Splendid Hall
John Quincy Adams
No single individual is more closely identified with the Old House Chamber than is John Quincy Adams. In this room, in 1825 Adams was elected and inaugurated the sixth President of the United States. The only President to later serve in the House, Adams represented Massachusetts in this chamber from 1831 until his death 17 years later.
The First Election Cartoon
The engraving (right) depicts the hotly contested election of 1824. Only twice, in 1800 and 1824, has no candidate received a majority of the Electoral College vote. As stated in the Constitution, the House of Representatives must choose the President from the top three candidates, each state having one vote. The candidates were all men of national reputation and experience. William H. Crawford of Georgia, Secretary of the Treasury, was the choice of the Congressional Caucus and considered the front-runner; John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, Secretary of State, had served in the U.S. Senate and as a diplomat; and Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, hero of the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 and a U.S. Senator, had won the popular vote in the election; and Henry Clay of Kentucky was Speaker of the House.
The galleries of the Old House Chamber were crowded with spectators when both Houses convened there on February 9, 1825, to count the Electoral College vote. Since there was no winner, the state delegations of the House then cast secret ballots. Adams won 13 of the 24 states on the first ballot.
Adams's retirement following his defeat by Andrew Jackson in the presidential election of 1828 was short-lived. Local politicians persuaded him to run for the House in 1830. After winning, he wrote in his diary, "My election as President of the United States was not half so gratifying to my inmost soul. No election or appointment conferred upon me ever gave me so much pleasure." An active, often controversial Member, he became known as "Old Man Eloquent."
John Quincy Adams suffered a fatal stroke during a House debate on February 21, 1848, and died 2 days later in the Speaker's Room adjacent to Statuary Hall. His funeral, held here on February 26, 1848, was an occasion of national mourning.
On February 24, 1848, a broadside (below) announced the order of the funeral procession. The Committee of Arrangements comprised a Representative from each state or territory, including a freshman Congressman Abraham Lincoln, from Illinois.
John Quincy Adams, 1858 George Peter Alexander Healy (1813 -1894) Based on a portrait painted from life in 1845
In this portrait, John Quincy Adams holds a book in his left hand while sitting in a chair. He is wearing a black waistcoat and highcolored white shirt with a white tie.
The First Election Cartoon David Claypoole Johnston (1799-1865) 1824 Source: Library of Congress.
The black and white illustration is considered to be the first election cartoon. There is a crowd of men discussing the results of the election of 1824. There are numerous captions above the crowd and a depiction of the U.S. Capitol in the background. One of the captions states "Like enough, but betwixt you and I - I don't think he'll ever get the better of the Quincy."
Close-up of Tally Sheet, Electoral Votes, 1825 Records of the U.S. House of Representatives National Archives and Records Administration.
This photograph is a close-up view of the tally sheet from the Electoral College vote on February 9, 1825. The names are written in longhand on the tally, which includes Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, William H. Crawford of Georgia, and Henry Clay of Kentucky.
Order of the Procession for Funeral of John Quincy Adams, February 24, 1848. Source: Architect of the Capitol, Gift of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society.
The close-up photograph from the oration delivered at the funeral of John Quincy Adams depicts the names of various Members of the House of Representatives, including Mr. Lincoln of Illinois. Military companies, the Chaplains of both Houses, and physicians were listed on the oration as in attendance.
