Stiff and unpleasant John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, was not very popular as a politician, nor did he care to be. John Quincy's interest in politics was inherited-- he pursued his career as a statesman largely to avoid disappointing his father, President John Adams. Outside of this relationship with his father, however, John Quincy Adams proved to be an independent thinker and a strong- minded individualist. His insistence on considering each issue separately rather than voting along with a party line caused him to make many enemies among his fellow Federalists.
John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767 in the northern section of Braintree (now know as Quincy), Massachusetts. He was the second child and eldest son born to Abigail and John Adams, the second President of the United States. He grew up during the American Revolution and witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill. He had the very best in elementary school education, as well as the opportunity to interact with great men such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.
When he was ten years old John Quincy Adams moved to Europe where his father was serving as a U.S. diplomat. In the years between 1778 and 1785 John Quincy lived in England, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany, and attended schools in France and the Netherlands. He became fluent in a number of languages, and in 1781, while only fourteen, left his family for two years to serve as secretary and translator to Francis Dana, the first U.S. ambassador to Russia.
In 1785 John Quincy returned to America where he entered Harvard. Extremely intelligent and diligent in his studies, he completed his B.A. in two years. After graduation John Quincy studied law. He did not like legal work, but pursued it for his parents' sake. In 1790 John Quincy Adams passed the bar and set up a legal practice in Boston. While in Boston John Quincy took an interest in politics. He wrote numerous articles supporting the Federalists of Washington's administration and denounced Thomas Paine for his ideas about the common man possessing the same rights under God as the well born.
In 1794 President Washington appointed John Quincy minister to Holland. In 1796 President John Adams appointed John Quincy minister to Prussia. John Quincy held this position throughout the entire term of his father's Presidency.
In 1794, while in Europe, John Quincy Adams met Louisa Catherine Johnson, the daughter of an American merchant who was serving as consul general to London. After a three-year courtship the two were married in 1797. They had four children.
When Thomas Jefferson became President in 1801, briefly ending the career of many Federalists, John Quincy Adams returned to Massachusetts. He was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1802 and sent to the U.S. Senate in 1803.
As a senator, John Quincy's insistence to consider each individual issue separately rather than voting along with the party line earned him many enemies among his fellow Federalists. The battle going on between his father and Alexander Hamilton at this time only exacerbated the situation. Whenever John Quincy would bring something to the floor, it would be immediately voted down, only to be brought up later by someone else and passed. When John Quincy supported President Jefferson's Embargo Act in spite of Federalist opposition, the Federalists held the election to nominate John Quincy's successor six months earlier than usual. John Quincy Adams resigned in protest.
After a brief period of practicing law and teaching at Harvard, John Quincy Adams was appointed minister to Russia by President Madison in 1809. While in St. Petersburg, John Quincy witnessed the invasion of Russia by Napoleon.
In 1814 John Quincy was sent to Belgium where he was to meet with British diplomats at Ghent and organize a treaty to end the War of 1812. The Peace of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814, allowing for the United States to withdraw from the war with minimal embarrassment.
John Quincy then traveled to London where he served as Minster until 1817, when he was appointed Secretary of State by President Monroe.
As Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams negotiated a masterful treaty with Spain. The Adams-Onis Treaty was signed on February 22, 1819. It ceded all of Florida to the United States and set a border between U.S. and Spanish territory which extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the Rocky Mountains and along the 42 parallel to the Pacific Ocean. In his duties as Secretary of State Adams was also largely responsible for the Monroe Doctrine.
By 1825, when President Monroe left office, the Federalist Party had ceased to exist. The Democratic-Republican elected W.H. Crawford of Georgia as its official candidate. The nomination was not supported nationally, and the regional divisions of the Democratic-Republican Party began to nominate their own candidates. Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and John Quincy Adams were each nominated as regional Democratic-Republican candidates. Though Andrew Jackson won 99 electoral votes, more than any other candidate, he did not have a majority required to win the Presidency. The decision to choose a President fell to the House of Representatives. Henry Clay, who had taken 37 electoral votes, conceded his support to John Quincy Adams who had 84. The House of Representatives named John Quincy Adams President. Andrew Jackson and his supporters were outraged. Jackson accused Adams of making a corrupt deal with the members of the House. John Quincy Adams became the sixth President of the United States on March 4, 1825.
John Quincy Adams was not a popular President. Congress, which was largely made up of Jackson supporters, thwarted every effort undertaken by the President. John Quincy Adams tried to improve the transportation system by instituting a plan to build federal highways and canals. The plan was voted down in Congress. Adams tried to establish a high protective tariff on foreign goods. Congress voted the tariff down. Adams tried to establish a federal university, bank, and observatory, all of which Congress voted down.
In 1828 John Quincy Adams ran for a second term as President and lost to Andrew Jackson. Adams returned to Massachusetts to retire.
In 1830 the 12th district of Massachusetts elected the former President to the House of Representatives. He was nominated by a small party known as the Anti-Masonic Party, but this party soon died out, and Adams continued to be re-elected as an independent.
Even though he was not an abolitionist, Adams' personal opposition to the pro-slavery factions of the House made him one of the anti-slavery movement's first real voices. In 1836 a gag rule was passed by the Southern states to keep petitions against slavery being submitted to the floor. Adams loudly protested what he considered a violation of his first amendment right, but he was ignored. Adams however did not give up. He continued to bring the issue up at every meeting of the House for the next nine years. The gag rule was finally repealed in 1845.
In November 1848 John Quincy Adams suffered a stroke. He recovered and returned to his duties in the House. On February 21 he suffered a second stroke while on the floor of the House. He was ushered to the Speaker's chambers where he died two days later.
