Editing Henry Clay (section)

====Bank War and the 1832 presidential election====
{{Main|Bank War|1831 National Republican National Convention|1832 United States presidential election}}
[[File:ElectoralCollege1832.svg|thumb|upright=1|Andrew Jackson defeated Clay in the 1832 election]]

With the defeat of Adams, Clay became the de facto leader of the National Republicans, and he began making preparations for a presidential campaign in the [[1832 United States presidential election|1832 election]].{{sfn|Gammon|1922|pp=53–54}} In 1831, Jackson made it clear that he was going to run for re-election, ensuring that support or opposition to his presidency would be a central feature of the upcoming race.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|p=231}} Jackson's Democrats rallied around his policies towards the national bank, internal improvements, [[Indian Removal Act|Indian removal]], and [[Nullification (U.S. Constitution)|nullification]], but these policies also earned Jackson various enemies, including Vice President John C. Calhoun.{{sfn|Gammon|1922|pp=135–136}} However, Clay rejected overtures from the fledgling [[Anti-Masonic Party]],{{efn|Though it adopted other policy issues, the Anti-Masonic Party strongly opposed the influence of [[Freemasonry]]; Jackson and Clay were both Freemasons. Though he not been active Freemason since 1824, Clay refused to openly condemn the organization.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=168–170}}}} and his attempt to convince Calhoun to serve as his running mate failed, leaving the opposition to Jackson split among different factions.{{sfn|Cole|1993|pp=140–141}} Inspired by the Anti-Masonic Party's national convention, Clay's National Republican followers arranged for a [[1831 National Republican National Convention|national convention]] that nominated Clay for president.{{sfn|Gammon|1922|pp=60–61}}

As the 1832 election approached, the debate over the re-authorization of the national bank emerged as the most important issue in the campaign.{{sfn|Gammon|1922|pp=135–136}} By the early 1830s, the national bank had become the largest corporation in the United States, and [[banknotes]] issued by the national bank served as the de facto legal tender of the United States.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=171–173}} Jackson disliked the national bank because of a hatred of both banks and paper currency.{{sfn|Howe|2007|pp=375–376}} The bank's charter did not expire until 1836, but bank president [[Nicholas Biddle (banker)|Nicholas Biddle]] asked for renewal in 1831, hoping that election year pressure and support from Secretary of the Treasury [[Louis McLane]] would convince Jackson to allow the re-charter.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=242–244}} Biddle's application set off the "[[Bank War]]"; Congress passed a bill to renew the national bank's charter, but Jackson vetoed it, holding the bank to be unconstitutional.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=174, 179–180}} Clay had initially hoped that the national bank re-charter would work to his advantage, but Jackson's allies seized on the issue, redefining the 1832 election as a choice between the president and a "monied oligarchy."{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=175, 181–182}} Ultimately, Clay was unable to defeat a popular sitting president. Jackson won 219 of the 286 electoral votes and 54.2% of the popular vote, carrying almost every state outside of New England.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=184–187}}