Justice John Quincy Adams

[David Tenner]

What if JQ Adams didn't turn down Pesident Madison's 1811 offer of the "New
England" Supreme Court seat?
https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw2xAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT36 Can we then say there
will be (a) no President JQ Adams and (b) no Justice Story?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Story

(True, Adams might theoreticaly try to run for President from the Supreme
Court, as Justice McLean repeatedly did. Adams himself once noted that McLean
"thinks of nothing but the Presidency by day and dreams of nothing else by
night." https://books.google.com/books?id=AWtZnsxMCDEC&pg=PA312 But McLean
never realized his ambitions, and the Supreme Court was certainly not a match
for the position of Secretary of State in those days as a base for launching
a presidential campaign.)

[jerry kraus]

Post by David Tenner
What if JQ Adams didn't turn down Pesident Madison's 1811 offer of the "New
England" Supreme Court seat?
https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw2xAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT36 Can we then say there
will be (a) no President JQ Adams and (b) no Justice Story?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Story
(True, Adams might theoreticaly try to run for President from the Supreme
Court, as Justice McLean repeatedly did. Adams himself once noted that McLean
"thinks of nothing but the Presidency by day and dreams of nothing else by
night." https://books.google.com/books?id=AWtZnsxMCDEC&pg=PA312 But McLean
never realized his ambitions, and the Supreme Court was certainly not a match
for the position of Secretary of State in those days as a base for launching
a presidential campaign.)
--
David Tenner

He would have certainly been a terrific judge. Beyond that, I'm not really sure how much significance he has for the country. He'd really led too sheltered a life, I'd say, to have much significance, except as an excellent scholar and objective analyst of people and events.

[The Old Man]

Post by David Tenner
What if JQ Adams didn't turn down Pesident Madison's 1811 offer of the "New
England" Supreme Court seat?
https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw2xAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT36 Can we then say there
will be (a) no President JQ Adams and (b) no Justice Story?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Story
(True, Adams might theoreticaly try to run for President from the Supreme
Court, as Justice McLean repeatedly did. Adams himself once noted that McLean
"thinks of nothing but the Presidency by day and dreams of nothing else by
night." https://books.google.com/books?id=AWtZnsxMCDEC&pg=PA312 But McLean
never realized his ambitions, and the Supreme Court was certainly not a match
for the position of Secretary of State in those days as a base for launching
a presidential campaign.)
--
David Tenner

One thing that might have changed was an earlier Andrew Jackson presidency, no?

Regards,
John Braungart

[Insane Ranter]

Post by The Old Man

Post by David Tenner
What if JQ Adams didn't turn down Pesident Madison's 1811 offer of the "New
England" Supreme Court seat?
https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw2xAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT36 Can we then say there
will be (a) no President JQ Adams and (b) no Justice Story?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Story
(True, Adams might theoreticaly try to run for President from the Supreme
Court, as Justice McLean repeatedly did. Adams himself once noted that McLean
"thinks of nothing but the Presidency by day and dreams of nothing else by
night." https://books.google.com/books?id=AWtZnsxMCDEC&pg=PA312 But McLean
never realized his ambitions, and the Supreme Court was certainly not a match
for the position of Secretary of State in those days as a base for launching
a presidential campaign.)
--
David Tenner

One thing that might have changed was an earlier Andrew Jackson presidency, no?
Regards,
John Braungart

Depends on where JQA's electoral votes go if He isn't the 1824 election.

[Rich Rostrom]

Post by The Old Man
One thing that might have changed was an earlier
Andrew Jackson presidency, no?

More likely a Clay Presidency. Clay was closest
to Adams and would get his backers. (Assuming
Adams does not just run from as a Justice.)

If Adams does run as a Justice, does that set a
precedent of Justices as plausible candidates,
or provoke a reaction that excludes anyone with
Presidential ambitions from the Court? (McLean
pursued nomination, but ineffectively. Hughes
was nominated in 1916, though he did not actively
seek the nomination; he resigned from the Court
after being nominated.

If Adams managed a nomination, would he be obliged
to resign from the Court? If he then lost, what
would he do after that? Seek a return to the Senate?

Possible TL:

1824 - Justice Adams runs in the 4-way mess, but gets
only 42 EV (half the EV of OTL). A third of his OTL EV (28)
go to Clay, the rest split between Crawford (7) and Jackson (7).

So the result is Jackson 106, Clay 65, Crawford 48, Adams 42.
The election goes to the House as in OTL, where Clay is king;
he is elected with support from Adams, who resigns from the
Court to becomes Sec of State.

Jackson's supporters howl "Corrupt bargain!"

Jackson comes back and wins in 1828. Adams runs against
Jackson on 1832.

????

[Rich Rostrom]

Can we then say there will be (a) no President JQ
Adams and (b) no Justice Story?

(b) might be more important - Story was a major
figure in Constitutional interpretation. Adams
might also have been, but not the same results.

What decisions might have been changed?

Also, Justice Adams could not appear before the
Court on behalf of the AMISTAD prisoners.