John Quincy Adams

I

Introduction

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), sixth president of the United States (1825-1829), who devoted his life and his great ability to serving the people of the United States. Of the 81 years he lived, 50 were spent in public office. His service ended only with his death at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Adams’s career of public service was one of the most varied and distinguished in American history. He served his nation as a diplomat, senator, secretary of state, president, and, for the last 17 years of his life, member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The measures he took in these high offices profoundly assisted the growth and development of the United States. The expansion of U.S. borders westward and southward, the acquisition of Florida, and the formulation of the Monroe Doctrine all were due, at least in part, to the efforts of John Quincy Adams.

II

Early Life

John Quincy Adams was born in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts, on July 11, 1767. He was the second child and eldest son of John Adams, who became second president of the United States in 1797, and Abigail Smith Adams. In 1778, at the age of ten, John Quincy accompanied his father to France when the elder Adams went to seek aid for the American Revolutionists. Young Adams spent the next eight years in Europe. He studied with tutors and attended school in France and the Netherlands. He had few friends his own age and preferred the company of diplomats.

His mastery of French, the language of European diplomacy, brought young Adams his first official appointment. Although only 14, Adams became interpreter and secretary to Francis Dana, U.S. envoy to Russia. After almost two years in Saint Petersburg (then the capital of Russia), Adams returned to The Hague in the Netherlands and resumed his studies.

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Soon afterward, his father summoned Adams to Paris. There, in 1783, he witnessed the signing of the treaty that ended the American Revolution. At this time he began keeping a diary, which he continued throughout his life. The diary, published many years later by his son Charles Francis Adams, is an important historical document.

In 1785 Adams visited his parents in Great Britain, where his father was serving as U.S. diplomatic representative. Young Adams then returned to the United States, entered Harvard College, and graduated two years later. After studying law, he began his own practice in 1790. Adams found the practice of law dry and tedious, and he soon became involved in important public issues.

III

Early Career

A

U.S. Diplomat

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1

Publicola

When war broke out between France and Great Britain in 1793, loyalties were deeply divided in the United States. Some Americans followed Thomas Jefferson and urged support of France. Many members of the anti-Jefferson or Federalist Party, wanted an alliance between the United States and Great Britain. President George Washington, although he sympathized with Federalist principles, insisted that the United States remain neutral. Washington’s policy of neutrality was supported by Vice President John Adams but was bitterly attacked by many. In this crisis the president received unexpected support.

An anonymous author, using the pen name Publicola, published a series of articles in a Boston newspaper that were reprinted and read throughout the nation. The articles offered a closely reasoned and brilliant defense of Washington’s policy and concluded with these words: “It is our duty to remain, the peaceable and silent, though sorrowful spectators of the sanguinary scene.” The president soon discovered that John Quincy Adams had written the articles.

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2

The Netherlands

Welcoming the support of the young lawyer and son of his vice president, Washington appointed Adams diplomatic representative to the Netherlands. Adams was especially qualified for the post. He spoke both Dutch and French, he had studied international law, and he understood the intricate workings of European politics.

From his post in the Netherlands, Adams observed and reported on the wars that enveloped most of Europe as a result of the French Revolution (1789-1799). He was convinced, more strongly than ever, that neutrality was the wisest policy for the United States. His diplomatic dispatches repeated this conviction again and again. Washington incorporated many of Adams’s thoughts and phrases into his Farewell Address of 1797, which urged the United States to avoid involvement in European affairs.

While serving in the Netherlands, Adams married Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughter of the U.S. consul in London, England. The couple had three sons.

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