John Quincy Adams

This biography of John Quincy Adams, referred to as JQA throughout much of the book, is quite a treat. It astonishes me that so much information can be packed into such a short book (155 pages of text). Still, from my perspective, this is a satisfying book. John Quincy Adams was truly an exceptional character to study. As a young person, he accompanied his father, John Adams, to Europe to help him in his diplomatic duties. JQA learned an immense amount, developed many useful skills (including learning different languages), and began his career of public service at a very young age. Born in 1767, he lives a long and full life, dying in 1848. His coffin contained language was written by Daniel Webster (whom Adams detested) (Page 155): "A citizen of the United States, in the Capitol of Washington, February 23, 1848, Having served his country for half a century, And enjoyed its highest honors." A sampling of some of his accomplishments: His service abroad while in his teens, going to Russia apart from his father to serve as an assistant to the American ambassador there (the ambassador did not speak French, and JQA's command of that language was valuable in the Russian court); His first tour of Congress was controversial as his independence led both parties to sometimes get irritated with him; His time as Secretary of State, during which he developed the Monroe Doctrine; His controversial election as President and the rough politics of his one term; his return to the House of Representatives as a cantankerous and independent Representative. His return to Congress after serving as President is extraordinary, not repeated afterwards by any former President. In his term, old as he was, he served as a stalwart against slavery, and near the end of his life (as viewers of the movie "Amistad" know) he argued before the Supreme Court of the miscarriage of justice against the enslaved Africans who had seized control of the slave ship. All in all, a quick read and a pretty satisfying volume.

Robert Remini's brief study of John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) is part of the American Presidency Series edited by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. The series has the commendable aim of introducing the reader to each of the Presidents in a volume of short scope. The broader aim, I think, is to reawaken an appreciation of the history of our country and to stimulate reflection on the American experience. Thus, each volume tries to present a story of a life and also to explain briefly what is unique about each President and makes him worthy to be remembered. Remini gives an excellent discussion of John Quincy Adams's service to the United States, both during his Presidency and before and after it. The aspect of JQA's public service that stands out, both in his Presidency and otherwise, is his commitment to American Nationalism. By this I mean a devotion to creating a strong, united nation for all the people to promote the public welfare. JQA worked diligently to advance the interests of the entire American people, as he saw these interests, rather than to be a tool of any faction or party or momentary passion. Much of the time, he succeeded. As President, JQA advocated the creation of public works and improvements to link the country together. He was a strong supporter of education, scientific advancement, and learning. He wanted the Federal government to play an active role in supporting these ends and worked towards the creation of an American university. (After his Presidency he was a strong advocate for the creation of the Smithsonian Institution.) Before he assumed the Presidency, Adams served as the Secretary of State under James Monroe. He worked for the goal of American Nationalism by expanding the boundaries of the United States through a skillful exercise of diplomacy until they extended to the Pacific Ocean. JQA also was instrumental in the formulation of the Monroe Doctrine. Following his presidency. JQA served as a Congressman from Massachusetts. He distinguished himself in working for the anti-slavery cause and, specifically, by his tireless opposition to the "gag rule" which aimed to prevent critical discussion of slavery-related issues in the halls of Congress. Remini presents his material in a way that focuses on this theme of JQA's public service and on its nationalistic aspirations . He also points out how and why JQA failed to realize many of his goals, particularly during his term as the sixth President (1825-1828) Adams was named President by the House of Representatives following a highly contested election. It was alleged that he struck a "corrupt bargain" with Henry Clay, who became Adams's Secretary of State. This "corrupt bargain" doomed the Adams Presidency and tarnished both Adams's and Clay's careers. Adams was also highly opinionated and stuffy and gave the impression of aloofness. He was not a good politician and lacked a certain ability to compromise or to work cooperatively with others. At one point Remini writes (p.

There are many historic books on presidents. The American President Series is a great text for those who are interested in reading a brief summary of the presidents' lives. Many texts are too in depth for casual reading, but this series is excellent for those of us who are not die-hard historians or history experts. The author of this text has written a brilliant book on John Q. His writing style is wonderful and made it hard for me to put the book down. I was so impressed by his writing style that I have been searching for more books by him. This text and author is great and a must read.

Robert J. Remini may be the most qualified author in the entire American Presidents Series. Remini is the leading expert on Andrew Jackson and Adams was president in the Jackson era, having been elected by defeating Jackson and then, losing his bid for re-election against Jackson. I was taken by the parallels between the Adams dynasty and the Bush dynasty. Both John Adams and George Bush were elected president after serving as vice president to a popular president. Both lost their bids for re-election. The son of both had the same first name but was known by a middle name; John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush. Both of the sons were elected in very controversial elections in which they lost the popular vote. Indeed, Adams was elected by the House of Representatives after getting Henry Clay's support in what was described as a "corrupt bargain" by Jackson's supporters. Bush's re-election broke the pattern of similarities since Adams, like his father, was a one term president. Remini examines Adams' early life and notes that he was dominated by his mother, Abigail Adams. Her pressure lead him to become well educated and a perfectionist. He traveled to France with his father when the elder Adams was minister to France and he was educated there and became fluent in French. In raising his own three sons, he had very stern expectations of them and all three were disappointments to him. His pre-presidential career included a very solid term as secretary of state under James Monroe. After losing his bid for re-election, Adams served in the House of Representatives and had a long, distinguished post presidential career. He was a staunch opponent of slavery and like his father, but unlike most other presidents up to his time, he never owned a slave. In a famous trial involving slaves who revolted on the slave ship Amistad, Adams was the attorney who defended them. Today, we often get the feeling that politics has sunk to new lows of negative campaigning. However, the campaigns of Jackson against Adams were as dirty as they get. Adams was accused of arranging sexual favors for foreign diplomats in treaty negotiations and was labeled a pimp. Jackson married a woman who was believed to be divorced but, it turned out her divorce had not been final. When the error was discovered, Jackson and his wife corrected it and renewed their vows. This did not stop Adams' supporters from having a field day making vile attacks against Jackson and his wife, and labeling Jackson's offspring as illigitimate. Today's campaigns are relatively tame. Remini is a great scholar who has written extensively about Jackson. Here, in this short book, he has written another fine biography. I recommend this book in particular and the other books in the presidential series in general.

I am really excited about this new series of books edited by Arthur Schlesinger. Many are aware of the scholars' poll that Schlesinger has overseen since 1948, in which many leading American scholars rate the overall success or failure of all the presidents. This series of books sets out to provide a short biography of each American president, almost always by a major presidential scholar or historian. The first volume in the series, for instance, was on James Madison by Garry Wills, and the second on Theodore Roosevelt by Louis Auchincloss. What excites me most about this series is the fact that many of the less well known presidents, like James Tyler and Benjamin Harrison and Zachary Taylor, will all get their own biographies.JOHN QUINCY ADAMS is the second volume in the series, and is written by distinguished antebellum historian Robert V. Remini, famous for his biography of Andrew Jackson among other works. There is no question that this book, while not terribly long, is a very high quality, surprisingly in depth study of the life of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States. More than most presidents, the story of JQA (as Adams referred to himself), is an especially sad one. The child of two famous parents, John Adams and Abigail Adams, Adams was from a child sensitive to the fact that great things were expected of him, a fact continually reinforced by his overbearing mother. He quickly showed himself to be a gifted and brilliant child, as well as intensely self-critical and perfectionistic. He was a gifted scholar, and actually became a professor at Harvard before embarking on a life of public service. Although remembered today as one of our less successful presidents, JQA was for the most part an astonishingly successful public servant. Few Americans can match JQA for his overall contribution to American life. As a very young man, after serving a term in the U.S. Senate, he served as an ambassador to various European countries, and eventually became ambassador to Prussia. He was one of the individuals responsible for negotiating the treaty with England ending the War of 1812. After a series of diplomatic successes, Adams became the Secretary of State under Monroe. Remini states that JQA was arguably the finest Secretary of State the United States has ever had. Among other things, he was the primary architect of what became known as the Monroe Doctrine, which more accurately could be called the John Quincy Adams Doctrine. Furthermore, after leaving the presidency, he spent the remainder of his life serving in the House of Representatives in a highly distinguished fashion. It was only as a president that he was a disappointment.His presidency began with one of the least admirable elections in US history. Although Jackson won both the popular vote and electoral vote, he didn't gain a plurality, which threw the election into the House of Representatives. There Henry Clay machinated an Adams victory. Jackson's supporters forga