The only
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.
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John
Quincy Adams