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225-625: The first issue of American Review was dated January 1845, though it was likely published as early as October 1844, and intended to promote the Whig candidate Henry Clay , running in the presidential election of 1844. Clay was opposed by James K. Polk , the Democratic Party’s candidate, who had the support of the Democratic Review . In December 1844, Edgar Allan Poe was recommended as an editorial assistant by James Russell Lowell , though Poe

450-527: A Baptist minister nicknamed "Sir John", died in 1781, leaving Henry and his brothers two slaves each; he also left his wife 18 slaves and 464 acres (188 ha) of land. Clay was of entirely English descent; his ancestor, John Clay, settled in Virginia in 1613. The Clay family became a well-known political family including three other US senators, numerous state politicians, and Clay's cousin Cassius Clay ,

675-493: A congressional nominating caucus to choose their presidential nominees, giving congressmen a powerful role in the presidential selection process. Monroe and Secretary of War William Crawford emerged as the two main candidates for the Democratic-Republican nomination. Clay had a favorable opinion of both individuals, but he supported Monroe, who won the nomination and went on to defeat Federalist candidate Rufus King in

900-488: A slave state , Maine would be admitted as a free state, and slavery would be forbidden in the territories north of 36° 30' parallel. Clay helped assemble a coalition that passed the Missouri Compromise , as Thomas's proposal became known. Further controversy ensued when Missouri's constitution banned free blacks from entering the state, but Clay was able to engineer another compromise that allowed Missouri to join as

1125-895: A strict constructionist view of the Constitution , while Clay, Calhoun, and Adams embraced federally funded internal improvements , high tariffs , and the Second Bank of the United States , which was also known as the national bank. Because the Federalist Party had all but collapsed after the War of 1812, all the major presidential candidates were members of the Democratic-Republican Party. Adams felt that his own election as president would vindicate his father, while also allowing him to pursue an ambitious domestic policy. Though he lacked

1350-419: A " Corrupt bargain " whereby Adams promised Clay the position of Secretary of State in return for Clay's support. Adams was inaugurated on March 4, 1825, becoming the first son of a former United States president to himself become president, a feat only repeated 176 years later by George W. Bush , son of George H. W. Bush . As Adams took the oath of office , he departed from tradition by placing his hand on

1575-600: A Federalist Party leader whom Adams viewed as overly favorable to Britain. Unlike other New England Federalists, Adams supported the Jefferson administration's Louisiana Purchase and expansionist policies. Adams was the lone Federalist in Congress to vote for the Non-importation Act of 1806 that punished Britain for its attacks on American shipping during the ongoing Napoleonic Wars . Adams became increasingly frustrated with

1800-611: A book of constitutional law instead of on a Bible . In his inaugural address, he adopted a post-partisan tone, promising to avoid party-building and politically motivated appointments. He also proposed an elaborate program of "internal improvements": roads, ports, and canals. Though some were worried about the constitutionality of such federal projects, Adams argued that the General Welfare Clause provided for broad constitutional authority. He promised that he would ask Congress to authorize many such projects. Adams presided over

2025-456: A choice between the president and a "monied oligarchy." Ultimately, Clay was unable to defeat a popular sitting president. Jackson won 219 of the 286 electoral votes and 54.2% of the popular vote, carrying almost every state outside of New England. The high rates of the Tariff of 1828 and the Tariff of 1832 angered many Southerners because they resulted in higher prices for imported goods. After

2250-660: A close to the War of 1812. After the signing of the treaty, Clay briefly traveled to London, where he helped Gallatin negotiate a commercial agreement with Britain. Clay returned to the United States in September 1815; despite his absence, he had been elected to another term in the House of Representatives. Upon his return to Congress, Clay won election as Speaker of the House. The War of 1812 strengthened Clay's support for interventionist economic policies such as federally funded internal improvements, which he believed were necessary to improve

2475-453: A detailed political platform in the same way that Adams did, his coalition united in opposition to Adams's reliance on government planning. Adams, meanwhile, clung to the hope of a non-partisan nation, and he refused to make full use of the power of patronage to build up his own party structure. During the first half of his administration, Adams avoided taking a strong stand on tariffs, partly because he wanted to avoid alienating his allies in

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2700-577: A dispute erupted over the proposed statehood of Missouri after New York Congressman James Tallmadge introduced a legislative amendment that would provide for the gradual emancipation of Missouri's slaves. Though Clay had previously called for gradual emancipation in Kentucky, he sided with the Southerners in voting down Tallmadge's amendment. Clay instead supported Illinois Senator Jesse B. Thomas 's compromise proposal in which Missouri would be admitted as

2925-577: A fee in 1807. Thomas Jefferson later convinced Clay that Burr had been guilty of the charges. Clay's legal practice was light after his election to Congress. In the 1823 case Green v. Biddle , Clay submitted the Supreme Court's first amicus curiae . However, he lost that case. Clay entered politics shortly after arriving in Kentucky. In his first political speech, he attacked the Alien and Sedition Acts , laws passed by Federalists to suppress dissent during

3150-550: A harmonious and productive cabinet that he met with on a weekly basis. Like Monroe, Adams sought a geographically balanced cabinet that would represent the various party factions, and he asked the members of the Monroe cabinet to remain in place for his own administration. Samuel L. Southard of New Jersey stayed on as Secretary of the Navy , William Wirt kept his post of Attorney General , and John McLean of Ohio continued to serve as

3375-521: A kind and supportive stepfather and Clay had a very good relationship with him. After his mother's remarriage, the young Clay remained in Hanover County, where he learned how to read and write. In 1791, Watkins moved the family to Kentucky, joining his brother in the pursuit of fertile new lands in the West. However, Clay did not follow, as Watkins secured his temporary employment in a Richmond emporium, with

3600-650: A large budget deficit, Tyler also signed the Tariff of 1842 , which restored the protective rates of the Tariff of 1832 but ended the distribution policy that had been established with the Preemption Act of 1841. President Tyler's break with the Whig Party, combined with Webster's continuing affiliation with Tyler, positioned Clay as the leading contender for the Whig nomination in the 1844 presidential election . By 1842, most observers believed that Clay would face Van Buren in

3825-407: A large inheritance. After the deaths of Anne and Susan, Clay and Lucretia raised several grandchildren at Ashland. In November 1797, Clay relocated to Lexington, Kentucky, near where his parents and siblings resided. The Bluegrass region, with Lexington at its center, had quickly grown in the preceding decades but had only recently stopped being under the threat of Native American raids. Lexington

4050-523: A leading congressional Whig. Clay sought the presidency in the 1840 election but was passed over at the Whig National Convention in favor of Harrison. When Harrison died and his vice president John Tyler ascended to office in 1841, Clay clashed with Tyler, who broke with Clay and other congressional Whigs. Clay resigned from the Senate in 1842 and won the 1844 Whig presidential nomination, but he

4275-539: A major recession that badly damaged the Democratic Party. Clay and other Whigs argued that Jackson's policies, including the use of pet banks, had encouraged speculation and caused the panic. He promoted the American System as a means for economic recovery, but President Van Buren's response focused on the practice of "strict economy and frugality." As the 1840 presidential election approached, many expected that

4500-510: A majority of the electoral votes for vice president. Adams nearly swept the electoral votes of New England and won a majority of the electoral votes in New York , but he won just six electoral votes from the slave states. Most of Jackson's support came from slave-holding states, but he also won New Jersey , Pennsylvania , and some electoral votes from the Northwest. As no candidate won a majority of

4725-537: A majority of the vote, the state legislature decided the election. Rather than seek election by the legislature, Adams withdrew his name from contention, and the legislature selected Davis. Adams was nearly elected to the Senate in 1835 by a coalition of Anti-Masons and National Republicans, but his support for Jackson in a minor foreign policy matter annoyed National Republican leaders enough that they dropped their support for his candidacy. After 1835, Adams never again sought higher office, focusing instead on his service in

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4950-589: A member of the Democratic-Republican Party , Clay won election to the Kentucky state legislature in 1803 and to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1810. He was chosen as Speaker of the House in early 1811 and, along with President James Madison , led the United States into the War of 1812 against Great Britain. In 1814, he helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent , which brought an end to the War of 1812, and then after

5175-439: A member of the Democratic-Republican Party but also a member of the " tertium quids " group that opposed many federal initiatives, emerged as a prominent opponent of Speaker Clay. While Randolph frequently attempted to obstruct Clay's initiatives, Clay became a master of parliamentary maneuvers that enabled him to advance his agenda even over the attempted obstruction by Randolph and others. Clay and other war hawks demanded that

5400-410: A minor censure from the Kentucky legislature. In 1810, U.S. Senator Buckner Thruston resigned to accept appointment to a position as a federal judge, and Clay was selected by the legislature to fill Thruston's seat. Clay quickly emerged as a fierce critic of British attacks on American shipping, becoming part of an informal group of " war hawks " who favored expansionist policies. He also advocated

5625-429: A more positive light during his post-presidency because of his vehement stance against slavery, as well as his fight for the rights of women and Native Americans. John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767, to John and Abigail Adams (née Smith) in a part of Braintree , Massachusetts , that is now Quincy . He was named after his mother's maternal grandfather, Colonel John Quincy , after whom Quincy, Massachusetts,

5850-412: A national bank bill acceptable to Tyler, but Tyler vetoed two separate bills to re-establish the national bank, showing that he in fact had no will to reach a solution for the party's issues. Clay and other Whig leaders were now outraged not only by Tyler's rejection of the Whig party platform but also because they felt that Tyler had purposely misled them into thinking that he would sign the bills. After

6075-507: A national bank, a key priority of Clay's. Clay nonetheless initially expected that Tyler would approve the measures passed by the Whig-controlled Congress; his priorities included the re-establishment of the national bank, higher tariff rates, a national bankruptcy law, and an act to distribute the proceeds of land sales to the states for investments in infrastructure and education. Clay and his congressional allies attempted to craft

6300-583: A national university, and engagement with the countries of Latin America, but Congress refused to pass many of his initiatives. During Adams's presidency , the Democratic-Republican Party split into two major camps: the National Republican Party , which supported Adams, and Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party . The Democrats proved to be more effective political organizers than Adams and his National Republican supporters, and Jackson soundly defeated Adams in

6525-554: A productive working relationship with Russian official Nikolay Rumyantsev and eventually befriended Tsar Alexander I of Russia . Adams continued to favor American neutrality between France and Britain during the Napoleonic War . Louisa was initially distraught at the prospect of living in Russia, but she became a popular figure at the Russian court. From his diplomatic post, Adams observed

6750-461: A professor of logic at Brown University and as the Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard University . Adams's devotion to classical rhetoric shaped his response to public issues, and he would remain inspired by those rhetorical ideals long after the neo-classicalism and deferential politics of the founding generation were eclipsed by the commercial ethos and mass democracy of

6975-417: A prominent advocate of internal improvements and protective tariffs within the administration. Adams chose Henry Clay as Secretary of State , angering those who believed Clay had offered Adams his support in the 1824 election in exchange for the most prestigious position in the cabinet. Clay would later regret accepting the job since it reinforced the "Corrupt Bargain" accusation. However, Clay's strength in

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7200-472: A prominent anti-slavery activist active in the mid-19th century. The British raided Clay's home shortly after the death of his father, leaving the family in a precarious economic position. However, the widow Elizabeth Clay married Captain Henry Watkins, a successful planter and cousin to John Clay. Elizabeth would have seven more children with Watkins, bearing a total of sixteen children. Watkins became

7425-419: A republic that had been established through a slave revolt . Though the United States delegation finally won confirmation from the Senate, it never reached the Congress of Panama due to the Senate's delay. The Jacksonians formed an effective party apparatus that adopted many modern campaign techniques. Rather than focusing on issues, they emphasized Jackson's popularity and the supposed corruption of Adams and

7650-490: A reputation for strong legal ability and courtroom oratory. In 1805, he was appointed to the faculty of Transylvania University where he taught, among others, future Kentucky Governor Robert P. Letcher and Robert Todd, the future father-in-law of Abraham Lincoln . Clay's most notable client was Aaron Burr , who was indicted for treason in the Burr conspiracy . Clay and his law partner John Allen successfully defended Burr without

7875-461: A request from President Madison. Madison signed the declaration of war on June 18, 1812, beginning the War of 1812. During the war, Clay frequently communicated with Secretary of State James Monroe and Secretary of War William Eustis , though he advocated for the replacement of the latter. The war started poorly for the Americans, and Clay lost friends and relatives in the fighting. In October 1813,

8100-449: A sarcastic tongue," voted against it. In early 1809, Clay challenged Marshall to a duel , which took place on January 19. While many contemporary duels were called off or fought without the intention of killing one another, both Clay and Marshall fought the duel with the intent of killing their opponent. They each had three turns to shoot; both were hit by bullets, but both survived. Clay quickly recovered from his injury and received only

8325-564: A series of pseudonymously published essays arguing that Britain provided a better governmental model than France. Two years later, he published another series of essays attacking Edmond-Charles Genêt , a French diplomat who sought to undermine President George Washington 's policy of neutrality in the French Revolutionary Wars . In 1794, Washington appointed Adams as the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands . Adams considered declining

8550-444: A single term. Following the nomination of a pro-annexation Democrat, Tyler soon ended his incipient independent run for president and endorsed Polk. Clay was surprised by Van Buren's defeat but remained confident of his chances in the 1844 election. Polk was the first " dark horse " presidential nominee in U.S. history, and Whigs mocked him as a "fourth rate politician." Despite his relative lack of national stature, Polk proved to be

8775-619: A smokehouse, a greenhouse, and several barns. There were 122 enslaved people at the estate during Clay's lifetime, with about 50 people needed for farming and the household. He planted crops such as corn, wheat, and rye, as well as hemp , the chief crop of the Bluegrass region . Clay also took a strong interest in thoroughbred racing and imported livestock such as Arabian horses , Maltese donkeys , and Hereford cattle . Though Clay suffered some financial issues during economic downturns, he never fell deeply into debt and ultimately left his children

9000-651: A state in August 1821. In foreign policy, Clay was a leading American supporter of the independence movements and revolutions that broke out in Latin America beginning in 1810. Clay frequently called on the Monroe administration to recognize the fledgling Latin American republics, but Monroe feared that doing so would derail his plans to acquire Spanish Florida . In 1818, General Andrew Jackson crossed into Spanish Florida to suppress raids by Seminole Indians. Though Jackson

9225-616: A strong candidate capable of uniting the factions of the Democratic Party and winning the support of Southerners who had been reluctant to support Van Buren. Clay's stance on slavery alienated some voters in both the North and the South. Pro-slavery Southerners flocked to Polk, while many Northern abolitionists , who tended to align with the Whig Party, favored James G. Birney of the Liberty Party . Clay's opposition to annexation damaged his campaign in

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9450-471: A trading advantage over the United States. Seeking deeper relations with Latin American countries, Clay strongly favored sending American delegates to the Congress of Panama , but his efforts were defeated by opponents in the Senate. Adams proposed an ambitious domestic program based in large part on Clay's American System, but Clay warned the president that many of his proposals held little chance of passage in

9675-440: A trial. Before the House chamber, he compared Jackson to military dictators of the past, telling his colleagues "that Greece had her Alexander , Rome her Caesar , England her Cromwell , France her Bonaparte , and, that if we would escape the rock on which they split, we must avoid their errors." Jackson saw Clay's protestations as an attack on his character and thus began a long rivalry between Clay and Jackson. The rivalry and

9900-566: Is also named. Colonel Quincy died two days after his great-grandson's birth. Young Adams was educated by tutors – his cousin James Thaxter and his father's law clerk, Nathan Rice. He soon exhibited literary skills, and in 1779 he started a diary that he kept until just before he died in 1848. Until the age of ten, Adams grew up on the family farm in Braintree, largely in the care of his mother. Though frequently absent because of his participation in

10125-478: The 1824 presidential election . Because no candidate won a majority of electoral votes , the House of Representatives held a contingent election , which Adams won with the support of Speaker of the House Henry Clay, whom Adams would controversially appoint as his secretary of state. As president, Adams called for an ambitious agenda that included federally funded infrastructure projects , the establishment of

10350-443: The 1828 presidential election , making Adams the second president to fail to win re-election (his father being the first). Rather than retiring from public service, Adams won election to the House of Representatives, where he would serve from 1831 until his death in 1848. He remains the only former president to be elected to the chamber. After narrowly losing his bids for Governor of Massachusetts and Senate re-election, Adams joined

10575-411: The 1840 elections , Clay saw the upcoming 27th Congress as an opportunity for the Whig Party to establish itself as the dominant political party by leading the country out of recession. President-elect Harrison asked Clay to serve another term as Secretary of State, but Clay chose to remain in Congress. Webster was instead chosen as Secretary of State, while John J. Crittenden , a close ally of Clay,

10800-530: The 1844 Whig National Convention , but a minority of expansionist Southern Democrats, encouraged by Tyler's alternative outline, blocked Van Buren's nomination at the 1844 Democratic National Convention for countless ballots, until Van Buren withdrew, making place for an unexpected compromise candidate: The party nominated former Speaker of the House James K. Polk of Tennessee, who favored annexation, but in order to calm anti-expansionists, promised to just run for

11025-572: The 19th Congress . Adams's opponents defeated many of his proposals, including the establishment of a naval academy and a national observatory, but Adams did preside over the construction or initiation of major infrastructure projects like the National Road and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal . Followers of Adams began to call themselves National Republicans , and Jackson's followers became known as Democrats . Both campaigns spread untrue stories about

11250-721: The Adams–Onís Treaty , which provided for the American acquisition of Florida. He also helped formulate the Monroe Doctrine , which became a key tenet of U.S. foreign policy . In 1818, Adams was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. Adams, Andrew Jackson , William H. Crawford , and Henry Clay —all members of the Democratic-Republican Party—competed in

11475-547: The American Revolution , John Adams maintained a correspondence with his son, encouraging him to read works by authors such as Thucydides and Hugo Grotius . With his father's encouragement, Adams would also translate classical authors such as Virgil , Horace , Plutarch , and Aristotle . In 1778, Adams and his father departed for Europe, where John Adams would serve as part of American diplomatic missions in France and

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11700-507: The American System , was designed to unite disparate regional interests in the promotion of a thriving national economy. Adams's programs faced opposition from various quarters. Many disagreed with his broad interpretation of the constitution and preferred that power be concentrated in state governments rather than the federal government. Others disliked interference from any level of government and were opposed to central planning. Some in

11925-684: The Anti-Masonic Party in the early 1830s before joining the Whig Party , which united those opposed to President Jackson. During his time in Congress, Adams became increasingly critical of slavery and of the Southern leaders whom he believed controlled the Democratic Party. He was particularly opposed to the annexation of Texas and the Mexican–American War , which he saw as a war to extend slavery and its political grip on Congress . He also led

12150-628: The Anti-Masonic Party , partly because the National Republican Party's leadership in Massachusetts included many of the former Federalists that Adams had clashed with earlier in his career. The Anti-Masonic Party originated as a movement against Freemasonry , but it developed into the country's first third party and embraced a general program of anti-elitism. Adams expected a light workload when he returned to Washington at 64 years old, but Speaker Andrew Stevenson selected Adams chair of

12375-775: The British West Indies , dealing a blow to Adams's prestige. The Adams administration negotiated extensively with the British to lift this ban, but the two sides could not reach an agreement. Despite the loss of trade with the British West Indies, the other commercial agreements secured by Adams helped expand the overall volume of United States exports. Aside from an unsuccessful attempt to purchase Texas from Mexico, President Adams did not seek to expand into Latin America or North America. Adams and Clay instead sought engagement with Latin America to prevent it from falling under

12600-527: The Cabinet post. Jackson was outraged by the election, and he and his supporters accused Clay and Adams of having reached a " Corrupt Bargain ." Pro-Jackson forces immediately began preparing for the 1828 presidential election , with the Corrupt Bargain accusation becoming their central issue. Clay served as secretary of state from 1825 to 1829. As secretary of state, he was the top foreign policy official in

12825-632: The Committee on Commerce and Manufactures . Though he identified as a member of the Anti-Masonic Party, Congress was broadly polarized into allies of Jackson and opponents of Jackson, and Adams generally aligned with the latter camp. Stevenson, an ally of Jackson, expected that the committee chairmanship would keep Adams busy defending the tariff even while the Jacksonian majority on the committee would prevent Adams from accruing any real power. As chair of

13050-664: The Compromise of 1850 , which postponed a crisis over the status of slavery in the territories. Clay was one of the most important and influential political figures of his era. Henry Clay was born on April 12, 1777, at the Clay homestead in Hanover County, Virginia . He was the seventh of nine children born to the Reverend John Clay and Elizabeth (née Hudson) Clay. Almost all of Henry's older siblings died before adulthood. His father,

13275-454: The Declaration of Independence , mentor of Thomas Jefferson , and judge on Virginia's High Court of Chancery. Hampered by a crippled hand, Wythe chose Clay as his secretary and amanuensis , a role in which Clay would remain for four years. Clay began to read law under Wythe's mentorship. Wythe had a powerful effect on Clay's worldview, with Clay embracing Wythe's belief that the example of

13500-558: The Force Bill , which would authorize the president to send federal soldiers against South Carolina if it sought to nullify federal law. Though Clay favored high tariff rates, he found Jackson's strong rhetoric against South Carolina distressing and sought to avoid a crisis that could end in civil war. He proposed a compromise tariff bill that would lower tariff rates, but do so gradually, thereby giving manufacturing interests time to adapt to less protective rates. Clay's compromise tariff won

13725-674: The Jacksonian Era . Many of Adams's idiosyncratic positions were rooted in his abiding devotion to the Ciceronian ideal of the citizen-orator "speaking well" to promote the welfare of the polis. He was also influenced by the classical republican ideal of civic eloquence espoused by British philosopher David Hume . Adams adapted these classical republican ideals of public oratory to the American debate, viewing its multilevel political structure as ripe for "the renaissance of Demosthenic eloquence". His Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory (1810) looks at

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13950-543: The Napoleonic Wars , President Jefferson arranged passage of the Embargo Act of 1807 . In support of Jefferson's policy, which limited trade with foreign powers, Clay introduced a resolution to require legislators to wear homespun suits rather than those made of imported British broadcloth . The vast majority of members of the state house voted for the measure, but Humphrey Marshall , an "aristocratic lawyer who possessed

14175-522: The National Republican Party and the Whig Party . For his role in defusing sectional crises, he earned the appellation of the "Great Compromiser" and was part of the " Great Triumvirate " of Congressmen, alongside fellow Whig Daniel Webster and Democrat John C. Calhoun . Clay died at the age of 75 in 1852. Clay was born in Virginia , in 1777, and began his legal career in Lexington, Kentucky , in 1797. As

14400-459: The Netherlands . During this period, Adams studied law , French , Greek , and Latin , and attended several schools, including Leiden University . In 1781, Adams traveled to Saint Petersburg , Russia, where he served as the secretary to the American diplomat, Francis Dana . He returned to the Netherlands in 1783 and accompanied his father to Great Britain in 1784. Though Adams enjoyed Europe, he and his family decided he needed to return to

14625-523: The Peninsular War . In addition to his foreign policy role, Adams held several domestic duties, including overseeing the 1820 United States census and writing an extensive report on weights and measures . The weights and measures report, a particular passion of Adams', provided an extensive historical perspective on the topic and advocated for adoption of the metric system . Monroe and Adams agreed on most major foreign policy issues: both favored neutrality in Latin American independence wars , peace with

14850-482: The Postmaster General , an important position that was not part of the cabinet at that time. Adams's first choices for Secretary of War and Secretary of the Treasury were Andrew Jackson and William Crawford, but each declined to serve in the administration. Adams instead selected James Barbour of Virginia , a prominent supporter of Crawford, to lead the War Department . Leadership of the Treasury Department went to Richard Rush of Pennsylvania , who would become

15075-428: The Quasi-War with France. Like most Kentuckians, Clay was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party , but he clashed with state party leaders over a state constitutional convention. Using the pseudonym "Scaevola" (in reference to Gaius Mucius Scaevola ), Clay advocated for direct elections for Kentucky elected officials and the gradual emancipation of slavery in Kentucky . The 1799 Kentucky Constitution included

15300-411: The Tariff of 1828 , which became known as the "Tariff of Abominations" by opponents. Adams was denounced in the South, and he received little credit for the tariff in the North. Adams sought the gradual assimilation of Native Americans via consensual agreements, a priority shared by few whites in the 1820s. Yet Adams was also deeply committed to the westward expansion of the United States. Settlers on

15525-460: The Tariff of 1832 , which lowered rates, but not enough to mollify the South Carolina nullifiers. The crisis ended when Clay and Calhoun agreed to another tariff bill, the Tariff of 1833 , that furthered lower tariff rates. Adams was appalled by the Nullification Crisis's outcome, as he felt that the Southern states had unfairly benefited from challenging federal law. After the crisis, Adams was convinced that Southerners exercised undue influence over

15750-697: The U.S. ambassador to Portugal . Later that year, John Adams defeated Jefferson in the 1796 presidential election . When the elder Adams became president, he appointed his son as the U.S. ambassador to Prussia . Though concerned that his appointment would be criticized as nepotistic , Adams accepted the position and traveled to the Prussian capital of Berlin with his wife and his younger brother, Thomas Boylston Adams . The State Department tasked Adams with developing commercial relations with Prussia and Sweden, but President Adams also asked his son to write to him frequently about affairs in Europe. His advice that he regularly gave to his father based on his experiences on

15975-427: The United States Army Corps of Engineers conducted surveys for a bevy of potential roads, canals, railroads, and improvements in river navigation. Adams presided over major repairs and further construction on the National Road, and shortly after he left office the National Road extended from Cumberland, Maryland , to Zanesville, Ohio . The Adams administration also saw the beginning of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal ;

16200-588: The Whig Party . The term "Whig" originated from a speech Clay delivered in 1834, in which he compared opponents of Jackson to the Whigs , a British political party opposed to absolute monarchy . Neither the Whigs nor the Democrats were unified geographically or ideologically. However, Whigs tended to favor a stronger legislature, a stronger federal government, a higher tariff, greater spending on infrastructure, re-authorization of

16425-428: The contingent election held to select the president. President Adams then appointed Clay to the prestigious position of secretary of state; as a result, critics alleged that the two had agreed to a " corrupt bargain ". Despite receiving support from Clay and other National Republicans, Adams was defeated by Democrat Andrew Jackson in the 1828 presidential election . Clay won election to the Senate in 1831 and ran as

16650-486: The " American System ," which encompassed many of the economic measures, including protective tariffs and infrastructure investments, that he helped pass in the aftermath of the War of 1812. Like Jefferson and George Washington , President Madison decided to retire after two terms, leaving open the Democratic-Republican nomination for the 1816 presidential election . At the time, the Democratic-Republicans used

16875-526: The 1832 election, South Carolina held a state convention that declared the tariff rates of 1828 and 1832 to be nullified within the state, and further declared that federal collection of import duties would be illegal after January 1833. In response to this Nullification Crisis , Jackson issued his Proclamation to the People of South Carolina , which strongly denied the right of states to nullify federal laws or secede . He asked Congress to pass what became known as

17100-530: The 1844 presidential election, as he had still remained as the clear leader of the Democrats and, following the tradition of the founders, wanted a second term. Hoping to win another term, President Tyler forged an alliance with John C. Calhoun and pursued the annexation of the Republic of Texas , which would add another slave state to the union. After President Tyler concluded an annexation treaty with Texas, Clay announced his opposition to annexation. He argued that

17325-477: The Adams administration, but he also held several domestic duties, such as oversight of the patent office. Clay came to like Adams, a former rival, and to despise Jackson. They developed a strong working relationship. Adams and Clay were both wary of forming entangling alliances with the emerging states, and they continued to uphold the Monroe Doctrine , which called for European non-intervention in former colonies. Clay

17550-455: The Adams administration. By the end of the first session of the 19th United States Congress , an anti-Adams congressional coalition consisting of Jacksonians (led by Benton and Hugh Lawson White ), Crawfordites (led by Martin Van Buren and Nathaniel Macon ), and Calhounites (led by Robert Y. Hayne and George McDuffie ) had emerged. Aside from Clay, Adams lacked strong supporters outside of

17775-513: The British Empire's economic influence. As part of this goal, the administration favored sending a United States delegation to the Congress of Panama , an 1826 conference of New World republics organized by Simón Bolívar . Clay and Adams hoped that the conference would inaugurate a " Good Neighborhood Policy " among the independent states of the Americas. However, the funding for a delegation and

18000-460: The British asked Madison to begin negotiations in Europe, and Madison asked Clay to join his diplomatic team, as the president hoped that the presence of the leading war hawk would ensure support for a peace treaty. Clay was reluctant to leave Congress but felt duty-bound to accept the offer, and so he resigned from Congress on January 19, 1814. Clay left the country on February 25, but negotiations with

18225-416: The British did not begin until August 1814. Clay was part of a team of five commissioners that included Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin , Senator James Bayard , ambassador Jonathan Russell , and ambassador John Quincy Adams , the head of the American team. Clay and Adams maintained an uneasy relationship marked by frequent clashes, and Gallatin emerged as the unofficial leader of the American team. When

18450-478: The British finally presented their initial peace offer, Clay was outraged by its terms, especially the British proposal for an Indian barrier state on the Great Lakes . After a series of American military successes in 1814, the British delegation made several concessions and offered a better peace deal. While Adams and Gallatin were eager to make peace as quickly as possible even if that required sub-optimal terms in

18675-552: The British revoke the Orders in Council , a series of decrees that had resulted in a de facto commercial war with the United States. Though Clay recognized the dangers inherent in fighting Britain, one of the most powerful countries in the world, he saw it as the only realistic alternative to a humiliating submission to British attacks on American shipping. Clay led a successful effort in the House to declare war against Britain, complying with

18900-488: The Federalist Party over foreign policy and was denied re-election. In 1809, President James Madison , a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, appointed Adams as the U.S. ambassador to Russia . Multilingual , Adams held diplomatic posts for the duration of Madison's presidency, and he served as part of the American delegation that negotiated an end to the War of 1812 . In 1817, President James Monroe selected Adams as his secretary of state. In that role, Adams negotiated

19125-512: The Federalist minority in Congress. Like his Federalist colleagues, he opposed the impeachment of Associate Justice Samuel Chase , an outspoken supporter of the Federalist Party. Adams had strongly opposed Jefferson's 1800 presidential candidacy, but he gradually became alienated from the Federalist Party. His disaffection was driven by the party's declining popularity, disagreements over foreign policy, and Adams's hostility to Timothy Pickering ,

19350-595: The French Emperor Napoleon 's invasion of Russia , which ended in defeat for the French. In February 1811, President Madison nominated Adams as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court . The nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, but Adams declined the seat, preferring a career in politics and diplomacy, so Joseph Story took the seat instead. Adams had long feared that

19575-488: The House Henry Clay . Adams, the nominal head of the delegation, got along well with Gallatin, Bayard, and Russell, but he occasionally clashed with Clay. The British delegation initially treated the United States as a defeated power, demanding the creation of an Indian barrier state from American territory near the Great Lakes . The American delegation unanimously rejected this offer, and their negotiating position

19800-463: The House of Representatives. In the mid-1830s, the Anti-Masonic Party, the National Republicans, and other groups opposed to Jackson coalesced into the Whig Party . In the 1836 presidential election Democrats put forward Martin Van Buren , while the Whigs fielded multiple presidential candidates. Because he disdained all the major party contenders for president, Adams did not take part in

20025-576: The House of Representatives. Though they were quite different in temperament and had clashed in the past, Adams and Clay shared similar views on national issues. By contrast, Clay viewed Jackson as a dangerous demagogue , and he was unwilling to support Crawford due to the latter's health issues. Adams and Clay met before the contingent election, and Clay agreed to support Adams in the election. Adams also met with Federalists such as Daniel Webster , promising that he would not deny governmental positions to members of their party. On February 9, 1825, Adams won

20250-698: The House. His tenure was interrupted from 1814 to 1815 when he was a commissioner to peace talks with the British in Ghent , United Netherlands to end the War of 1812 , and from 1821 to 1823, when he left Congress to rebuild his family's fortune in the aftermath of the Panic of 1819 . Elected speaker six times , Clay's cumulative tenure in office of 10 years, 196 days, is the second-longest, surpassed only by Sam Rayburn . As speaker, Clay wielded considerable power in making committee appointments, and like many of his predecessors he assigned his allies to important committees. Clay

20475-622: The Monroe Doctrine, which was largely built upon Adams's ideas. In issuing the Monroe Doctrine, the United States displayed a new level of assertiveness in international relations, as the doctrine represented the country's first claim to a sphere of influence . It also marked the country's shift in psychological orientation away from Europe and towards the Americas. Debates over foreign policy would no longer center on relations with Britain and France, but instead focus on western expansion and relations with Native Americans. The doctrine became one of

20700-463: The Monroe administration to pair the acquisition of Florida, which was chiefly sought by Southerners, with territorial gains favored primarily by those in the North. After extended negotiations, Spain and the United States agreed to the Adams–Onís Treaty , which was ratified in February 1821. Adams was deeply proud of the treaty, though he privately was concerned by the potential expansion of slavery into

20925-617: The Muscogee. A showdown between Georgia and the federal government was only averted after the Muscogee agreed to a third treaty. Though many saw Troup as unreasonable in his dealings with the federal government and the Native Americans, the administration's handling of the incident alienated those in the Deep South who favored immediate Indian removal . Adams famously said "America goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy". One of

21150-475: The National Republican nominee in the 1832 presidential election, but he was defeated decisively by President Jackson. After the 1832 election, Clay helped bring an end to the nullification crisis by leading passage of the Tariff of 1833 . During Jackson's second term, opponents of the president including Clay, Webster, and William Henry Harrison created the Whig Party, and through the years, Clay became

21375-516: The National Road to New Orleans . In 1830, Jackson vetoed the project both because he felt that the road did not constitute interstate commerce, and also because he generally opposed using the federal government to promote economic modernization. While Jackson's veto garnered support from opponents of infrastructure spending, it damaged his base of support in Clay's home state of Kentucky. Clay returned to federal office in 1831 by winning election to

21600-529: The North due to his ownership of slaves and lingering association with the Freemasons, and in the South from Whigs who distrusted his moderate stance on slavery. Clay won a plurality on the first ballot of the Whig National Convention, but, with the help of Thurlow Weed and other backers, Harrison consolidated support on subsequent ballots and won the Whig presidential nomination on the fifth ballot of

21825-399: The North, and Edward Everett , John Taylor , and Daniel Webster served as his strongest advocates in Congress. Supporters of Adams began calling themselves National Republicans , while supporters of Jackson began calling themselves Democrats . In the press, they were often described as "Adams Men" and "Jackson Men". In the 1826 elections , Adams's opponents picked up seats throughout

22050-830: The Prussian region of Silesia were published in a book titled Letters on Silesia . During his time in Prussia, Adams befriended the German diplomat and writer Friedrich von Gentz , whose work, The Origins and Principles of the American Revolution, Compared with the Origins and Principles of the French Revolution, Adams would translate into English in 1800. In the 1800 presidential election , Jefferson defeated John Adams, and both Adams and his son left office in early 1801. On his return to

22275-636: The Second Bank of the United States, and publicly funded education. Conversely, Democrats tended to favor a stronger president, stronger state governments, lower tariffs, hard money , and expansionism. Neither party took a strong national stand on slavery. The Whig base of support lay in wealthy businessmen, professionals, the professional class, and large planters, while the Democratic base of support lay in immigrant Catholics and yeomen farmers, but each party appealed across class lines. Partly due to grief over

22500-444: The Senate over Richard Mentor Johnson in a 73 to 64 vote of the Kentucky legislature. His return to the Senate after 20 years, 8 months, 7 days out of office, marks the fourth-longest gap in service to the chamber in history. With the defeat of Adams, Clay became the de facto leader of the National Republicans, and he began making preparations for a presidential campaign in the 1832 election . In 1831, Jackson made it clear that he

22725-642: The Senate, Adams was ostracized by Massachusetts Federalist leaders, but he declined Democratic-Republican entreaties to seek office. In 1809, he argued before the Supreme Court of the United States in Fletcher v. Peck , and the Supreme Court ultimately agreed with Adams's argument that the Constitution's Contract Clause prevented the state of Georgia from invalidating a land sale to out-of-state companies. Later that year, President James Madison appointed Adams as

22950-432: The South and New England. After Jacksonians took power in 1827, they devised a tariff bill designed to appeal to Western states while instituting high rates on imported materials important to the economy of New England. It is unclear whether Van Buren, who shepherded the bill through Congress, meant for the bill to pass, or if he had deliberately designed it to force Adams and his allies to oppose it. Regardless, Adams signed

23175-413: The South feared that Adams was secretly an abolitionist and that he sought to subordinate the states to the federal government. Most of the president's proposals were defeated in Congress. Adams's ideas for a national university, a national observatory, and the establishment of a uniform system of weights and measures never received congressional votes. His proposal for the creation of a naval academy won

23400-514: The South, as Democrats argued that he worked in unison with Northerners to stop the extension of slavery. In July, Clay wrote two letters in which he attempted to clarify his position on the annexation of Texas, and Democrats attacked his supposedly inconsistent position. Polk narrowly won the election, taking 49.5% of the popular vote and 170 of the 275 electoral votes. Birney won several thousand anti-annexation votes in New York, and his presence in

23625-471: The Southern United States, and many of those settlers owned slaves despite an 1829 Mexican law that abolished slavery. Many in the United States and Texas thus favored the admission of Texas into the union as a slave state . Adams considered the issue of Texas to be "a question of far deeper root and more overshadowing branches than any or all others that agitate the country", and he emerged as one of

23850-518: The Spanish cabinet to recognize the weakness of its own hand". Apart from the Monroe doctrine, his last four years as Secretary of State were less successful because he was preoccupied with his presidential campaign and refused to make compromises with other countries that might have weakened his candidacy; the result was a small-scale trade war but a successful election to the White House. Taking office in

24075-612: The Spanish minister to the United States, for the purchase of Florida and the settlement of a border between the United States and New Spain. The negotiations were interrupted by an escalation of the Seminole War , and in December 1818, Monroe ordered General Andrew Jackson to enter Florida and retaliate against Seminoles that had raided Georgia. Exceeding his orders, Jackson captured the Spanish outposts of St. Marks and Pensacola and executed two Englishmen. While Jackson's actions outraged

24300-719: The Treasury Albert Gallatin , and Federalist Senator James A. Bayard to a delegation charged with negotiating an end to the war. Gallatin and Bayard arrived in St. Petersburg in July 1813, but the British declined Tsar Alexander's offer of mediation. Hoping to start negotiations at another venue, Adams left Russia in April 1814. Negotiations finally began in mid-1814 in Ghent , where Adams, Gallatin, and Bayard were joined by two additional American delegates, Jonathan Russell and former Speaker of

24525-475: The Treasury Louis McLane would convince Jackson to allow the re-charter. Biddle's application set off the " Bank War "; Congress passed a bill to renew the national bank's charter, but Jackson vetoed it, holding the bank to be unconstitutional. Clay had initially hoped that the national bank re-charter would work to his advantage, but Jackson's allies seized on the issue, redefining the 1832 election as

24750-483: The Treasury Roger Taney pursued a policy of removing all federal deposits from the national bank and placing them in state-chartered banks known as " pet banks ." Because federal law required the president to deposit federal revenue in the national bank so long as it was financially stable, many regarded Jackson's actions as illegal, and Clay led the passage of a Senate motion censuring Jackson. Nonetheless,

24975-541: The Treasury William H. Crawford , Secretary of War John C. Calhoun , Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Crowninshield , and Attorney General William Wirt . Adams developed a strong respect for Calhoun but believed that Crawford was unduly focused on succeeding Monroe in 1824. During his time as ambassador to Britain, Adams had begun negotiations over several contentious issues that had not been solved by

25200-478: The Treasury Richard Rush as his running mate. The 1828 election thus marked the first time in United States history that a presidential ticket composed of two Northerners faced off against a presidential ticket composed of two Southerners. In the election, Jackson won 178 of the 261 electoral votes and just under 56% of the popular vote. Jackson won 50.3% of the popular vote in the free states, but 72.6% of

25425-579: The U.S. had long sought to purchase. Spain struggled to control the Indian tribes active in Florida, and some of those tribes raided United States territory. To the west, New Spain bordered the territory acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase, but no clear boundary had been established between United States and Spanish territory. After taking office, Adams began negotiations with Luis de Onís ,

25650-564: The United Kingdom, rejection of a trade agreement with the French, and peaceful expansion into the Spanish Empire 's North American territories. The president and his secretary of state developed a strong working relationship, and while Adams often influenced Monroe's policies, he respected that Monroe made the final decisions on major issues. Monroe met regularly with his five-person cabinet , which initially consisted of Adams, Secretary of

25875-536: The United States and Britain should work together to preserve the independence of these fledgling republics. The cabinet debated whether to accept the offer, but Adams opposed it. Instead, Adams urged Monroe to publicly declare the United States' opposition to any European attempt to colonize or re-take control of territory in the Americas, while also committing the United States to neutrality in European affairs. In his December 1823 annual message to Congress , Monroe laid out

26100-566: The United States could help spread human freedom around the world. Wythe subsequently arranged a position for Clay with Virginia attorney general Robert Brooke , with the understanding that Brooke would finish Clay's legal studies. After completing his studies under Brooke, Clay was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1797. On April 11, 1799, Clay married Lucretia Hart (1781–1864) at the Hart home in Lexington, Kentucky . Her father, Colonel Thomas Hart,

26325-454: The United States from 1797 to 1801, and First Lady Abigail Adams . Initially a Federalist like his father, he won election to the presidency as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party , and later, in the mid-1830s, became affiliated with the Whig Party . Born in Braintree, Massachusetts , Adams spent much of his youth in Europe, where his father served as a diplomat. After returning to

26550-527: The United States to complete his education and eventually launch a political career. Adams returned to the United States in 1785 and earned admission as a member of the junior class of Harvard College the following year. He joined Phi Beta Kappa and excelled academically, graduating second in his class in 1787. After graduating from Harvard, he studied law with Theophilus Parsons in Newburyport, Massachusetts , from 1787 to 1789. Adams initially opposed

26775-450: The United States would enter a war it could not win against Britain, and by early 1812, he saw such a war as inevitable due to the constant British attacks on American shipping and the British practice of impressment . In mid-1812, the United States declared war against Britain, beginning the War of 1812 . Tsar Alexander attempted to mediate the conflict between Britain and the United States, and President Madison appointed Adams, Secretary of

27000-582: The United States, Adams established a successful legal practice in Boston . In 1794, President George Washington appointed Adams as the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands , and Adams would serve in high-ranking diplomatic posts until 1801, when Thomas Jefferson took office as president. Federalist leaders in Massachusetts arranged for Adams's election to the United States Senate in 1802, but Adams broke with

27225-589: The United States, Adams re-established a legal practice in Boston , and in April 1802 he was elected to the Massachusetts Senate . In November of that year, he ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives . In February 1803, the Massachusetts legislature elected Adams to the United States Senate . Though somewhat reluctant to affiliate with any political party, Adams joined

27450-522: The United States, and did not make a major diplomatic issue out of Jackson's execution of two British nationals. Negotiations between Spain and the United States continued, and Spain agreed to cede Florida. The determination of the western boundary of the United States proved more difficult. American expansionists favored setting the border at the Rio Grande , but Spain, intent on protecting its colony of Mexico from American encroachment, insisted on setting

27675-465: The United States, but they married in All Hallows-by-the-Tower on July 26, 1797. Shortly after the wedding, Joshua Johnson fled England to escape his creditors, and Adams did not receive the dowry that Johnson had promised him, much to the embarrassment of Louisa. Adams noted in his own diary that he had no regrets about his decision to marry Louisa. In 1796, Washington appointed Adams as

27900-682: The War of 1812 or the Treaty of Ghent. In 1817, the two countries agreed to the Rush–Bagot Treaty , which limited naval armaments on the Great Lakes . Negotiations between the two powers continued, resulting in the Treaty of 1818 , which defined the Canada–United States border west of the Great Lakes. The boundary was set at the 49th parallel to the Rocky Mountains , while the territory to

28125-458: The West and interest in foreign policy made him a natural choice for the position. In his 1825 annual message to Congress, Adams presented a comprehensive and ambitious agenda. He called for major investments in internal improvements as well as the creation of a national university, a naval academy, and a national astronomical observatory. Noting the healthy status of the treasury and the possibility for more revenue via land sales, Adams argued for

28350-463: The Whigs would win control of the presidency due to the ongoing economic crisis. Clay initially viewed Webster as his strongest rival, but Clay, Harrison, and General Winfield Scott emerged as the principal candidates at the 1839 Whig National Convention . Though he was widely regarded as the most qualified Whig leader to serve as president, many Whigs questioned Clay's electability after two presidential election defeats. He also faced opposition in

28575-530: The aftermath of the War of 1812, Adams thought that the country had been fortunate in avoiding territorial losses, and he prioritized avoiding another war with a European power, particularly Britain. He also sought to avoid exacerbating sectional tensions, which had been a major issue for the country during the War of 1812. One of the major challenges confronting Adams was how to respond to the power vacuum in Latin America that arose from Spain's weakness following

28800-410: The age of 83. Both are buried at Lexington Cemetery . Clay and Lucretia had eleven children (six daughters and five sons): Henrietta (born in 1800), Theodore (1802), Thomas (1803), Susan (1805), Anne (1807), Lucretia (1809), Henry Jr. (1811), Eliza (1813), Laura (1815), James (1817), and John (1821). By 1835, all six daughters had died of varying causes, two when very young, two as children, and

29025-399: The aid of Clay and Gallatin, Adams negotiated a limited trade agreement with Britain. Following the conclusion of the trade agreement, much of Adams's time as ambassador was spent helping stranded American sailors and prisoners of war. In pursuit of national unity, newly elected president James Monroe decided a Northerner would be optimal for the position of Secretary of State , and he chose

29250-687: The annexation of West Florida , which was controlled by Spain. On the insistence of the Kentucky legislature, Clay helped prevent the re-charter of the First Bank of the United States , arguing that it interfered with state banks and infringed on states' rights . After serving in the Senate for one year, Clay decided that he disliked the rules of the Senate and instead sought election to the United States House of Representatives . He won election unopposed in late 1810. The 1810–1811 elections produced many young, anti-British members of Congress who, like Clay, supported going to war with Great Britain. Buoyed by

29475-458: The approval of the Senate but was defeated in the House; opponents objected to the naval academy's cost and worried that the establishment of such an institution would "produce degeneracy and corruption of the public morality". Adams's proposal to establish a national bankruptcy law was also defeated. Unlike other aspects of his domestic agenda, Adams won congressional approval for several ambitious infrastructure projects. Between 1824 and 1828,

29700-496: The backing of both manufacturers, who believed they would not receive a better deal, and Calhoun, who sought a way out of the crisis but refused to work with President Jackson's supporters on an alternative tariff bill. Though most members of Clay's own National Republican Party opposed it, the Tariff of 1833 passed both houses of Congress. Jackson simultaneously signed the tariff bill and the Force bill, and South Carolina leaders accepted

29925-578: The boundary at the Sabine River . At Monroe's direction, Adams agreed to the Sabine River boundary, but he insisted that Spain cede its claims on Oregon Country. Adams was deeply interested in establishing American control over the Oregon Country, partly because he believed that control of that region would spur trade with Asia. The acquisition of Spanish claims to the Pacific Northwest also allowed

30150-418: The broadest appeal among voters. Clay's decision not to endorse Webster opened a rift between the two Whig party leaders, and Webster would work against Clay in future presidential elections. Despite the presence of multiple Whig candidates, Van Buren won the 1836 election with 50.8 percent of the popular vote and 170 of the 294 electoral votes. Van Buren's presidency was affected badly by the Panic of 1837 ,

30375-506: The campaign turned increasingly nasty. The Jacksonian press portrayed Adams as an out-of-touch elitist, while pro-Adams newspapers attacked Jackson's past involvement in various duels and scuffles, portraying him as too emotional and impetuous for the presidency. Though Adams and Clay had hoped that the campaign would focus on the American System, it was instead dominated by the personalities of Jackson and Adams. Vice President Calhoun joined Jackson's ticket, while Adams turned to Secretary of

30600-534: The campaign, Crawford suffered a major stroke, while Calhoun withdrew from the race after Jackson won the endorsement of the Pennsylvania legislature. By 1824, with Crawford still in the race, Clay concluded that no candidate would win a majority of electoral votes; in that scenario, the House of Representatives would hold a contingent election to decide the election. Under the terms of the Twelfth Amendment ,

30825-463: The campaign; Van Buren won the election. Nonetheless, Adams became aligned with the Whig Party in Congress. Adams generally opposed the initiatives of President Van Buren, long a political adversary, though they maintained a cordial public relationship. The Republic of Texas won its independence from Mexico in the Texas Revolution of 1835–1836. Texas had largely been settled by Americans from

31050-478: The charisma of his competitors, Adams was widely respected and benefited from the lack of other prominent Northern political leaders. Adams's top choice for the role of vice president was General Andrew Jackson; Adams noted that "the Vice-Presidency was a station in which [Jackson] could hang no one, and in which he would need to quarrel with no one". However, as the 1824 election approached, Jackson jumped into

31275-542: The clear leader of the Whig Party. In early 1842, Clay resigned from the Senate after arranging for Crittenden to succeed him. Though he vetoed other Whig bills, Tyler did sign some Whig priorities into law, including the Preemption Act of 1841 , which distributed the proceeds of land sales to the states, and the Bankruptcy Act of 1841, which was the first law in U.S. history that allowed for voluntary bankruptcy. Facing

31500-406: The committee charged with writing tariff laws, Adams became an important player in the nullification crisis , which stemmed largely from Southern objections to the high rates imposed by the Tariff of 1828 . South Carolina leaders argued that states could nullify federal laws , and they announced that they would bar the federal government from enforcing the tariff in their state. Adams helped pass

31725-546: The completion of several projects that were in various stages of construction or planning, including a road from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans . He also proposed the establishment of a Department of the Interior as a new cabinet-level department that would preside over these internal improvements. Adams hoped to fund these measures primarily through Western land sales, rather than increased taxes or public debt. The domestic agenda of Adams and Clay, which would come to be known as

31950-486: The confirmation of delegation nominees became entangled in a political battle over Adams's domestic policies, with opponents such as Van Buren impeding the confirmation of a delegation. While Van Buren saw the Panama Congress as an unwelcome deviation from the more isolationist foreign policy established by President Washington, many Southerners opposed involvement with any conference attended by delegates from Haiti ,

32175-510: The conflict with Mexico and urged the rejection of any treaty that added new slave territory to the United States. Months after the speech, the Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , in which Mexico ceded hundreds of thousands of square miles of territory known as the Mexican Cession . John Quincy Adams [REDACTED] John Quincy Adams ( / ˈ k w ɪ n z i / ; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848)

32400-813: The construction of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal and the Louisville and Portland Canal around the Falls of the Ohio ; the connection of the Great Lakes to the Ohio River system in Ohio and Indiana ; and the enlargement and rebuilding of the Dismal Swamp Canal in North Carolina . Additionally, the first passenger railroad in the United States, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ,

32625-445: The contingent election on the first ballot, taking 13 of the 24 state delegations. Adams won the House delegations of all the states in which he or Clay had won a majority of the electoral votes, as well as the delegations of Illinois , Louisiana , and Maryland . Adams's victory made him the first child of a president to serve as president himself. After the election, many of Jackson's supporters claimed that Adams and Clay had reached

32850-404: The controversy over Jackson's expedition temporarily subsided after the signing of the Adams–Onís Treaty , in which the U.S. purchased Florida and delineated its western boundary with New Spain . By 1822, several members of the Democratic-Republican Party had begun exploring presidential bids to succeed Monroe, who planned to retire after two terms like his predecessors. As the Federalist Party

33075-479: The convention. Seeking to placate Clay's supporters and to balance the ticket geographically, the convention chose former Virginia Governor and Senator John Tyler , a personal friend of Clay, whose previous career in the Democratic Party had practically come to an end, as the vice-presidential nominee. Clay was disappointed by the outcome but helped Harrison's ultimately successful campaign by delivering numerous speeches. With Whigs also winning control of Congress in

33300-414: The country needed "union, peace, and patience," and annexation would bring tensions over slavery and war with Mexico. The same day that Clay published a letter opposing the annexation of Texas, Van Buren also came out against annexation, citing similar reasons as Clay, so that slavery and especially expansionism seemed to play no role in the next election. Clay unanimously won the presidential nomination at

33525-434: The country's infrastructure system. He eagerly embraced President Madison's ambitious domestic package, which included infrastructure investment, tariffs to protect domestic manufacturing, and spending increases for the army and navy. With the help of John C. Calhoun and William Lowndes , Clay passed the Tariff of 1816 , which served the dual purpose of raising revenue and protecting American manufacturing. To stabilize

33750-517: The country, as allies of Adams failed to coordinate among themselves. Andrew Stevenson , a Jackson supporter, replaced John Taylor, an Adams supporter, as Speaker of the House. As Adams himself noted, the United States had never seen a Congress that was firmly under the control of political opponents of the president. After the elections, Van Buren and Calhoun agreed to throw their support behind Jackson in 1828, with Van Buren bringing along many of Crawford's supporters. Though Jackson did not articulate

33975-402: The currency, Clay and Treasury Secretary Alexander Dallas arranged passage of a bill establishing the Second Bank of the United States (also known as the national bank). Clay also supported the Bonus Bill of 1817 , which would have provided a fund for internal improvements, but Madison vetoed the bill on constitutional concerns. Beginning in 1818, Clay advocated for an economic plan known as

34200-492: The death of his daughter, Anne, Clay chose not to run in the 1836 presidential election , and the Whigs were too disorganized to nominate a single candidate. Three Whig candidates ran against Van Buren: General William Henry Harrison , Senator Hugh Lawson White , and Senator Daniel Webster. By running multiple candidates, the Whigs hoped to force a contingent election in the House of Representatives. Clay personally preferred Webster, but he threw his backing behind Harrison who had

34425-468: The direct election of public officials, but the state did not adopt Clay's plan for gradual emancipation. In 1803, Clay won election to the Kentucky House of Representatives . His first legislative initiative was the partisan gerrymander of Kentucky's Electoral College districts, which ensured that all of Kentucky's presidential electors voted for President Jefferson in the 1804 presidential election . Clay clashed with legislators who sought to reduce

34650-441: The electoral votes, the House was required to hold a contingent election under the terms of the Twelfth Amendment . The House would decide among the top three electoral vote winners, with each state's delegation having one vote; thus, unlike his three rivals, Clay was not eligible to be elected by the House. Adams knew that his own victory in the contingent election would require the support of Clay, who wielded immense influence in

34875-465: The endorsement of the New England legislatures. The regional strength of each candidate played an important role in the election; Adams was popular in New England , Clay and Jackson were strong in the West, and Jackson and Crawford competed for the South. In the 1824 presidential election, Jackson won a plurality in the Electoral College , taking 99 of the 261 electoral votes, while Adams won 84, Crawford won 41, and Clay took 37. Calhoun, meanwhile, won

35100-414: The fate of ancient oratory, the necessity of liberty for it to flourish, and its importance as a unifying element for a new nation of diverse cultures and beliefs. Just as civic eloquence failed to gain popularity in Britain, in the United States interest faded in the second decade of the 19th century, as the "public spheres of heated oratory" disappeared in favor of the private sphere. After resigning from

35325-450: The federal government through their control of Jackson's Democratic Party. In the 1833 Massachusetts gubernatorial election , the Anti-Masonic Party nominated Adams in a four-way race between Adams, the National Republican candidate, the Democratic candidate, and a candidate of the Working Men's Party. The National Republican candidate, John Davis , won 40% of the vote, while Adams finished in second place with 29%. Because no candidate won

35550-503: The federal government. Jackson himself described the campaign as a "struggle between the virtue of the people and executive patronage". Adams, meanwhile, refused to adapt to the new reality of political campaigns, and he avoided public functions and refused to invest in pro-administration tools such as newspapers. In early 1827, Jackson was publicly accused of having encouraged his wife, Rachel , to desert her first husband. In response, followers of Jackson attacked Adams's personal life, and

35775-473: The first United States Minister to Russia in 1809. Though Adams had only recently broken with the Federalist Party, his support of Jefferson's foreign policy had earned him goodwill with the Madison Administration. Adams was well-qualified for the role after his experiences in Europe generally and Russia specifically. After a difficult passage through the Baltic Sea , Adams arrived in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg in October 1809. He quickly established

36000-419: The fledgling Anti-Masonic Party , and his attempt to convince Calhoun to serve as his running mate failed, leaving the opposition to Jackson split among different factions. Inspired by the Anti-Masonic Party's national convention, Clay's National Republican followers arranged for a national convention that nominated Clay for president. As the 1832 election approached, the debate over the re-authorization of

36225-463: The foundational principles of U.S. foreign policy . Immediately upon becoming Secretary of State, Adams emerged as one of Monroe's most likely successors, as the last three presidents had all served in the role before taking office. As the 1824 election approached, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun (who later dropped out of the race), and William H. Crawford appeared to be Adams's primary competition to succeed Monroe. Crawford favored state sovereignty and

36450-522: The frontier, constantly seeking to move westward, cried for a more expansionist policy that disregarded the concerns of Native Americans. Early in his term, Adams suspended the Treaty of Indian Springs after learning that the Governor of Georgia, George Troup , had forced the treaty on the Muscogee . Adams signed a new treaty with the Muscogee in January 1826 that allowed the Muscogee to stay but ceded most of their land to Georgia. Troup refused to accept its terms and authorized all Georgian citizens to evict

36675-400: The general election. Monroe offered Clay the position of secretary of war, but Clay strongly desired the office of secretary of state and was angered when Monroe instead chose John Quincy Adams for that position. Clay became so bitter that he refused to allow Monroe's inauguration to take place in the House Chamber and subsequently did not attend Monroe's outdoor inauguration. In early 1819,

36900-436: The ground in Europe proved particularly valuable during the Quasi-War with France, although President Adams also relied heavily on his official staff for such advice and not primarily on his son. In 1799, Adams negotiated a new trade agreement between the United States and Prussia , though he could never complete an agreement with Sweden. He frequently wrote to family members in the United States, and in 1801 his letters about

37125-446: The invalid Crawford and Jackson, but supporters of the three remaining presidential candidates immediately began courting his support for the contingent election. For various reasons, supporters of all three candidates believed they had the best chance of winning Clay's backing, but Clay quickly settled on supporting Adams. Of the three candidates, Adams was the most sympathetic to Clay's American System, and Clay viewed both Jackson and

37350-442: The last two as young mothers. Henry Jr. was killed while commanding a regiment at the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican–American War . Clay's oldest son, Theodore Wythe Clay, spent the second half of his life confined to a psychiatric hospital . When a young child, Theodore was injured by a blow to his head that fractured his skull. As he grew older his condition devolved into insanity, and from 1831 until his death in 1870 he

37575-453: The leading congressional opponents of annexation. When he served as secretary of state, Adams had sought to acquire Texas, but he argued that, because Mexico had abolished slavery, the acquisition of Texas would transform the region from a free territory into a slave state. He also feared that the annexation of Texas would encourage Southern expansionists to pursue other potential slave states, including Cuba . Adams's firm stance may have played

37800-448: The major foreign policy goals of the Adams administration was the expansion of American trade. His administration reached reciprocity treaties with a number of nations, including Denmark, Prussia , and the Federal Republic of Central America . The administration also reached commercial agreements with the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Kingdom of Tahiti . Agreements with Denmark and Sweden opened their colonies to American trade, but Adams

38025-534: The national bank emerged as the most important issue in the campaign. By the early 1830s, the national bank had become the largest corporation in the United States, and banknotes issued by the national bank served as the de facto legal tender of the United States. Jackson disliked the national bank because of a hatred of both banks and paper currency. The bank's charter did not expire until 1836, but bank president Nicholas Biddle asked for renewal in 1831, hoping that election year pressure and support from Secretary of

38250-424: The national bank's federal charter expired in 1836, and though the institution continued to function under a Pennsylvania charter, it never regained the influence it had had at the beginning of Jackson's administration. The removal of deposits helped unite Jackson's opponents into one party for the first time, as National Republicans, Calhounites, former Democrats, and members of the Anti-Masonic Party coalesced into

38475-447: The new tariff, effectively bringing the crisis to an end. Clay's role in resolving the crisis brought him renewed national stature in the wake of a crushing presidential election defeat, and some began referring to him as the "Great Compromiser." Following the end of the Nullification Crisis in March 1833, Jackson renewed his offensive against the national bank, despite some opposition from within his own Cabinet. Jackson and Secretary of

38700-485: The newly acquired territories. In 1824, the Monroe administration would strengthen US claims to Oregon by ratifying the Russo-American Treaty of 1824 , which established Russian Alaska 's southern border at 54°40′ north. As the Spanish Empire continued to fracture during Monroe's second term, Adams, Monroe and Clay became increasingly concerned that the " Holy Alliance " of Prussia , Austria, and Russia would seek to bring Spain's erstwhile colonies under their control, to

38925-414: The newly independent republics of Latin America to avoid the risk of war with Spain and its European allies. However, Andrew Jackson's military campaign in Florida and Henry Clay's threats in Congress forced Spain to cut a deal, which Adams negotiated successfully. Biographer James Lewis says, "He managed to play the cards that he had been dealt – cards that he very clearly had not wanted – in ways that forced

39150-412: The opposing candidates. Adams' followers denounced Jackson as a demagogue , and some Adams-aligned papers accused Jackson's wife Rachel of bigamy . Though Clay was not directly involved in these attacks, his failure to denounce them earned him the lifelong enmity of Jackson. Clay was one of Adams's most important political advisers, but because of his myriad responsibilities as secretary of state, he

39375-403: The peace treaty, Clay believed that the British, worn down by years of fighting against France, greatly desired peace with the United States. Partly due to Clay's hard-line stance, the Treaty of Ghent included relatively favorable terms for the United States, essentially re-establishing the status quo ante bellum between Britain and the U.S. The treaty was signed on December 24, 1814, bringing

39600-526: The point of even contemplating a Holy Alliance of their own to defend democracy. In his 1821 Fourth of July address, Adams addressed this issue, noting a shared "chain of sympathy" between the U.S. and Latin America, but arguing for neutrality rather than a Holy Alliance. In 1822, following the conclusion of the Adams–Onís Treaty, the Monroe administration recognized the independence of several Latin American countries, including Argentina and Mexico. In 1823, British Foreign Secretary George Canning suggested that

39825-476: The power of Clay's Bluegrass region, and he unsuccessfully advocated moving the state capitol from Frankfort to Lexington. Clay frequently opposed populist firebrand Felix Grundy , and he helped defeat Grundy's effort to revoke the banking privileges of the state-owned Kentucky Insurance Company. He advocated for the construction of internal improvements , which would become a consistent theme throughout his public career. Clay's influence in Kentucky state politics

40050-446: The presidency. Though many, including Clay, did not take his candidacy seriously at first, General Andrew Jackson emerged as a presidential contender, eroding Clay's base of support in the western states. In February 1824, the sparsely attended Democratic-Republican congressional caucus endorsed Crawford's candidacy, but Crawford's rivals ignored the caucus results, and various state legislatures nominated candidates for president. During

40275-532: The presidential nomination of the Tennessee legislature for the 1828 election. Though he had been close to Adams during Monroe's presidency, Vice President Calhoun was also politically alienated from the president by the appointment of Clay, since that appointment established Clay as the natural heir to Adams. Adams's ambitious December 1825 annual message to Congress further galvanized the opposition, with important figures such as Francis Preston Blair of Kentucky and Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri breaking with

40500-401: The promise that Clay would receive the next available clerkship at the Virginia Court of Chancery . After Clay had worked at the Richmond emporium for a year, he obtained a clerkship that had become available at the Virginia Court of Chancery. Clay adapted well to his new role, and his handwriting earned him the attention of College of William & Mary professor George Wythe , a signer of

40725-585: The race for president, and Calhoun ended up receiving the Vice-presidential support of Adams supporters. While the other candidates based their candidacies on their long tenure as congressmen, ambassadors, or members of the cabinet, Jackson's appeal rested on his military service, especially in the Battle of New Orleans . The congressional nominating caucus had decided upon previous Democratic-Republican presidential nominees, but it had become largely discredited by 1824. Candidates were instead nominated by state legislatures or nominating conventions, and Adams received

40950-417: The race may have cost Clay the election. Most of Clay's contemporaries believed that annexation had been the decisive issue in the race, but Polk's savvy campaigning on the tariff may have also been decisive, as he narrowly won pro-tariff Pennsylvania after downplaying his anti-tariff views. After Polk's victory and the final indirect success of Tyler's strategy, Congress approved the annexation of Texas, which

41175-491: The ratification of the United States Constitution , but he ultimately came to accept the document, and in 1789 his father was elected as the first vice president of the United States . In 1790, Adams opened his own legal practice in Boston . Despite some early struggles, he was successful as an attorney and established financial independence from his parents. Adams initially avoided becoming involved in politics, instead focusing on building his legal career. In 1791, he wrote

41400-452: The remainder of the debt. Shortly afterward, Clay fell into a debt of $ 60,000 (approximately $ 1.5 million today ) while gambling with the same man, who then asked for the $ 500 back and waived the rest of the debt. They initially lived in Lexington, but in 1804 they began building a plantation outside of Lexington known as Ashland . The Ashland estate eventually encompassed over 500 acres (200 ha), with numerous outbuildings such as

41625-400: The repeal of the " gag rule ", which had prevented the House of Representatives from debating petitions to abolish slavery . Historians concur that Adams was one of the greatest diplomats and secretaries of state in American history; they typically rank him as an average president, as he had an ambitious agenda but could not get it passed by Congress. By contrast, historians also view Adams in

41850-506: The respected and experienced Adams for the role. Having spent several years in Europe, Adams returned to the United States in August 1817. Adams served as Secretary of State during Monroe's eight-year presidency, from 1817 to 1825. Many of his successes as secretary, such as the convention of 1818 with the United Kingdom, the Transcontinental Treaty with Spain, and the Monroe Doctrine, were not preplanned strategies but responses to unexpected events. Adams wanted to delay American recognition of

42075-420: The rest of the cabinet, Adams defended them as necessary to the country's self-defense, and he eventually convinced Monroe and most of the cabinet to support Jackson. Adams informed Spain that its failure to police its own territory had compelled Jackson to act, and he advised Spain to either secure the region or sell it to the United States. The British, meanwhile, declined to risk their recent rapprochement with

42300-410: The role, but ultimately took the position on the advice of his father. While abroad, Adams continued to urge neutrality, arguing that the United States would benefit economically by staying out of the ongoing French Revolutionary Wars. His chief duty as the ambassador to the Netherlands was to secure and maintain loans essential to U.S. finances. On his way to the Netherlands, he met with John Jay , who

42525-422: The second veto, congressional Whigs voted to expel Tyler from the party, and on Clay's request, every Cabinet member except for Webster, who wanted to continue negotiating the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with Great Britain about the border to Canada, resigned from office. This made Tyler increasingly move closer to his former Democratic Party and, with Webster still serving in the Tyler administration, Clay emerged as

42750-492: The sickly Crawford as unsuitable for the presidency. On January 9, 1825, Clay privately met with Adams for three hours, after which Clay promised Adams his support; both would later claim that they did not discuss Clay's position in an Adams administration. With the help of Clay, Adams won the House vote on the first ballot. After his election, Adams offered Clay the position of secretary of state, which Clay accepted, despite fears that he would be accused of trading his support for

42975-479: The suicide of his son, George Washington Adams , in 1829. He was appalled by many of the Jackson administration's actions, including its embrace of the spoils system and the prosecution of his close friend, Treasury Auditor Tobias Watkins , for embezzlement. Though they had once maintained a cordial relationship, Adams and Jackson each came to loathe the other in the decades after the 1828 election. Adams grew bored with his retirement and still felt that his career

43200-419: The support of fellow war hawks , Clay was elected Speaker of the House for the 12th Congress . At 34, he was the youngest person to become speaker, a distinction he held until 1839, when 30-year-old Robert M. T. Hunter took office. He was also the first of only two new members elected speaker to date, the other being William Pennington in 1860. Between 1810 and 1824, Clay was elected to seven terms in

43425-418: The top three electoral vote-getters would be eligible to be elected by the House. Clay was confident that he would prevail in a contingent held in the chamber he presided over, so long as he was eligible for election. Clay won Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri, but his loss in New York and Louisiana relegated him to a fourth-place finish behind Adams, Jackson, and Crawford. Clay was humiliated that he finished behind

43650-418: The unwillingness of other Federalists to condemn British actions, including impressment , and he moved closer to the Jefferson administration. After Adams supported the Embargo Act of 1807 , the Federalist-controlled Massachusetts legislature elected Adams's successor several months before the end of his term, and Adams resigned from the Senate shortly thereafter. While a member of the Senate, Adams served as

43875-416: The vote in the slave states. No future presidential candidate would match Jackson's proportion of the popular vote until Theodore Roosevelt 's 1904 campaign, while Adams's loss made him the second one-term president, after his own father. By 1828, only two states did not hold a popular vote for president, and the number of votes in the 1828 election was triple that in the 1824 election. This increase in votes

44100-515: The war, Clay returned to his position as Speaker of the House and developed the American System , which called for federal infrastructure investments , support for the national bank , and high protective tariff rates . In 1820 he helped bring an end to a sectional crisis over slavery by leading the passage of the Missouri Compromise . Clay finished with the fourth-most electoral votes in the multi-candidate 1824-1825 presidential election and used his position as speaker to help John Quincy Adams win

44325-405: The war, but privately he saw it as an immoral war that risked producing "some military chieftain who will conquer us all." He suffered a personal blow in 1847 when his son, Henry Clay Jr., died at the Battle of Buena Vista . In November 1847, Clay re-emerged on the political scene with a speech that was harshly critical of the Mexican–American War and President Polk. He attacked Polk for fomenting

44550-443: The west of the mountains, known as Oregon Country , would be jointly occupied. The agreement marked a watershed moment in United Kingdom–United States relations, as the United States focused on its southern and western borders and British concerns about American expansionism subsided. When Adams took office, Spanish possessions bordered the United States to the south and west. To the south, Spain retained control of Florida , which

44775-432: The winter of 1795–1796 in London , where he met Louisa Catherine Johnson , the second daughter of American merchant Joshua Johnson. In April 1796, Louisa accepted Adams's proposal of marriage. Adams's parents disapproved of his decision to marry a woman who had grown up in England, but he informed his parents that he would not reconsider his decision. Adams initially wanted to delay his wedding to Louisa until he returned to

45000-451: The wives of his Cabinet members. Clay strongly opposed the 1830 Indian Removal Act , which authorized the administration to relocate Native Americans to land west of the Mississippi River . Another key point of contention between Clay and Jackson was the proposed Maysville Road , which would connect Maysville, Kentucky , to the National Road in Zanesville, Ohio ; transportation advocates hoped that later extensions would eventually connect

45225-496: Was an early settler of Kentucky and a prominent businessman. Hart proved to be an important business connection for Clay, as he helped Clay gain new clients and grow in professional stature. Hart was the namesake and grand-uncle of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and was also related to James Brown , a prominent Louisiana politician, and Isaac Shelby , the first governor of Kentucky . Henry and Lucretia would remain married until his death in 1852; she lived until 1864, dying at

45450-453: Was an established town that hosted Transylvania University , the first university west of the Appalachian Mountains . Having already passed the Virginia Bar, Clay quickly received a Kentucky license to practice law. After apprenticing himself to Kentucky attorneys such as George Nicholas , John Breckenridge , and James Brown, Clay established his own law practice, frequently working on debt collections and land disputes. Clay soon established

45675-399: Was bolstered by the American victory in the Battle of Plattsburgh . By November 1814, the government of Lord Liverpool decided to seek an end to hostilities with the U.S. on the basis of status quo ante bellum . Even though a return to the status quo would mean the continuation of the British practice of impressment, Adams and his fellow commissioners had hoped for similar terms. The treaty

45900-508: Was chosen as Attorney General. As Harrison prepared to take office, Clay and Harrison clashed over the leadership of the Whig Party, with Harrison sensitive to accusations that he would answer to Clay. Just a month into his presidency, Harrison died of an illness and was succeeded by Vice President John Tyler. Tyler retained Harrison's Cabinet, but the former Democrat and avid follower of both Jefferson's and Jackson's philosophy quickly made it known that he had reservations about re-establishing

46125-565: Was confined to an asylum in Lexington . Thomas (who had served some jail time in Philadelphia in 1829–1830) became a successful farmer, James established a legal practice (and later served in Congress), and John (who in his mid-20s was also confined to the asylum for a short time) became a successful horse breeder. Clay was greatly interested in gambling, although he favored numerous restrictions and legal limitations on it. Famously, he once won $ 40,000 (approximately $ 970,000 as of 2020). Clay asked for $ 500 (approximately $ 12,000 today) and waived

46350-427: Was constructed during Adams's presidency. Though many of these projects were undertaken by private actors, the government often provided money or land to aid the completion of such projects. In the immediate aftermath of the 1825 contingent election, Jackson was gracious to Adams. Nevertheless, Adams's appointment of Clay rankled Jackson, who received a flood of letters encouraging him to run. In 1825, Jackson accepted

46575-406: Was due not only to the recent wave of democratization, but also because of increased interest in elections and the growing ability of the parties to mobilize voters. Adams did not attend Jackson's inauguration, making him one of only four presidents who finished their terms but skipped the event. Adams considered permanently retiring from public life after his 1828 defeat, and he was deeply hurt by

46800-420: Was especially distressed by Jackson's victory in Kentucky. The election result represented not only the victory of a man Clay viewed as unqualified and unprincipled but also a rejection of Clay's domestic policies. Even with Clay out of office, President Jackson continued to see Clay as one of his major rivals, and Jackson at one point suspected Clay of being behind the Petticoat affair , a controversy involving

47025-511: Was especially focused on opening trade with the British West Indies . The United States had reached a commercial agreement with Britain in 1815, but that agreement excluded British possessions in the Western Hemisphere. In response to United States pressure, the British had begun to allow a limited amount of American imports to the West Indies in 1823, but United States leaders continued to seek an end to Britain's protective Imperial Preference system. In 1825, Britain banned United States trade with

47250-480: Was exceptional in his ability to control the legislative agenda through well-placed allies and the establishment of new committees and departed from precedent by frequently taking part in floor debates. Yet he also gained a reputation for personal courteousness and fairness in his rulings and committee appointments. Clay's drive to increase the power of the office of speaker was aided by President James Madison , who deferred to Congress in most matters. John Randolph ,

47475-411: Was following Monroe's implied wishes in entering Florida, he created additional controversy in seizing the Spanish town of Pensacola . Despite protests from Secretary of War Calhoun, Monroe and Adams decided to support Jackson's actions in the hope that they would convince Spain to sell Florida. Clay, however, was outraged, and he publicly condemned Jackson's decision to hang two foreign nationals without

47700-411: Was going to run for re-election, ensuring that support or opposition to his presidency would be a central feature of the upcoming race. Jackson's Democrats rallied around his policies towards the national bank, internal improvements, Indian removal , and nullification , but these policies also earned Jackson various enemies, including Vice President John C. Calhoun. However, Clay rejected overtures from

47925-438: Was involved with include: Henry Clay [REDACTED] Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives . He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state . He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1824 , 1832 , and 1844 elections. He helped found both

48150-420: Was narrowly defeated in the general election by Democrat James K. Polk , who made the annexation of the Republic of Texas his top issue. Clay strongly criticized the subsequent Mexican–American War and sought the Whig presidential nomination in 1848 but was passed over in favor of General Zachary Taylor who went on to win the election. After returning to the Senate in 1849, Clay played a key role in passing

48375-512: Was near collapse, the 1824 presidential election would be contested only by members of the Democratic-Republican Party, including Clay. Having led the passage of the Tariff of 1824 and the General Survey Act , Clay campaigned on his American System of high tariffs and federal spending on infrastructure. Three members of Monroe's Cabinet, Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, appeared to be Clay's strongest competitors for

48600-406: Was not hired. In May 1846, Poe reviewed Colton's work in The Literati of New York City , published in Godey's Lady's Book . Poe described Colton's poem "Tecumseh" as "insufferably tedious" but said that the magazine was one of the best of its kind in the United States . The American Review had the distinction of being the first authorized periodical to print " The Raven " in February 1845. It

48825-427: Was often unable to take part in campaigning. As Adams was averse to the use of patronage for political purposes, Jackson's campaign enjoyed a marked advantage in organization, and Adams' allies such as Clay and Daniel Webster were unable to create an equally powerful organization headed by the president. In the 1828 election, Jackson took 56% of the popular vote and won almost every state outside of New England ; Clay

49050-433: Was printed with the pseudonym "Quarles". Another well-known poem by Poe, " Ulalume ," also was first published (anonymously) in the American Review . Other works by Poe published in the American Review include " Some Words with a Mummy " and " The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar ." The American Review ceased publication in 1852, unable to continue paying its contributors. Other American journals that Edgar Allan Poe

49275-464: Was rebuffed in his efforts to reach a commercial treaty and a settlement of the Canada–United States border with Britain, and was also unsuccessful in his attempts to make the French pay for damages arising from attacks on American shipping during the Napoleonic Wars . He had more success in negotiating commercial treaties with Latin American republics, reaching " most favoured nation " trade agreements in an attempt to ensure that no European country had

49500-443: Was signed by Tyler on his last day in office, and Texas gained statehood in late 1845. After the 1844 election, Clay returned to his career as an attorney. Though he was no longer a member of Congress, he remained closely interested in national politics. In 1846, the Mexican–American War broke out after American and Mexican forces clashed at the disputed border region between Mexico and Texas. Initially, Clay did not publicly oppose

49725-432: Was signed on December 24, 1814. The United States did not gain any concessions from the treaty but could boast that it had survived a war against the strongest power in the world. Following the signing of the treaty, Adams traveled to Paris, where he witnessed first-hand the Hundred Days of Napoleon's restoration. In May 1815, Adams learned that President Madison had appointed him as the U.S. ambassador to Britain . With

49950-482: Was such that in 1806 the Kentucky legislature elected him to the United States Senate . During his two-month tenure in the Senate, Clay advocated for the construction of various bridges and canals, including a canal connecting the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River . After Clay returned to Kentucky in 1807, he was elected as the speaker of the state house of representatives. That same year, in response to attacks on American shipping by Britain and France during

50175-419: Was the sixth president of the United States , serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diplomatic and political career, Adams served as an ambassador and also as a member of the United States Congress representing Massachusetts in both chambers. He was the eldest son of John Adams , who served as the second president of

50400-422: Was then negotiating the Jay Treaty with Great Britain. Adams supported the Jay Treaty, but it proved unpopular with many in the United States, contributing to a growing partisan split between the Federalist Party of Alexander Hamilton and the Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson . In 1794 he supported John Skey Eustace who wanted to return to the United States via the Netherlands. Adams spent

50625-501: Was unfinished, so he ran for and won a seat in the United States House of Representatives in the 1830 elections . His election went against the generally held opinion, shared by his own wife and youngest son, that former presidents should not run for public office. Nonetheless, he would win election to nine terms, serving from 1831 until his death in 1848. Adams and Andrew Johnson are the only former presidents to serve in Congress . After winning election, Adams became affiliated with

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