[69]
Monroe and Adams agreed on most major foreign policy issues: both favored neutrality in Latin American independence wars, peace with the United Kingdom, rejection of a trade agreement with the French, and peaceful expansion into the Spanish Empire's North American territories.[70] The president and his secretary of state developed a strong working relationship, and while Adams often influenced Monroe's policies, he respected that Monroe made the final decisions on major issues.[71] Monroe met regularly with his five-person cabinet, which initially consisted of Adams, Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Crowninshield, and Attorney General William Wirt.[72] Adams developed a strong respect for Calhoun but believed that Crawford was unduly focused on succeeding Monroe in 1824.[73]

In the Adams–Onís Treaty, the United States acquired Florida and set the western border of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase.
During his time as ambassador to Britain, Adams had begun negotiations over several contentious issues that had not been solved by the War of 1812 or the Treaty of Ghent. In 1817, the two countries agreed to the Rush–Bagot Treaty, which limited naval armaments on the Great Lakes. 