John Quincy Adams Popular Books

John Quincy Adams Biography & Facts

John Quincy Adams ( ; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, politician, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diplomatic and political career, Adams served as an ambassador and also as a member of the United States Congress representing Massachusetts in both chambers. He was the eldest son of John Adams, who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801, and First Lady Abigail Adams. Initially a Federalist like his father, he won election to the presidency as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, and later, in the mid-1830s, became affiliated with the Whig Party. Born in Braintree, Massachusetts, Adams spent much of his youth in Europe, where his father served as a diplomat. After returning to the United States, Adams established a successful legal practice in Boston. In 1794, President George Washington appointed Adams as the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, and Adams would serve in high-ranking diplomatic posts until 1801, when Thomas Jefferson took office as president. Federalist leaders in Massachusetts arranged for Adams's election to the United States Senate in 1802, but Adams broke with the Federalist Party over foreign policy and was denied re-election. In 1809, President James Madison, a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, appointed Adams as the U.S. ambassador to Russia. Multilingual, Adams held diplomatic posts for the duration of Madison's presidency, and he served as part of the American delegation that negotiated an end to the War of 1812. In 1817, President James Monroe selected Adams as his secretary of state. In that role, Adams negotiated the Adams–Onís Treaty, which provided for the American acquisition of Florida. He also helped formulate the Monroe Doctrine, which became a key tenet of U.S. foreign policy. In 1818, Adams was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford, and Henry Clay—all members of the Democratic-Republican Party—competed in the 1824 presidential election. Because no candidate won a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives held a contingent election, which Adams won with the support of Speaker of the House Henry Clay, whom Adams would controversially appoint as his secretary of state. As president, Adams called for an ambitious agenda that included federally funded infrastructure projects, the establishment of a national university, and engagement with the countries of Latin America, but Congress refused to pass many of his initiatives. During Adams's presidency, the Democratic-Republican Party split into two major camps: the National Republican Party, which supported Adams, and Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party. The Democrats proved to be more effective political organizers than Adams and his National Republican supporters, and Jackson soundly defeated Adams in the 1828 presidential election, making Adams the second president to fail to win re-election (his father being the first). Rather than retiring from public service, Adams won election to the House of Representatives, where he would serve from 1831 until his death in 1848. He remains the only former president to be elected to the chamber. After narrowly losing his bids for Governor of Massachusetts and Senate re-election, Adams joined the Anti-Masonic Party in the early 1830s before joining the Whig Party, which united those opposed to President Jackson. During his time in Congress, Adams became increasingly critical of slavery and of the Southern leaders whom he believed controlled the Democratic Party. He was particularly opposed to the annexation of Texas and the Mexican–American War, which he saw as a war to extend slavery and its political grip on Congress. He also led the repeal of the "gag rule", which had prevented the House of Representatives from debating petitions to abolish slavery. Historians concur that Adams was one of the greatest diplomats and secretaries of state in American history; they typically rank him as an average president, as he had an ambitious agenda but could not get it passed by Congress. By contrast, historians also view Adams in a more positive light during his post-presidency because of his vehement stance against slavery, as well as his fight for the rights of women and Native Americans. Early life, education, and early career John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767, to John and Abigail Adams (née Smith) in a part of Braintree, Massachusetts, that is now Quincy. He was named after his mother's maternal grandfather, Colonel John Quincy, after whom Quincy, Massachusetts, is also named. Colonel Quincy died two days after his great-grandson's birth. Young Adams was educated by private tutors – his cousin James Thaxter and his father's law clerk, Nathan Rice. He soon exhibited literary skills, and in 1779 he started a diary that he kept until just before he died in 1848. Until the age of ten, Adams grew up on the family farm in Braintree, largely in the care of his mother. Though frequently absent because of his participation in the American Revolution, John Adams maintained a correspondence with his son, encouraging him to read works by authors such as Thucydides and Hugo Grotius. With his father's encouragement, Adams would also translate classical authors such as Virgil, Horace, Plutarch, and Aristotle.In 1778, Adams and his father departed for Europe, where John Adams would serve as part of American diplomatic missions in France and the Netherlands. During this period, Adams studied law, French, Greek, and Latin, and attended several schools, including Leiden University. In 1781, Adams traveled to Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he served as the secretary to the American diplomat, Francis Dana. He returned to the Netherlands in 1783 and accompanied his father to Great Britain in 1784. Though Adams enjoyed Europe, he and his family decided he needed to return to the United States to complete his education and eventually launch a political career.Adams returned to the United States in 1785 and earned admission as a member of the junior class of Harvard College the following year. He joined Phi Beta Kappa and excelled academically, graduating second in his class in 1787. After graduating from Harvard, he studied law with Theophilus Parsons in Newburyport, Massachusetts, from 1787 to 1789. Adams initially opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution, but he ultimately came to accept the document, and in 1789 his father was elected as the first vice president of the United States. In 1790, Adams opened his own legal practice in Boston. Despite some early struggles, he was successful as an attorney and established financial independence from his parents. Early political career (1793–1817) Early diplomatic.... Discover the John Quincy Adams popular books. Find the top 100 most popular John Quincy Adams books.

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  • Lions of the West synopsis, comments

    Lions of the West

    Robert Morgan

    From Thomas Jefferson’s birth in 1743 to the California Gold Rush in 1849, America’s westward expansion comes to life in the hands of a writer fascinated by the way individual live...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    Harlow Giles Unger

    He fought for Washington, served with Lincoln, witnessed Bunker Hill, and sounded the clarion against slavery on the eve of the Civil War. He negotiated an end to the War of 1812, ...

  • Imperfect Presidents synopsis, comments

    Imperfect Presidents

    Jim Cullen

    When people make bad decisions, odd remarks, and just plain silly mistakes, the results are sure to haunt them. But when these things happen to the president of the United States, ...

  • State of the Union Addresses of John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    State of the Union Addresses of John Quincy Adams

    John Quincy Adams

    This book is about the relations of friendship with the other nations of the earth, political and commercial, have been preserved unimpaired, and the opportunities to improve them ...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    Lynn Hudson Parsons

    In this concise biography, Parsons masterfully chronicles the dramatic and prolific career of one of America's most absorbing figures.

  • Narrative of the Life of John Quincy Adams, When in Slavery, and Now as a Freeman synopsis, comments

    Narrative of the Life of John Quincy Adams, When in Slavery, and Now as a Freeman

    John Quincy Adams

    Narrative of the Life of John Quincy Adams, When in Slavery, and Now as a Freeman is the story of a former slave who was reunited with his family after the Civil War.

  • Mrs. Adams in Winter synopsis, comments

    Mrs. Adams in Winter

    Michael O'Brien

    Early in 1815, Louisa Catherine Adams and her young son left St. Petersburg in a heavy Russian carriage and set out on a difficult journey to meet her husband, John Quincy Adams, i...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    John T. Morse

    With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world. Who are w...

  • The Works of John C. Calhoun Volume 1 synopsis, comments

    The Works of John C. Calhoun Volume 1

    John C. Calhoun

    John C. Calhoun was the seventh Vice President of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He was a strong defendant of slavery and of Southern values versus Northern threats. His beli...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    John Torrey Morse

    Born in Massachusetts on July 11, 1767, John Quincy Adams was the eldest son of President John Adams and the sixth president of the United States. In his prepresidential years, Ada...

  • Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents synopsis, comments

    Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents

    Cormac O'Brien & Monika Suteski

    Murder, Adultery, Gambling, UFOs And the White House?!?   Your high school history teachers never gave you a book like this one! Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents features ...

  • 14 Fun Facts About John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    14 Fun Facts About John Quincy Adams

    Cullen Gwin

    John Quincy Adams was the sixth president of the United States. He was born to John and Abigail Adams on July 11, 1767, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts.Adams grew up at hi...

  • Memoir of the Life of John Quincy Adams. synopsis, comments

    Memoir of the Life of John Quincy Adams.

    Josiah Quincy

    The ensuing Memoir comprises the most important events in the life of a statesman second to none of his contemporaries in laborious and faithful devotion to the service of his coun...

  • Life After Power synopsis, comments

    Life After Power

    Jared Cohen

    New York Times BestsellerNew York Times bestselling author of Accidental Presidents explores what happens after the most powerful job in the world: President of the United States.F...

  • The Birth of Modern Politics synopsis, comments

    The Birth of Modern Politics

    Lynn Hudson Parsons

    The 1828 presidential election, which pitted Major General Andrew Jackson against incumbent John Quincy Adams, has long been hailed as a watershed moment in American political hist...

  • The Problem of Democracy synopsis, comments

    The Problem of Democracy

    Nancy Isenberg & Andrew Burstein

    "Told with authority and style. . . Crisply summarizing the Adamses' legacy, the authors stress principle over partisanship."The Wall Street JournalHow the father and son president...

  • American Phoenix synopsis, comments

    American Phoenix

    Jane Hampton Cook

    John Quincy and Louisa Adams’s unexpected journey that changed everything. American Phoenix is the sweeping, riveting tale of a grand historic adventure across forbidding oceans an...

  • Abigail Adams synopsis, comments

    Abigail Adams

    Natalie S. Bober

    Abigail Adams was an extraordinary woman who witnessed the gathering storm of the American Revolution and saw the battle of Bunker Hill from a hilltop near her home. Through her le...

  • Abigail Adams synopsis, comments

    Abigail Adams

    Jean Brown Wagoner

    Using simple language that beginning readers can understand, this lively, inspiring, and believable biography looks at the childhood of Abigail Adams. Illustrated throughout.

  • Wrestling With His Angel synopsis, comments

    Wrestling With His Angel

    Sidney Blumenthal

    The “magisterial” (The New York Times Book Review) second volume of Sidney Blumenthal’s acclaimed, landmark biography, The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, reveals the future pre...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    James E. Lewis Jr.

    This new book focuses on John Quincy Adams's extensive role in foreign policy, including his years as secretary of state and as president. Brief but thorough, John Quincy Adams: Po...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    John Morse

    On July 11, 1767, in the North Parish of Braintree, since set off as the town of Quincy, in Massachusetts, was born John Quincy Adams. Two streams of as good blood as flowed in the...

  • Life and Public Services of John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    Life and Public Services of John Quincy Adams

    William Henry Seward

    The claims of this volume are humble. For more than half a century JOHN QUINCY ADAMS had occupied a prominent position before the American people, and filled a large space in his c...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    Fred Kaplan

    “There is much to praise in this extensively researched book, which is certainly one of the finest biographies of a sadly underrated man. . . . [Kaplan is] a master historian and b...

  • American Rebels synopsis, comments

    American Rebels

    Nina Sankovitch

    Nina Sankovitch’s American Rebels explores, for the first time, the intertwined lives of the Hancock, Quincy, and Adams families, and the role each person played in sparking the Am...

  • The Pursuit of Happiness synopsis, comments

    The Pursuit of Happiness

    Jeffrey Rosen

    A fascinating examination of what “the pursuit of happiness” meant to our nation’s Founders and how that famous phrase defined their lives and became the foundation of our democrac...

  • The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 1 synopsis, comments

    The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 1

    Larry Schweikart

    A book to challenge the status quo, spark a debate, and get people talking about the issues and questions we face as a country!

  • The Remarkable Education of John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    The Remarkable Education of John Quincy Adams

    Phyllis Lee Levin

    A patriot by birth, John Quincy Adams's destiny was foreordained. He was not only "The Greatest Traveler of His Age," but his country's most gifted linguist and most experienced di...

  • Letters of John Quincy Adams to His Son on the Bible and Its Teachings synopsis, comments

    Letters of John Quincy Adams to His Son on the Bible and Its Teachings

    John Quincy Adams

    John Quincy Adams served America for nearly seven decades of public service. During America’s early years, as we were struggling to become an established nation, he spent years ove...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    Paul C. Nagel

    February 21, 1848, the House of Representatives, Washington D.C.: Congressman John Quincy Adams, rising to speak, suddenly collapses at his desk; two days later, he dies in the Spe...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    Randall Woods

    A magisterial journey through the epic life and transformative times of John Quincy AdamsIn this masterful biography, historian Randall B. Woods peels back the many layers of John ...

  • How the States Got Their Shapes Too synopsis, comments

    How the States Got Their Shapes Too

    Mark Stein

    Was Roger Williams too pure for the Puritans, and what does that have to do with Rhode Island?  Why did Augustine Herman take ten years to complete the map that established De...

  • The Big Book of Presidents synopsis, comments

    The Big Book of Presidents

    Nancy J. Hajeski

    The president has been the figurehead of the United States since the time when our country was a small band of thirteen fledgling colonies until its current position as a world sup...

  • The Ultimate John Quincy Adams Collection synopsis, comments

    The Ultimate John Quincy Adams Collection

    Charles River Editors, John Quincy Adams & John T. Morse

    Includes: Charles River Editors’ original biography of John Quincy Adams John T. Morse’s biography of John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adam’s inaugural address, his four annual messag...

  • A Companion to John Adams and John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    A Companion to John Adams and John Quincy Adams

    David Waldstreicher

    A Companion to John Adams and John Quincy Adams presents a collection of original historiographic essays contributed by leading historians that cover diverse aspects of the lives a...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    Robert V. Remini & Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

    A vivid portrait of a man whose pre and postpresidential careers overshadowed his presidency.Chosen president by the House of Representatives after an inconclusive election against...

  • Louisa synopsis, comments

    Louisa

    Louisa Thomas

    From the author of Mind and Matter, an intimate portrait of Louisa Catherine Adams, the wife of John Quincy Adams, who witnessed firsthand the greatest transformations of her time&...

  • Death of an Empire synopsis, comments

    Death of an Empire

    Robert Booth

    SALEM has long been notorious for the witch trials of 1692. But a hundred years later it was renowned for very different pursuits: vast wealth and worldwide trade. Now Death of an ...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    James Traub

    "Penetrating, detailed, and very readable. . . . A splendid biography." Wall Street Journal Few figures in American history have held as many roles in public life as John Quincy A...

  • John Quincy Adams synopsis, comments

    John Quincy Adams

    John Torrey Morse

    John Quincy Adams John Torrey Morse, american historian and biographer (18401937) This ebook presents «John Quincy Adams», from John Torrey Morse. A dynamic table of contents enabl...