[106]

Domestic affairs
Ambitious agenda
Medal of John Quincy Adams
In his 1825 annual message to Congress,[107] Adams presented a comprehensive and ambitious agenda. He called for major investments in internal improvements as well as the creation of a national university, a naval academy, and a national astronomical observatory. Noting the healthy status of the treasury and the possibility for more revenue via land sales, Adams argued for the completion of several projects that were in various stages of construction or planning, including a road from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans.[108] He also proposed the establishment of a Department of the Interior as a new cabinet-level department that would preside over these internal improvements.[109] Adams hoped to fund these measures primarily through Western land sales, rather than increased taxes or public debt.[86] The domestic agenda of Adams and Clay, which would come to be known as the American System, was designed to unite disparate regional interests in the promotion of a thriving national economy.[110]
Adams's programs faced opposition from various quarters. Many disagreed with his broad interpretation of the constitution and preferred that power be concentrated in state governments rather than the federal government. 