In order to support such contention, it is necessary to mention the exact historical origins of the Second Party system. In the first two decades of the 19th century, there were two main political parties: The Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party. However, after 1816 the Federalist Party collapsed and for these elections the presidential race was not between parties but between candidates of the same party. In the 1824 presidential elections there were four presidential candidates (Henry Clay, William Crawford, Andrew Jackson, and John Quincy Adams). They were all Democratic Republicans. None of them obtained an Electoral College majority. Andrew Jackson was the candidate who had won the popular vote and had the most electoral votes of the four but did not have a full majority. Because of this it would have to be the House of Representatives that would chose the next president and Henry Clay, one of the candidates was its Speaker. He made a shady political deal with John Quincy Adams, he would elect Adams as new POTUS if Adams agreed to make him Secretary of State, which is exactly what occurred. Jackson was infuriated and vehemently denounced such political maneuverings. His followers were equally enraged and they all united to create a new Democratic party. Adams created his own National Republican Party but was ousted from the White House by Jackson’s Democratic Party in the 1828 elections. So it is quite safe to state that the Second Two Party System was created by those who supported Jackson versus those who opposed Jackson.
