John Quincy Adams Dbq

John Quincy Adams is known as a pretty decent president. In a C-SPAN poll he was ranked number nineteen. He was very passionate about freedom of speech and universal education. His first year in office he had ideas that would help promote science and he saw the need for practical solutions to universal problems. He wanted to help the United States with his new ideas. While he was president the Erie Canal opened, he supported the Panama Congress, approved the Tariff of Abominations bill, and the Ohio and Baltimore railroad had begun. John Quincy Adams did deserve his ranking because he was a decent president but he could have improved on some things as well. John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767 in Braintree, Massachusetts. “He was a

John Quincy Adams also saw the need for practical solutions to universal problems. “As president, Adams faced steadfast hostility from the Jacksonians in Congress. He proposed a progressive national program, including federal funding of an interstate system of roads and canals and the creation of a national university” (Staff). A lot of different critics, especially Jackson’s supporters, argued that all of this advancement John was talking about exceeds federal authority according to the Constitution. A lot of people thought that John Quincy Adams was ahead of his time and that he was taking a lot of things too fast. He had a lot of critics because of that reason. While John was president, the Erie Canal was completed, linking the Great Lakes to the East Coast and allowing the flow of products such as whiskey, farm produce, and grain to Eastern markets. “Adams also sought to provide Native Americans with territory in the West, but like many of his initiatives this failed to find support in Congress” (Staff). John always tried to do the right thing for a lot of different people but was often shut down by Congress because they did not agree with his ideas. He was a very passionate supporter of freedom of speech and universal education. He thought that everyone had the right to say what was

“In 1830, he ran for and won a seat in the United States House of representatives, once again distinguishing himself as a statesman of the first order” (Editors). John served nine post-presidential terms in Congress from 1830 till his death in 1848. He was very much against slavery and earned the nickname “Old Man Eloquent”. He got that nickname because every time he stood up to talk everyone become very quiet and began to watch him. He argued against Congress about slavery multiple times and really only won once about the freedom of slave mutineers on the ship Amistad. In 1843, John Quincy Adams traveled to Cincinnati to serve at the Cincinnati Observatory. On February 21, 1848, John had a stroke just before talking about the Mexican War. He slipped into a coma two days later and his final words were “This is the end of earth, but I am content.” He ended up passing away on February 23, 1848 in the United States Capital