Page "John Quincy Adams" Paragraph 21

Clay's personal dislike for Jackson and the similarity of his American System to Adams ' position on tariffs and internal improvements caused him to throw his support to Adams, who was elected by the House on February 9, 1825, on the first ballot.

Adams ' victory shocked Jackson, who had won the most electoral and popular votes and fully expected to be elected president.

When Adams appointed Clay as Secretary of State — the position that Adams and his three predecessors had held before becoming president — Jacksonian Democrats were outraged, and claimed that Adams and Clay had struck a " corrupt bargain.

" This contention overshadowed Adams ' term and greatly contributed to Adams ' loss to Jackson four years later, in the 1828 election.