[126]
In the 1826 elections, Adams's opponents picked up seats throughout the country, as allies of Adams failed to coordinate among themselves.[127] Andrew Stevenson, a Jackson supporter, replaced John Taylor, an Adams supporter, as Speaker of the House.[128] As Adams himself noted, the United States had never seen a Congress that was firmly under the control of political opponents of the president.[129] After the elections, Van Buren and Calhoun agreed to throw their support behind Jackson in 1828, with Van Buren bringing along many of Crawford's supporters.[130] Though Jackson did not articulate a detailed political platform in the same way that Adams did, his coalition united in opposition to Adams's reliance on government planning.[131] Adams, meanwhile, clung to the hope of a non-partisan nation, and he refused to make full use of the power of patronage to build up his own party structure.[132]

Tariff of 1828
Painting of Quincy Adams by Charles Osgood, 1828
During the first half of his administration, Adams avoided taking a strong stand on tariffs, partly because he wanted to avoid alienating his allies in the South and New England.