Figure 1.--.
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Figure 1.--. |
John Quincy became the sixth president of the United States, the only such father son presidnts until President George W. Bush was elected in 2000. As a boy he was a brilliant
linguist and actually played an important role in diplomacy for the Amerivan
colonists. John Quincy was educated at Harvard and practiced law as a young man. After independence, President Washington appointed him Ambassador to the Netherlands. He married Louisa Carherine Jounson, the daughter of the American Ambassador to England. After returning to America he won election to the Senate. He then served as Ambassadir to Russia and became one of the most prominent Secetaries of State. Adams may have made a greater contribution to the United States as President Monroe's Secretary of State than as president. He was the author of the Monroe Doctrine. He became the sixth president in 1924 despite losing the popular vote to General Jackson. After losing the 1828 election to Jackson, he served for years as a Congressman. He was known fir his opposition to slavery and promotion of women's sufferage. John Quincy Adams in many respects paralleled the career as well as the temperament and viewpoints of his illustrious father.
No American president had more famed parents. His father was John Adams, the second president of the United States. His mother was Abigale Adams, a force in herself.
John was born in in Braintree, Massachusetts, during 1767.
He witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill from the top of
Penn's Hill above the family farm. As secretary to his father in
Europe, he became an accomplished
linguist and assiduous diarist.
Hohn Quincy was a very bright boy and especially gifted in langauages. John Quincey adams graduated from Harvard College.
Some scholars believe that the manmost responsible for the success of the American Revolution, other than George Washington, was John Quincey's father John Adams. One of Adam's major accomplishments was helping Benjamin Franklin convince the French to assisst the Americans in the Revolutionary War. Adams joined Franklin in Paris during 1778?, brininging John Quincey because of his linguistic accomplishments. John Quincey wa only about 11 years olds at the time. King Louis XV finally agreed, but appointed an ambassador who could not speak word of English. It was John Quincey who taught him English on the boat trip back to America. French assistance was of course critical in winning the Revolution. John Quincey was to follow his father after the Revolution to another diplomatic post--this ime St. Petrsburg, Russia
He became a lawyer.
John Quincey Adams along with George Marshal may well have been the
most important secretaries of state in American history. He started
his diplomatic career at age 14, certainly the youngest age for
any American diplomat, when he served as the secretary for the American
Minister (Ambassador) to Russia in St. Petersburg.
Adams at age 26 he was appointed Minister
to the Netherlands, then promoted to the Berlin Legation. In 1802 he
was elected to the United
States Senatefrom Massachusetts. Six years later President Madison appointed him
Minister to Russia.
Later he served as American Minister
to Russia and Great Britain.
Adams' diplomatic accomplishments were legindary.
helped negotiate both the Treaty of Ghent in 1815 (ending the War of 1812
with Britain) and the Trans-continental Treaty in 1819 (with Spain).
Although little heraled today the, Trans-continental Treaty both acquired
Florida and achieved international recognition for the
western boundaries of the United States streaching to the Pacific
Ocean. There was a real danger at the time that the United States
might be drawn into another war with Britain which at the time
opposed the American expansion to the Pacific and the acquisition of Florida.
General Andrew Jackson's military exploits in Florida and hanging of a
British citizen could well have ignited another disastrous war. It
was Adams' adroit diplomacy which achieved American objectives while
avoiding war with the Btitish. Ig this wasn't enough for one
Secretary of State, he also formulated with the President the Monroe Doctrine. Although named after President James Monroe, it was actually Adams' work.
Adams who is probably America's greatest diplomat, was interestingly
capable--if not known for extrodinary offensive blutness, sarcasm,
and open intolerance. He was a man of sharp contrasts. He was a
devotee of the theater, but distrusted actors. He loved his children
deeply, but was a harsh taskmaster to them.
In the political tradition of the early 19th century, Adams as
Secretary of State was considered the
political heir to the Presidency. But the old ways of choosing a
President were giving way in 1824 before the clamor for a popular
choice.
Within the one and only party--the Republican--sectionalism and
factionalism were developing, and
each section put up its own candidate for the Presidency. Adams, the
candidate of the North, fell
behind Gen. Andrew Jackson in both popular and electoral votes, but
received more than William
H. Crawford and Henry Clay. Since no candidate had a majority of
electoral votes, the election was
decided among the top three by the House of Representatives. Clay,
who favored a program similar
to that of Adams, threw his crucial support in the House to the New
Englander.
Upon becoming President, Adams appointed Clay as Secretary of
State. Jackson and his angry
followers charged that a "corrupt bargain" had taken place and
immediately began their campaign to
wrest the Presidency from Adams in 1828.
Well aware that he would face hostility in Congress, Adams nevertheless proclaimed in his first
Annual Message a spectacular national program. He proposed that the Federal Government bring
the sections together with a network of highways and canals, and that it develop and conserve the
public domain, using funds from the sale of public lands. In 1828, he broke ground for the 185-mile
C & 0 Canal. Adams also urged the United States to take a lead in the development of the arts and sciences
through the establishment of a national university, the financing of scientific expeditions, and the
erection of an observatory. His critics declared such measures transcended constitutional limitations.
The campaign of 1828, in which his Jacksonian opponents charged him with corruption and public
plunder, was an ordeal Adams did not easily bear. After his defeat he returned to Massachusetts,
expecting to spend the remainder of his life enjoying his farm and his books.
Unexpectedly, in 1830, the Plymouth district elected him to the
House of Representatives, and there
for the remainder of his life he served as a powerful leader. Above
all, he fought against circumscription of civil liberties.
In 1836 southern Congressmen passed a "gag rule" providing that the
House automatically table
petitions against slavery. Adams tirelessly fought the rule for
8 years until finally he obtained its repeal.
In 1848, he collapsed on the floor of the House from a stroke and was carried to the Speaker's
Room, where two days later he died. He was buried--as were his father, mother, and wife--at First
Parish Church in Quincy. To the end, "Old Man Eloquent" had fought for what he considered right.
Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams was the only First Lady born
outside the United States. She did not arrive in Amerca
until 4 years after she had married John Quincy Adams. Political enemies
sometimes called her English. She was born in London to an English mother, Catherine Nuth
Johnson, but her father was American--Joshua Johnson, of Maryland--and he served as United
States consul after 1790.
A career diplomat at 27, accredited to the Netherlands, John Quincy developed his interest in
charming 19-year-old Louisa when they met in London in 1794. Three years later they were
married, and went to Berlin in course of duty. At the Prussian court she displayed the style and grace
of a diplomat's lady; the ways of a Yankee farm community seemed strange indeed in 1801 when
she first reached the country of which she was a citizen. Then began years divided among the family
home in Quincy, Massachusetts, their house in Boston, and a political home in Washington, D.C.
When the Johnsons had settled in the capital, Louisa felt more at home there than she ever did in
New England.
She left her two older sons in Massachusetts for education in
1809 when she took two-year-old
Charles Francis to Russia, where Adams served as Minister. Despite
the glamour of the Tsar's court,
she had to struggle with cold winters, strange customs, limited
funds, and poor health; an infant
daughter born in 1811 died the next year. Peace negotiations called
Adams to Ghent in 1814 and
then to London. To join him, Louisa had to make a 40-day journey
across war-ravaged Europe
by coach in winter; roving bands of stragglers and highwaymen filled
her with "unspeakable terrors"
for her son. Happily, the next 2 years gave her an interlude of
family life in the country of her birth.
Appointment of John Quincy as Monroe's Secretary of State brought the Adamses to Washington in
1817, and Louisa's drawing room became a center for the diplomatic corps and other notables.
Good music enhanced her Tuesday evenings at home, and theater parties contributed to her
reputation as an outstanding hostess.
The pleasure of moving to the White House in 1825 was
dimmed by the bitter politics of the
election and by her own poor health. She suffered from deep depression. Though she continued her
weekly "drawing rooms," she preferred quiet evenings--reading, composing music and verse, playing
her harp. The necessary entertainments were always elegant, however; and her cordial hospitality
made the last official reception a gracious occasion although her husband had lost his bid for
re-election and partisan feeling still ran high.
Louisa thought she was retiring to Massachusetts permanently, but in 1831 her husband began 17 years of notable service in the House of Representatives. The Adamses could look back on a secure happiness as well as many trials when they celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary at Quincy in 1847. He was fatally stricken at the Capitol the following year; she died in Washington in 1852, and today lies buried at this side in the family church at Quincy.
John and Louisa had four children, three boys and a girl. Their daughter did not survive infanct. Only one of the sons had a successful life.
George was of course named after the president that fathercand grandfather admired. He was a bright but moody boy. He graduated from Harvard, practiced law for a while, and succeeded in getting elected to the Massachusetts state legislature. His life was darkened by scandal and he began drinking heavily. Many believed he committed suicide by jumping from a passanger boat in New York harbor.
John was a much freer spirit than his older brother. He received a good education, but his father was disappointed at his performance at Harvard. His behavior even resulted in expulsion. He married a cousin, Mary Catherine Hellen, in the White House, the second such wedding ceremony for a presidential child. He assisted his father as president, but an incident with a political enemy made a politicial career of his own impossible. For a while he managed the family properties, but unsuccessfully. Loke his older brother he also began drinking heavily and died at an early age.
Charles Francis contrasted sharply to his older brothers and had a full and successful life. He also could have successfully pursued a political career, but was too outspoken to be successful politican. He championed several important causes, but before they had become accepted by the general public--especially the abolition of slavery. He was a brilliant student, learing several languages and graduating from Harvard at age 17. He began his law career by working under no less a lawyer than Daniel Webster. He married Abigail Brown Brooks, the daughter of a wealthy Boston family. He inherited his father's estate making him finally independent. He won election to the Massachusettes legislature in 1841 and the Congress in 1858, only a few years before the outbreak of the Civil War. President Lincoln appointed him Ambassador to Great Britain. Upon arrival in Britain he found rsing public support for intervention to support the Confederacy. He played an important role in helping to prevent intervention. He had an important ally, Prince Albert. After the War he promoted civil service reform, another controversil issue. There was some talk of a presidential nomonation, but it never ,aterialized.
A daughter was born in St. Petersburg, Russia while her father was Ambassador there. Sirely the only presidebtial child born in Russia! She died the next
year in 1812, the year that Napoleon invaded Russia.
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