Lot 24
Adams, John Quincy -- Document Signed as Secretary of State & President Elect (1767-1848) Sixth President of the United States (1825 to 1829.) He served as a diplomat, and a U. S. Senator, and spent the last 17 years of his life as a member of the House of Representatives, the only ex-President to serve in the House. Partly-printed document signed "J.Q. Adams" as Secretary of State and President Elect, one page, 9½ x 7¼", Washington, Feb. 23, 1825. Adams certifies that Thomas Carbery was a Justice of the Peace for Washington County in the District of Columbia at the time he signed an annexed document (not present). Dept. of State seal at lower left. Bold signature with small contemporary ink smear. Framed with an engraving of Adams and framed to an overall size of 18" x 26". Fine condition. Adams had run for President in the 1824 election, but neither he, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, nor W.H. Crawford received a clear majority, which, according to Article II of the Constitution, threw the vote to the House of Representatives. Clay, having the fewest electoral votes, had been forced to drop out of the race. He swung his votes to Adams and, on February 9, 1825, 14 days before he signed this document and less than a month when he would be sworn in as President (March 4), the House voted for Adams for President, giving him the votes of 13 states, to Jackson's seven and Crawford's four. The losers screamed that a "corrupt bargain" had been made, especially after Adams made Clay his Secretary of State. Estimate $600 - 800
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| Realized $840 |
