John Quincy Adams Event Timeline

John Quincy Adams (6) Event Timeline

03/04/1825– 03/04/1829

1824

12/01/1824

Electoral votes are counted. John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William H. Crawford are all candidates for the 1824 presidential election. All are “Democrat-Republicans.”  Andrew Jackson receives a plurality of the popular vote (41%) and a plurality of the electoral college (38%). However, no presidential candidate wins a majority of the electoral college. As a result, the presidential election is inconclusive.  Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury, was the last candidate to be selected by a Congressional Caucus.  The others had been nominated by their state legislatures.

12/02/1824

As specified in the Twelfth Amendment, the House of Representatives holds a contingent election to elect a president. Only the top three candidates in numbers of electoral votes are eligible for the contingent election. These candidates are John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and William H. Crawford.

1825

01/01/1825

Speaker of the House and former presidential candidate, Henry Clay, formally endorses John Quincy Adams for the contingent election.

01/25/1825

The Columbian Observer (Philadelphia) publishes a letter, purported to be from an anonymous member of Congress, alleging that Henry Clay reached a bargain with John Quincy Adams in exchange for his support. This bargain was described as “one of the most disgraceful transactions that ever covered with infamy the republican ranks.”

02/01/1825

A letter from Henry Clay states that he thinks the letter of 01/25/1825 is a forgery; or that the author is “a base and infamous calumniator. . .”

02/09/1825

Adams is elected President by the House of Representatives with 54% of votes.  The Senate majority is comprised of Jackson & Crawford Republicans;  in the House, Adams Republicans are the largest party. 

02/10/1825

Reply of the President Elect to Notification of Election.  If the Constitution permitted, he would submit to a second popular vote.  Instead he hopes for “generous support from my fellow-citizens.”

03/04/1825

Inaugural Address.  “There still remains one effort of magnanimity, one sacrifice of prejudice and passion, to be made by the individuals throughout the nation who have heretofore followed the standards of political party. It is that of discarding every remnant of rancor against each other, of embracing as countrymen and friends, and of yielding to talents and virtue alone that confidence which in times of contention for principle was bestowed only upon those who bore the badge of party communion.”

03/07/1825

Appoints former presidential aspirant Henry Clay as Secretary of State. But he retains Monroe’s postmaster general, secretary of the navy, and Attorney General (William Wirt). Generally, J. Q. Adams is very restrained in using executive appointments in a way that might build political support.

10/26/1825

Erie Canal completed.  This was an undertaking entirely by the State of New York, but Federal officials took note of the success of the project and its revenue potential.

12/06/1825

First Message on the State of the Union. Proposes broad range of internal improvements, contrary to the views of his three predecessors.  Notes that in March 1824 the Treasury purchased shares in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Co.  Notes a study under way for a canal from the Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River. Accepts invitation to send delegates to Pan American Congress in Panama which subsequently proves controversial in the Senate.

1826

02/16/1826

In a Special Message to the Senate, Adams states that he has confidentially provided requested information about the “congress at Panama,” and “leaves to the Senate” a decision to make them public nonetheless.

03/03/1826

Senator John Randolph (VA) objects to the Adams message of 02/16/1826 as impugning the motives of the Senate. Randolph says he has been defeated by the combination of “the puritan with the blackleg.”  The last phrase, regarded as an insulting reference to the coalition of Clay and Adams, resulted in a duel between Randolph and Clay.  Neither man was wounded.

07/04/1826

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both die on this day from natural causes on 50^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

11/08/1826

The final date of voting in 1826 Elections.  Both Houses of Congress have pro-Jackson majorities.

11/13/1826

Convention with Britain concluded at London, settles indemnity under the Treaty of Ghent (which ended the War of 1812). Provides compensation for “upwards of 2,400 slaves” who had been freed (“carried away”) during that conflict.  [This negotiation is noted in the State of The Union Message of 1827.]  Also see negotiating “instructions” communicated to the Senate on 12/20/1826.

12/05/1826

Second Annual State of the Union Message.

1827

02/05/1827

Addresses Congress on the rights of the Creek Indians.

03/17/1827

Proclamation to close trading ports to the British.

03/19/1827

St. Petersburg Convention to the Ghent Treaty is Proclaimed [this event is noted in 1827 State of the Union Message.]

12/04/1827

Annual Message on State of the Union. Adams enumerates many surveys underway for roads and canals.  Called again for creation of a naval academy. Calls for Congress to manage the disposal of public lands.

1828

04/22/1828

In a narrow vote, the House of Representatives voted (105-94) in favor of the Tariff Act of 1828. This is also popularly known as the “Tariff of Abominations.” The goal was to protect northern and western agricultural products.  It created a 38% tax on certain imported goods and a 45% tax on certain imported raw materials. However, Southerners felt threatened by this tariff because they were charged more for European imports.

05/19/1828

Signs the Tariff Act of 1828 (“Tariff of Abominations”). [Link to text of the act.]

08/25/1828

Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Trimble dies as presidential elections approached. 

10/31/1828 – 12/02/1828

Voters Cast Ballots. Andrew Jackson (Democrats) defeats incumbent John Quincy Adams (National Republicans) winning 68% of the electoral vote and 56% of the popular vote (not all states had mass popular voting). This was the last election before national party conventions.  In some ways this was the first “modern” campaign with slogans and buttons;  Jackson became known as “Old Hickory.”

12/01/1828

Vice President John C. Calhoun—who ran for re-election on a ticket with Jackson, not Adams—anonymously writes a pamphlet entitled, South Carolina Exposition and Protest. In this pamphlet, he urged the nullification of the Tariff of 1828 (See entry of 05/19/1828) within South Carolina.

12/02/1828

Delivers the State of the Union.

12/17/1828

Nominates John J. Crittenden as Associate Justice (replacing Trimble who had died in August). Jackson’s allies in the Senate block Crittenden's confirmation in order to give the appointment to Jackson. See transcript of speech of 02/04/1829 by Senator Holmes (ME) reviewing the history and questions presented by such a nomination.  Crittenden subsequently continued a distinguished career involving many public offices.

1829

03/04/1829

Andrew Jackson is sworn in as the seventh President of the United States.  Adams does not attend Jackson's Inauguration. 

Adams served in Congress from 1830 - 1848 where he earned a reputation for opposing slavery.  In 1841 he successfully defended slave mutineers from La Amistad, including arguing before the Supreme Court in 1841 (United States v. The Amistad).