Read about the many problems encountered by John Quincy Adams during his presidency, most not of his making, but a reflection of the split in the philosophies of the National Republicans and the up-and-coming Jacksonian Democrats.

As with most other debates leading up to the Civil War, the debate about states' rights in reference to nullifying federal laws, ostensibly about tariffs, was really about the future of slavery in the South. Read about the issues of...