The Presidency of John Quincy

The Many Difficulties of America's Most Intelligent President

Apr 14, 2008

From the beginning, John Quincy Adams faced an uphill battle as President. He was never quite able to prove wrong those who viewed his Presidency as being "illegitimate.

As the dust settled on the vicious and controversial election of 1824, finally ended by what many have viewed as a "corrupt bargain" between John Quincy Adams and his new Secretary of State Henry Clay, the Adams administration immediately found themselves facing innumerable difficulties.

The American System

Chief among those policies that John Quincy Adams strove for in his single term as President was the initiation of a new system of modernization and national improvement.

True to his formerly Federalist ideas, the "American System" would be a series of internal improvements throughout the growing nation, roads, canals, general infrastructure improvements - supported by a high protective tariff and making use of the national bank.

The system had begun inplementation under Monroe (sponsored by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun during the era of good feelings), and the Second Bank of the United States had been chartered under Madison in 1816.

The chief role that Adams played in the implementation of the American System was the signing into law of the controversial Tariff of 1828, which was called by many southerners (who were negatively effected by high tariffs) the "Tariff of Abominations."

To many, the Presidency of John Quincy Adams can be summarized using only two phrases: "Corrupt Bargain," and "Tariff of Abominations."

Adams' strongest suit as a politician, it would seem, was his vast knowledge of foreign policy. Unfortunately for him (though fortunately for the nation), the period of 1824-1828 marked a relatively quiet time in world affairs. America was involved in no great struggles and Adams never had opportunity to flex his diplomatic muscles.

The Election of 1828

In a "rematch" of the election of 1824, Jackson issued a resounding defeat upon Adams in the 1828 vote. After losing in 1824, Jackson had resigned his senate seat and spent four years campaigning to remove Adams from office. It was a harsh, bitter campaign, but one which saw Jackson winning by nearly 100 electoral votes.

After leaving office, Adams, 64 years old, was not remotely ready to leave politics.

In 1831, Adams became the first ever ex-President to be elected to the United States Congress, serving for seventeen years, though with the ascendency of Andrew Jackson and his takeover of the Democratic Party (they had begun to drop the "Republican" from their name) he had ceased to be a member of that party.

Adams was elected, instead, first as a National Republican (a party which did not last long), then as a Whig (the anti-Jacksonian party, named for the anti-Monarch party of England). Later, Adams would also run unsuccessfully for Governor of Massachussettes under still another party affiliation, Anti-Masonic.

The Congressman

In the House of Representatives, John Quincy Adams performed, perhaps, his most admirable service to the nation. He became one of the chief opponents of slavery, introducing several abolitionist petitions in congress. In addition, he served as chairman of several comittees.

Most famously, perhaps, was Adams' representation of the rebellious slaves in the Amistad case before the Supreme Court (made more famous by the Steven Spielberg film of the same name, with Sir Anthony Hopkins starring as John Quincy Adams), in which he won an important success for abolitionism.

Adams served in this important congressional capacity until the very day he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while preparing to address the House of Representatives. He died two days later in the Speaker's room within the Capital building itself.

Perhaps the most unique aspect to the remarkable life of John Quincy Adams was the fact that, while he is most remembered today as a President of the United States, there is really no way of looking at his life in such a way that this was his most important accomplishments.

His four years in office serve not as the highlight of his distinguished career, but merely as a footnote to it. His important role in shaping America cannot be disputed, but his Presidency had only a brief cameo in it.

The copyright of the article The Presidency of John Quincy in American History is owned by Isaac M. McPhee. Permission to republish The Presidency of John Quincy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.