John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams

By

John T. Marck

John Quincy Adams was born at the home of his parents known as "Peacefield," on July 11, 1767 in Braintree, now Quincy, Massachusetts. As a child, John Quincy watched the Battle of Bunker Hill from Penn=s Hill, above the family farm. He would become the first president of the United States who was the son of a president, his father John Adams. This fact of father and son as presidents did not occur again until George W. Bush was elected in 2000, the son of George H.W. Bush.

John Quincy graduated from Harvard College in 1787, after which he became a lawyer. At 26, he was appointed Minister to the Netherlands, and in 1802 was elected to the United States Senate. In 1808, President James Madison appointed him Minister to Russia. Later, under President James Monroe, John Quincy served as one of America's great Secretaries of State. In this position he arranged with England the combined occupation of the Oregon Territory, obtained Florida from Spain, and assisted the President with the Monroe Doctrine. In his position as Secretary of State, John Quincy was thought of as heir to the Presidency.

In the 1828 election for the presidency, John Quincy was the candidate from the North, who fell behind General Andrew Jackson, in both popular and electoral votes. John Quincy did receive more votes than William H. Crawford and Henry Clay, his two other competitors. But, since no candidate had a majority of electoral votes, the election was decided among the top three by the House of Representatives. Henry Clay, who favored programs similar to those of Adams, placed his support in the House with him.

When John Quincy became President he, in many ways, paralleled the career and viewpoints of his famous father. He appointed Henry Clay as Secretary of State, which made Andrew Jackson angry, claiming that Adams had entered into what he called a "corrupt" bargain. So Jackson began his campaign in 1828 to oust the President.

Despite feelings of hostility by some members in Congress, Adams [in his first annual message] still presented an outstanding new program for the country. His proposal included bringing together a network of highways and canals, and that the government develop and conserve the public domain, using funds from the sale of public lands. This same year that Jackson started his campaign against him, Adams broke ground for the new 185-mile C&O Canal.

Adams also led the way in the development of the arts and sciences through the establishment of a national university, the financing of scientific expeditions, and the building of an observatory. Critics argued that these measures by Adams exceeded constitutional limitations.

Because of Jackson's campaigns against him he was defeated for a second term. Following his exit from the Presidency he returned to Massachusetts where he expected to retire and simply enjoy his farm and his extensive library of books.

Two years later, in 1830, he was unexpectedly elected to the House of Representatives, where he stayed and served for the remainder of his life. One of his main interests was fighting against the circumscription of civil liberties. With this in mind, in 1836, Congressmen from the South passed a "gag rule" that said that the House would automatically table any petitions against slavery. Fighting tirelessly against this, he finally obtained its repeal eight years later.

On February 21, 1848, he collapsed on the House floor from a stroke. He was carried to the Speaker's Room, where, two days later on February 23, he died. He was buried at First Parish Church in Quincy, along with his wife, father and mother. John Quincy Adams, who was affectionately known as "Old Man Eloquent," spent his life fighting for what he considered right.

The Adams National Historic Site

Today, the birthplaces of the Adams family are located in Adams National Historical Park, in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, about ten miles south of Boston. This Park comprises eleven historic structures and a cultural landscape that totals fourteen acres.

Five generations of the Adams family lived here between 1720 and 1927 that included two Presidents and First Ladies, three U.S. Ministers, historians, and writers, as well as other members of the family that contributed to the success of those in the public eye.

John Adams, the second President, and his son, John Quincy Adams, the sixth President, both were born in adjacent houses on Franklin Street in Quincy, which at the time of their births was known as Braintree.

The main historic structure is the birthplace of John Adams, born October 30, 1735, and about 75 yards away, is the birthplace of his son, John Quincy. The house at 133 Franklin Street is a New England "saltbox" building with multiple fireplaces around a central chimney. Originally it consisted of two upper and two lower rooms, but more rooms were added to both floors. The house dates to about 1680 and thus is the oldest existing of all the Presidential birthplaces.

Upon his father's death, John Adams (the future President) inherited a similar house next door that became his home and law office, and the birthplace of his son, John Quincy as well as the Massachusetts State Constitution. Both houses are typical of those built in the late 17^th century by New England carpenters. The houses were framed with huge beams that were secured with wooden pegs, floored with wide planks, and covered with clapboard siding over brick-filled walls to help with the cold New England winters.

John Adams spent much of his time in Europe in his various diplomatic positions. During this time, his wife, Abigail, purchased, sight unseen, a farm and house less than two miles away from Franklin Street. Major Leonard Vassall, a wealthy West India sugar planter, had built this house in 1731.

Just as John Adams was preparing to settle into Peacefield, his new home, he was called away by George Washington to serve as his vice president. Thus, it would be twelve years before he would retire there, serving eight years with Washington, and another four as president. During the twelve years he was away, his wife Abigail was busy overseeing major improvements to the house that included doubling the capacity with an addition of an east wing in 1800. Years later, her great grandson Henry Adams recalled the following about the Old House:

"The Old House at Quincy known as Peacefield was 18^th century. What style it had was its Queen Anne mahogany panels and its Louis XV chairs and sofa. The panels belonged to an old colonial Vassall who built the house; the furniture had been brought back from Paris in 1789 or 1801 or 1817, along with porcelain and books and much else of old diplomatic remnants; and neither of the two 18^th century styles...was comfortable for a boy, or for anyone else. The dark mahogany had been painted white to suit daily life in winter gloom."