Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. I.djvu/285

 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 233 of his own, and as the unsolicited expression of popular trust in him, all its value would be lost. Under the circumstances, it was a remarkable evi dence of the respect felt for his lofty character and distinguished services that he should have obtained the presidency at all. The result of the election showed 99 votes for Jackson, 84 for Adams, 41 for Crawford, 37 for Clay. Mr. Calhoun, who had withdrawn from the contest for the presidency, re ceived 182 votes for the vice-presidency, and was elected. The choice of the president was thrown into the house of representatives, and Mr. Clay now used his great influence in favor of Mr. Adams, who was forthwith elected. When Adams afterward made Clay his secretary of state, the disappointed partisans of Jackson pretended that there had been a bargain between the two, that Adams had secured Clay s assistance by promising him the first place in the cabinet, and thus, accord ing to a usage that seemed to be establishing itself, placing him in the line of succession for the next presidency. The peppery John Randolph char acterized this supposed bargain as &quot;a coalition be tween Blifil and Black George, the Puritan and the Blackleg.&quot; There never was a particle of foun dation for this reckless charge, and it has long since been disproved. During Monroe s administration the Federalist party had become extinct. In the course of John