er of the House, gave his support to Adams, who emerged victorious despite having received less than one-third of the popular vote." Although Jackson and his supporters were furious, there was nothing they could do. John Quincy Adams was elected as president. His presidency and the election were immediate judged corrupt. This was due to the fact that Adams made Clay his Secretary of State. "What was earlier a murmur became a roar when Adams proffered, and Clay accepted the position of secretary of state in Adams' cabinet. In a rage at the outcome of the House's "election" Jackson said of Clay that "the Judas of the West has closed the contract and will receive the thirty pieces of silver", and in Clays home state he charged that "the people had been cheated." Their will defeated by "corruption's and intrigues at Washington". This scandal seemed to taint Adams presidency and reputation. Neither Adams nor Clay could ever recover from it. "After that, nothing went right for Adams. The Jackson men in his cabinet were openly disloyal" Any idea or policy Adams proposed was immediately opposed. "Yet Adams' schemes were derided or ignored. He had no party organization to back him. He lacked the personal magnetism to fire the national imagination and impose his will." Even with all this opposition Adams continued to work hard and serve his country. Serving his country meant not firing his political rivals if they did their jobs. Even though they were intent on ruining his presidency, Adams would not remove them from office as long as they did their jobs. "Adams' chief blunders was simply his fair and high-minded treatment of his political enemies. The era of the "spoil-system" did not reward political integrity of the sort that refused to kick men out of office merely because they were performing their jobs ably. The Jacksonian's and their Whig successors judged political appointees not so much by the quality of their public performance as by th...
