with ballots counted or the electoral votes. In the so-called compromise Compromise of 1877, the election was resolved by the Democratic party agreeing to give 20 electoral votes to Hayes in exchange for the Republicans withdrawing federal troops from the South, who had been there since the end of the Civil War, and formally ending Reconstruction. That compromise had long-lasting effects on the suppression of black voters, particularly as Jim Crow laws gained power in the Southafter the end of Reconstruction, but in the immediate sense it resolved the election by allowing the Democrats to at least get their main aims in getting rid of Federal troops and Reconsruction laws. That election was notable for having the highest voter turnout (81.8%) in US history for any presidential election and the narrowest electoral college victory for the winning candidate (185 to 184after the compromise deal was made).<ref>For more on the 1876 election, see: Rehnquist, W.H., 2004. <i>Centennial crisis: the disputed election of 1876</i>, 1st ed. ed. Alfred A. Knopf : Distributed by Random House, New York.</ref>

The 1888 presidential election saw Democratic President Grover Cleveland of New York run against Republican candidate Indiana U.S. Senator Benjamin Harrison. Harrison was able to carry the electoral votes and beat out Cleveland who carried the majority of voters. The electoral results were 233 vs. 168 for Harrison. What marred the election was the Harrison campaign was caught by the Cleveland campaign in attempting to buy votes. The action was technically not illegal. Local leaders in Indiana were promised funds to buy votes in Indiana and the letter stating this was found by the Democratic party. In fact, besides IndianIndiana, there could have been attempts to buy votes in New York, which may explain how Cleveland lost his home state that he was widely expected to win. While Cleveland ultimately lost his re-election bid, as he did not contest the election beyond the immediate controversy of the result, he was able to successfully run in 1880using the 1876 results as motivation, becoming the only president with non-consecutive terms.<ref>For more on the 1888 election, see: Wesser, R., 2019. <i>Election of 1888</i>. History of American Presidential Elections. </ref>