The first political figure that JFK wrote about was John Quincy Adams. This man was not a very popular president, but he stood up for what he believed in all of the time. Kennedy gives many great examples of this throughout the short story. One of these examples was when he was the lone Federalist to encourage the Louisiana Purchase. His courage to stand up for this was unparalleled and he was unshakable in his opinion. Most of Adams' presidency was overshadowed by the corrupt bargain. Many people believed that Henry Clay put Adams into office for only his personal benefit, because after the House of Representatives chose Adams over Jackson, Clay was appointed to Secretary of state. And for this reason Adams was opposed by congress, making it almost impossible to get anything passed. But in this book JFK focuses on Adams' political career as a whole, not just his difficult years as president. He shows also Adams' courage when he supported Jefferson's Embargo Act, which cut off trade with Britain. This act was implemented because of the impressment going on with British and American ships. These acts were courageous, but did not gain Adams any popularity. He was a disliked political figure in his time, and by the end of his political career, was deserted by his political allies. "He was a man without a party" as JFK said in the book. Looking back on JQA's career, he may not have been all bad, but he was not recognized for his political smarts in his time.