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John Quincy Adams July 11th, 1767-February 23rd, 1848 Political Party: Federalist, Democratic-Republican, Whig Term:March 4th, 1825- March 3rd, 1829 Vice President:John C. Calhoun

John Quincy Adams had many goals in mind when he became president. Although, who knows if he would have even became president if not for the secret bargain that went on between Adams and Henry Clay. He also made many mistakes in office, and for this he deserves a D.

John Quincy Adams had goals and ideas coming into his presidency. He strongly supported the constructions of roads and canals. In fact, he urged it upon congress in his first annual message. He wanted to use money towards internal improvements like the roads, and a national bank. He also wanted to establish a national university and an astronomical observatory. The people were not very supportive of Adams' goals. They believed the observatory would be a waste of their money. Not even members of his own party, supported his ideas. People believed he was just being arrogant. Most of his ideas were not approved because the Jackson supporters in congress were still outraged about the election.

The election of 1824 was also known as the "corrupt bargain." In the election of 1824, there were four candidates. The candidates were John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William H Crawford. After none of the candidates won the majority vote in the electoral college, the speaker of the house, along with the House of Representatives had to choose the next president. It came down to Adams and Jackson. It is said that Adams and Clay entered into a bargain to ensure Adams' victory. In return, Clay was chosen to be his secretary of state. Many people protested.

Then to make matters worse, Adams chose people that did not support him to be in office. Therefore, they did not always agree with him. They still had hasty feelings toward him because of the election. This was not a good decision on Adams' part. One of the issues that they disagreed upon was the protective tariffs. When Adams signed off on the Tariff of 1828, also known as the Tariff of Abominations, he really made a mistake, and lost approval of many people, especially southerners.

Some accomplishments of Adams were the roads and canals that were built under his presidency. They better linked the United States. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was also notable because it was the first designed for passengers and freight. The action that had the most negative outcome was the protective tariffs. They made people turn against him, especially southerners.

Adams' presidency definitely affected future presidents. First and foremost, it allowed for Jackson to have an easy victory because everyone hated Adams. The "corrupt bargain" had the positive affect of helping Jackson become president. He already had much support, and he started campaigning right away. The "corrupt bargain" also affected future presidents, because the election had to be closely monitored to ensure that something like the "corrupt bargain" would never happen again.

All in all, the presidency of John Quincy Adams, was not a success. He cheated his way into office, and the people certainly did not forget that. Adams did do a few good things, like establish roads and canals, and he had many goals, therefore he does not deserve an F, however he made many more bad decisions, than good. His term started off bad, with the "corrupt bargain," so many people already disliked him, and with each bad decision, the numbers rose. He was a very successful secretary of state, however he was one of the least successful presidents, so he deserves a D.

Bibliography: "John Quincy Adams." __Presidents of the United States__. 20 Jan 2009. 4 Mar 2009 . "John Quincy Adams." __The White House__. 2009. 4 Mar 2009 . "John Quincy Adams." __Wikipedia__. 02 Mar 2009. 4 Mar 2009 .