18. The Expedition to the Center of the Earth Came Up for a Congressional Vote
John Quincy Adams, like other believers in the Hollow Earth theory, assumed that the hollow planet’s internal concentric spheres must be inhabited by humans or human like beings: de facto mole men. JQ Adams was interested in the natural resources beneath the earth, and like Symmes, he wanted to establish trade with the hollow earth’s inhabitants. Backed by such heavyweights, Symmes’ expedition actually made it to the agenda of the US House of Representatives and came up for a vote. The proposal was defeated, 56 to 46, meaning that roughly 44% of the country’s Congressmen were willing to spend taxpayer money to try and contact mole people.
The president did not give up, however, and sought to get Congress to reconsider, while doing what he could to gather support and resources for the expedition. However, JQ Adams served only one term, before he lost the 1828 election to Andrew Jackson. The newly elected POTUS promptly canceled the expedition and abandoned his predecessor’s attempts to reach the center of the hollow earth. Which was not surprising: Andrew Jackson believed the earth was flat.