Jennifer+Lear.+-+JQA+-+SP09



John Quincy Adams

Born: July 11, 1767 Died: Feb. 23, 1848 Political Party:Federalist until 1808 Democratic-Republican until1825 national Republican (whig) until death Term: (Inagurated) 1825- 1829 Vice President: John C. Calhoun

John Quincy Adams had the right intentions of being a great president and might possibly had achieve this high ranking if it hadn't been for the reason why he won office in the first place. However, intentions do not make a president great; it's how they conduct themselves in office that makes the deciding factor; which is why Adams receives a D. When President Adams first took office, he spoke of construction of roads, and canals, a national university, western expanding, the standardization of weights, and the promotion of laws that would help manufacturing, agriculture, commerce, and the arts. However, almost all of Adams proposed laws were met with continuous resistance, which made if difficult for these goals to be met. Most of the resistance had to do with the election of 1824, which is now known as the corrupt bargain. After a president could not be decided after the electoral vote, the decision was given to the House where Adams defeated the popular voted Jackson due to negotiated terms with Henry Clay who was the speaker of the House at that time. The conspiracy theory was carried throughout Adams presidency. Adams ultimate downfall of his almost failure as president was because he reappointed his fellow opponents to fill the federal posts (this was probably his worst act as president). Without having allies within his own legislature, he was doomed to rough times ahead. It also didn't help when his Vice President filled senator posts with anti-Adams members. With congressmen disagreeing with almost all of his views, he was not going to achieve goals that he had originally set. A good example of resistance towards Adam's goals was when he attempted to put a tariff on wool. This would give protection to New England textile factories and help the economy; however this was denied by Congress with Vice President Calhoun giving the deciding vote. The best act of Adams as president was when he attempted to have the United States participate in the Panama Congress. This would get the United States involved with a formation of Latin America Republics and create good relations with the Latin American people. However, once again this act was once again confronted with resistance when Congress criticized Adams for accepting the invitation to attend, declaring that this would mean American interference in foreign government. Administration ends up sending two delegates who eventually never make it to the meeting. The act that affected the future administration of the United States was at the very beginning of Adams term, when he was elected president. The Corrupt Bargain that gave Adams his role as president ultimately paved the path for Andrew Jackson to become the next president. Campaigning for Jackson's presidency started right after Adams was elected. There were bills proposed by Congress that were meant to give Jackson a better chance in election, such as the 'Tariff of Abominations' (a high tariff that was highly resented) Bitter Jacksonians continued their efforts to put Jackson into office, which they eventually succeeded in doing in the next election. When Adam's presidency did come to a close, the United States was in a worse situation than when it started. The government was highly dysfunctional with a Congress that didn't coincide with its president, which made it hard for advancement to develop. This dysfunctional performance of Adam's terms is why he receives a D for his presidency.

Smith, Carter. __Presidents, All You Need To Know__. New York: Hylas Publishing, 2004.