John Quincy Adams (1767 - 1848)

Born 11 Jul 1767 in Braintree, Quincy, Norfolk, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Louisa Catherine (Johnson) Adams — married 26 Jul 1797 in London, England

Descendants

Died 23 Feb 1848 at age 80 in Speaker's Room, Congress, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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John Quincy Adams was the President of the United States. Join: US Presidents Project Discuss: presidents

Preceded by 5th President James Monroe Preceded by 7th Secretary James Monroe Preceded by Jonathan Mason

John Quincy Adams 6th President of the United States 1825—1829 8th United States Secretary of State 1817—1825 US Senator (Class 1) from Massachusetts 1803—1808

Succeeded by 7th President Andrew Jackson Succeeded by 9th Secretary Henry Clay Succeeded by James Lloyd

Biography

John Quincy Adams is Notable.

This profile is part of the Adams Name Study.

John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman who served as a diplomat, minister and ambassador to foreign nations, treaty negotiator, United States Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative (Congressman) from Massachusetts, and the sixth president of the United States from 1825 to 1829. ^[1]

John Quincy Adams was born on 11 Jul 1767 in Braintree (Quincy), Norfolk, Massachusetts, the first son of father John Adams, the second president of the United States. and mother Abigail Smith. ^[2]

He spent most of his youth accompanying his father overseas on diplomatic missions to France and the Netherlands. For nearly three years, beginning at the age of 14, he served as a secretary to Francis Dana on a mission to Saint Petersburg, Russia, ^[3]

On 26 July 1797 he married in London, England to Louisa Catherine (Johnson), the daughter of a poor American merchant. They had 4 children: three sons and a daughter. Their daughter, Louisa, was born in 1811 but died in 1812 while the family was in Russia. ^[4] Their sons, George Washington Adams(1801-) and John Adams (1803-) led troubled lives and died in young adulthood. The youngest, Charles Francis Adams, (who named his own son John Quincy), pursued a long career in diplomacy and politics. In 1870 Charles Francis built the first presidential library in the United States, to honor his father. The library is located in the "Old House" at Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, Massachusetts. ^[5]

John Quincy Adams was elected president in a close and controversial four-way contest in 1824. After leaving office In Mar 1829, he was elected as U.S. Representative from Massachusetts in 1830, serving for the last 17 years of his life with greater acclaim than he had achieved as president. He was one of only 2 presidents to serve in Congress after his term of office, He was elected to 9 terms, serving as a Representative from Massachusetts for 17 years, from 1831 until his death. ^[6]

Like his father John Quincy, as a lawyer, defended the principle of individual rights, however unpopular. In 1840 Abolitionists hired Adams, who some referred to as “Old Man Eloquent,” to argue for the Amistad Africans’ freedom in the Supreme Court who ruled in favor of the Africans after hearing Adams's skilful arguments.^[7]

He died on 23 Feb 1848 in Washington, D.C. after collapsing on the Floor of the House. ^{[8] [9]}

In His Words

"The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made 'bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God' (Isaiah 52:10)." --Life of John Quincy Adams", W. H. Seward, editor (Auburn, NY: Derby, Miller & Company, 1849), p. 248

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia
2. ↑ Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1600-1889, v1, p24 (online at Ancestry.com, etc.)
3. ↑ Nagel, Paul C. John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life.
4. ↑ "Louisa Adams Biography #️⃣ National First Ladies' Library". www.firstladies.org.
5. ↑ Wikipedia Profile for John Quincy Adams, Personal Life.
6. ↑ http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=A000041
7. ↑ https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/adams-begins-arguments-in-the-amistad-case
8. ↑ Portrait & Bio. Album of Mahaska Co., Iowa (1887)
9. ↑ National Cemetery Administration. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006 [database on-line] Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

See also:

• Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Alternate source: Roll: 176; Page: 171; Image: 926; Family History Library Film: 0014674.
• Books:
• Unger, Harlow Giles, John Quincy Adams, De Capo Press, 2012
• Bemis, Samuel Flagg, John Quincy Adams and the Union. Easton Press,1987.
• Bemis, Samuel Flagg, John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy. Greenwood-Heinemann Publishing, 1981.
• A gazeteer of the state of Massachusetts: with numerous illustrations on wood and steel
• A geography of Massachusetts, for families and schools
• Find A Grave: Memorial #7

Other interesting Reading

• What do Ex-Presidents do?