6. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
1825-1829The 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.
