Note 4 — JOHN QUINCY ADAMS IN RUSSIA

The Presidential election of 1812, occurring in the midst of the war with England, was closely contested. James Madison was a candidate for reëlection, representing the so-called Republican party. De Witt Clinton of New York was the candidate of the Federalist party. A change of twenty electoral votes would have turned the scale. The Federalists in Massachusetts had a majority of 24,000, and the Peace party swept the Congressional districts throughout New England and New York. Madison, however, received 128 votes in the Electoral College, out of a total of 217.