John Quincy Adams
The first President who was the son of a President, John Quincy Adams in many respects paralleled
the career as well as the temperament
and viewpoints of his illustrious father. Born in Braintree, Massachusetts,
in 1767, he watched 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.
After graduating from Harvard College, he became a lawyer. 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 Senate. Six years later President Madison
appointed him Minister to Russia.
Serving under President Monroe, Adams was one of America's great Secretaries of
State, arranging with England for the joint occupation of the Oregon country,
obtaining from Spain the cession of the Floridas, and formulating with the
President the Monroe Doctrine.
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 eight 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.