Adams favored treating the Native Americans fairly, something that his opponents used against him in his reelection campaign in 1828. In his inaugural address, he called on his country “to promote the civilization of the Indian tribes.” However, his administration did not protect the Creek Indians in Georgia.

Many Americans—including Adams’s opponent, Andrew Jackson—supported the trampling of the Native Americans’ rights. Adams later admitted his country had harmed the Native Americans greatly: “These are crying sins for which we are answerable before a higher jurisdiction.”