John Quincy Adams, born in Braintree Massachusetts in 1767, was the son of America's second president, John Adams. John Q. Adams' political career was admirable. In many respects it paralleled his father's career, temperament and views. Many historians considered him, as was his father, to be an above-average president. This fact is revealed in the following segments. Although many of these events did not happen during his presidency, they all have to do with his political career. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Administrative ability: After becoming president, Adams appointed Clay as Secretary of State. Jackson and his angry followers charged that a "corrupt bargain" had occurred and immediately began their campaign to wrest the presidency from Adams in 1828. Well aware that he would face hostility in Congress, Adams nevertheless proclaimed in his first annual message a spectacular program national. He proposed that the federal government reunite the sections with a network of highways and canals and develop and conserve public lands, using funds from the sale of public lands. In 1828, he broke ground for the 185-mile C&0 Canal. Government Relations: At age 26, in 1793, John Q. Adams was appointed by George Washington as United States Secretary to the Netherlands. This action occurred because of a letter written by Adams published in a Boston newspaper in which he defended President Washington's policy of neutrality against the diplomatic incursions of Citizen Genet, minister of the new French Republic to the United States. He was subsequently promoted to the Berlin legation. In 1802 he was elected a Federalist to the United States Senate. Six years later President Madison appointed him prime minister of the United States to Russia. In the service of President Monroe, Adams was one of the greatest American secretaries of state, organizing the joint occupation of the Oregon country with England, obtaining the cession of the Floridas from Spain and formulating the Monroe doctrine with the president. Unexpectedly, in 1830, Plymouth Borough elected him to the House of Representatives, and there for the rest of his life he served as a powerful leader. Above all he fought against the limitation of civil liberties. This was a surprise because he was the only president to be elected to the House after his presidency. In 1836 Southern congressmen passed a "gag rule" that required the House to automatically introduce antislavery petitions. Adams fought the government tirelessly for eight years until he finally won its repeal. Time Period: During President John Q. Adams' four-year term, not much in the way of noteworthy events happened in the country. In 1825, however, he entered into a dispute over a possible conspiracy. He appointed Henry Clay as his secretary of state, which led to accusations that Clay and Adams had made a deal in the 1824 election. This was only accused because the people running Andrew Jackson's campaign felt he should be that man's successor. Work. Also in that same year the Erie Canal finished its development, made possible only by the steps President Adams took that year to ensure its opening. Political know-how: John Quincy Adams was fully aware of his constitutional limitations; however he felt that he could bend them if he further aided the advancement of education in the nation. Adams urged the United States to take a leading role in the development of the arts and sciences by establishing a university.