The American Vote
2024 result
Era of Good FeelingsCycle 9 / 60

1820

James Monroe and the 1820 map.
James Monroe (Democratic-Republican) defeated John Quincy Adams (Democratic-Republican).

The 1820 U.S. presidential election was won by James Monroe (Democratic-Republican) with 231 of 232 electoral votes, defeating John Quincy Adams (Democratic-Republican). Electoral-vote margin: 230 (231 to 1). Turnout was 10.1%. The cycle falls in the Era of Good Feelings of American electoral history.

Monroe
231 EV
Adams
1 EV
0118 to win232
The map · 1820
24 states for Monroe · 0 for Adams
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Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.

Narrative

James Monroe and the 1820 map

Monroe ran virtually unopposed as the only significant candidate, winning all but one electoral vote in the height of the 'Era of Good Feelings.' Elector William Plumer of New Hampshire cast his presidential ballot for John Quincy Adams, reportedly either in protest or to preserve Washington's record as the only unanimously elected president. Three other electors died before voting. This was the last election before the Democratic-Republican Party fractured into competing factions.

Key issue

National unity and the Missouri Compromise over slavery

Notable

Monroe ran nearly unopposed; one elector voted for John Quincy Adams

This summary was drafted with AI tools and has not yet been checked sentence by sentence. The vote table and the National Archives note on this page come from named sources; where they differ from the summary, rely on them. Tell us about an error.

From the National Archives

*235 electors were appointed, but only 232 votes were cast due to the deaths of one elector each from Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

National Archives, Electoral College results for 1820, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.

State results · 1820

Electoral votes by state. State popular votes for 1820 are not yet published here.
1820 presidential election results by state: electoral votes
StateElectoral votesPopular vote
Alabama1
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Connecticut2
9 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Delaware3
4 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Georgia4
8 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Illinois5
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Indiana6
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Kentucky7
12 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Louisiana8
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Maine9
9 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Maryland10
11 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Massachusetts11
15 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Mississippi12
2 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Missouri13
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New Hampshire14
8 EV
Monroe 7, John Quincy Adams 1 (cast by elector William Plumer)
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New Jersey15
8 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New York16
29 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
North Carolina17
15 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Ohio18
8 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Pennsylvania19
24 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Rhode Island20
4 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
South Carolina21
11 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Tennessee22
7 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Vermont23
8 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Virginia24
25 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.

Notes on the figures

  1. Alabama State popular vote not yet sourced.
  2. Connecticut State popular vote not yet sourced.
  3. Delaware State popular vote not yet sourced.
  4. Georgia State popular vote not yet sourced.
  5. Illinois State popular vote not yet sourced.
  6. Indiana State popular vote not yet sourced.
  7. Kentucky State popular vote not yet sourced.
  8. Louisiana State popular vote not yet sourced.
  9. Maine State popular vote not yet sourced.
  10. Maryland State popular vote not yet sourced.
  11. Massachusetts State popular vote not yet sourced.
  12. Mississippi State popular vote not yet sourced.
  13. Missouri State popular vote not yet sourced.
  14. New Hampshire State popular vote not yet sourced.
  15. New Jersey State popular vote not yet sourced.
  16. New York State popular vote not yet sourced.
  17. North Carolina State popular vote not yet sourced.
  18. Ohio State popular vote not yet sourced.
  19. Pennsylvania State popular vote not yet sourced.
  20. Rhode Island State popular vote not yet sourced.
  21. South Carolina State popular vote not yet sourced.
  22. Tennessee State popular vote not yet sourced.
  23. Vermont State popular vote not yet sourced.
  24. Virginia State popular vote not yet sourced.

SourceNo state popular-vote figures for 1820 are published here yet. How these figures were compiled

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James Monroe · D-R

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