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John Quincy Adams July 11, 1767 - February 23, 1846 Democratic-Republican Served as President from 1825-29 Vice President: John C. Calhoun

In a way, John Quincy Adams changed the whole environment of America in his 4 short years in office. Adams was a man that kept to himself. He was not a President for the people, but for the country. He created laws such as the tariff's of abomination that angered the Nation in general. He in-fact created a nation starving for "The people's President" even more so then before Adams was elected. John Quincy Adams was a one-term President who influenced more of the future with his own Presidency then most others did in their lifetime. I believe he deserves a C for his one term in office because of how much he really wasn't supposed to be there. Most signs point to the corrupt bargain as the only reason he became President. He also wasn't liked by the people due to his policies such as the tariff of abominations. So I strongly believe he deserves a C. During Adam's one and only inaugural address, he constantly talked about Human rights and how it had been accomplished in the country from previous Presidents. How the people were all equal under the constitution. But like many people of that day, they left out Human rights for African Americans. Obviously at that time no one considered it odd that it was left out, but after stressing the importance of the equality under the constitution, it should be noted how he did not input anything on the matter. He also talked about the states rights and how it was important for the government not to overstep its boundaries with the states. He admitted it was a difficult process. During his Presidency he proposed many new projects including canals and roads. He wanted the Federal Government to link the states together. He had no real backing in congress for his plan as most were against him because of the corrupt bargain. Never the less he still proposed the plan, and in 1828 broke ground to the C & 0 canal. He also tried to influence a push in the arts and sciences, which many people in congress scoffed at as a waste of money. No one at that time believed that money put in to studying astronomy would be useful. Adams, as I stated, was only a C President. However he was still able to contribute one fairly good thing to our country, the canal and roadway plan. Although not well received because of who Adams was, the plan was a great idea. It combined states though roads and canals which would preserve the public domain, and was funded by the sale of public lands. In 1828 he was able to break ground on the first canal. That plan has led to the connection of states through many different ways. Though, if there is a small good side, there must be a tremendous bad side. Which there was. Adams was dealt a bill which increased tariffs to the point where many southerners were up in arms. The bill would make tariffs on manufacturing items so high, that it would essentially rob the south of their income. Never the less he passed the bill in 1828 and in the end created a huge obstacle for the next President, Andrew Jackson, to face. Not only was there bad decisions made in office, but just the election of Adams was bad. Most people believed that Adams did not fairly win the presidency because of the corrupt bargain. The corrupt bargain was that Henry Clay, speaker of the house, influenced members of the electoral college to vote for Adams even though Jackson had won the popular vote. The thought of building canals and roads back in the early 19th century changed the way of life for everyone since then. Now most people travel on turnpikes or interstates. That could not have happened without Adams' plan. His plan opened up the country for travel. Even though in the day it was opposed by some people, it was a great plan that helped our country join together. At the end of Adams one term, the country overwhelmingly voted for Andrew Jackson to become President, thus showing the American peoples distaste in him. For doing only one good thing in his Presidency, the country would have been better off without him as President. That is why I gave Adams a C. With all the mistakes and errors he made, he did not deserve to be President and most likely didn't really win the election fairly anyway. All those things taken into account, he was a poor President when America needed a better one.

Works Cited:

"John Quincy Adams: Inaugural Address." //The American Presidency Project//. Web. 01 Oct. 2011. . "John Quincy Adams." //The White House//. Web. 02 Oct. 2011. . "American President: John Quincy Adams: Domestic Affairs." //Miller Center//. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. .