John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth (1825-1829) President of the United States. He was the son of President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Smith. Adams's most important contributions to American history came before and after his relatively ineffective term as President. Before becoming President, he was the most experienced diplomat in the United States. While serving as Secretary of State under President James Monroe, Adams negotiated the Adams-Onís Treaty with Spain and devised the Monroe Doctrine, both of which were of long lasting importance. For these activities he has been called "the most influential American grand strategist of the nineteenth century" and "perhaps the greatest secretary of state in American history."{{fn|1}}

Biography

Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts in a part of town which eventually became the separate town of Quincy. His birthplace is open to the public, as is the nearby cairn marking the site from which he viewed the Battle of Bunker Hill as a 7-year-old boy. He acquired his early education in Europe at venerable institutions such as the University of Leiden while accompanying his father while the elder Adams was serving as an American envoy to France and later the Netherlands during the Revolutionary War. He graduated from Harvard University in 1787 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He studied law after which he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Boston.

Related Topics:
Braintree - Massachusetts - Quincy - Birthplace - Cairn - Battle of Bunker Hill - Europe - University of Leiden - France - Netherlands - Revolutionary War - Harvard University - 1787 - Phi Beta Kappa - Bar - Boston

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President George Washington appointed him Minister to the Netherlands in 1794, Minister to Portugal in 1796 and Minister to Prussia in 1797. While serving abroad, he met Louisa Catherine Johnson, the daughter of an American merchant living abroad. Despite his father's opposition to him having a foreign-born wife, Adams wed Louisa Johnson in 1797. The couple named one of their sons after George Washington. (As of 2005, Adams is the only U.S. President to do so.)

Related Topics:
President - George Washington - Netherlands - 1794 - Portugal - 1796 - Prussia - 1797 - Louisa Catherine Johnson

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He afterwards returned to Quincy where he lived in the "Old House" (now a museum). He began his political career in 1802 when he was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate. Adams was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the same year. He was elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1803, until June 8, 1808, when he resigned, a successor having been elected six months early after Adams broke with the Federalist Party.

Related Topics:
Old House - 1802 - Massachusetts - U.S. House of Representatives - Federalist - United States Senate - March 4 - 1803 - June 8 - 1808

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He was Minister (Ambassador) to Russia from 1809 to 1814, a member of the commission which negotiated the Treaty of Ghent in 1814, and Minister to the United Kingdom from 1815 to 1817. During this time, Adams and his wife lost to illness an infant daughter, born in 1811.

Related Topics:
Ambassador - Russia - 1809 - 1814 - Treaty of Ghent - United Kingdom - 1815 - 1817 - 1811

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He was Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President James Monroe from 1817 to 1825, a tenure during which he was instrumental in the acquisition of Florida and in keeping the United States from becoming dependent on England. He was sometimes called the "Lone Wolf" for his positions during this time because he often did not go with everyone else's opinion. Typically, however, his alone were the ones that Monroe decided upon. As Secretary of State, he negotiated the Adams-Onís Treaty and helped develop the Monroe Doctrine, which warned European nations not to meddle in affairs of the Western Hemisphere.

Related Topics:
Secretary of State - James Monroe - 1817 - 1825 - Florida - England - Adams-Onís Treaty - Monroe Doctrine

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Adams received one electoral vote in the presidential election of 1820. President James Monroe ran virtually unopposed for re-election, but one elector cast his ballot for Adams, allegedly to ensure that George Washington remained the only American president unanimously chosen by the electoral college.

Related Topics:
Presidential election of 1820 - President - James Monroe - George Washington - Electoral college

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