A member of the influential Adams family, a family that contributed greatly to the early years of the United States, John Quincy Adams was the first son of a former chief executive to also be elected president. Like his father, John Adams (1735-1826; see entry in volume 1), the second U.S. president, John Quincy Adams served only one term and was not a popular or an effective president. He won a disputed election. No candidate in the 1824 presidential election received enough electoral votes, so the election was decided by the House of Representatives, as required by the U.S. Constitution. Because of the election controversy, nearly every piece of legislation Adams or his allies in the Democratic-Republican Party attempted to pass was blocked by political rivals.

Indeed, shortly after Adams's election, military war hero Andrew Jackson (1767-1845; see entry in volume 1) resigned his seat...