SECTION 1. COMMEMORATIVE WORK TO HONOR JOHN
ADAMS AND HIS LEGACY.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) Few families have contributed as profoundly
to the United States as the family that gave the Na-
tion its second president, John Adams; its sixth
president, John Quincy Adams; first ladies Abigail
Smith Adams and Louisa Catherine Johnson
Adams; and succeeding generations of statesmen,
diplomats, advocates, and authors.
(2) John Adams (1735–1826), a lawyer, a
statesman, and a patriot, was the author of the Con-
stitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
(the oldest written constitution still in force), the
leader of the Second Continental Congress, a driving
force for independence, a negotiator of the Treaty of
Paris (which brought the Revolutionary War to an
end), the first Vice President, the second President,
and an unwavering exponent of freedom of con-
science and the rule of law.
(3) Abigail Smith Adams (1744–1818) was one
of the most remarkable women of her time. Wife of
former President John Adams and mother of former
President John Quincy Adams, she was an early ad-
vocate for the rights of women and served the cause
of liberty as a prolific writer, fierce patriot, and
staunch abolitionist.
(4) John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), the son
of John and Abigail Adams, was a distinguished
lawyer, legislator, and diplomat and a master of 7
languages, who served as Senator, Minister to the
Netherlands under President George Washington,
Minister to Prussia under the first President Adams,
Minister to Great Britain under President James
Madison, chief negotiator of the Treaty of Ghent
(which ended the War of 1812), Secretary of State
under President James Monroe, author of the Mon-
roe Doctrine (which declared the Western Hemi-
sphere off limits to European imperial expansion),
sixth President, and the only former President to be
elected to the House of Representatives, where he
was known as ‘‘Old Man Eloquent’’ and served with
great distinction as a leader in the fight against
slavery and a champion of unpopular causes.
(5) Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams (1775–
1852), the wife of former President John Quincy
Adams, was an educated, accomplished woman and
the only first lady born outside the United States.
Like Abigail Adams, she wrote eloquently on behalf
of the rights of women and in opposition to slavery.
(6) Charles Francis Adams (1807–1886), the
son of John Quincy and Louisa Adams, served 6
years in the Massachusetts legislature, was a stead-
fast abolitionist who received the Free Soil Party’s
vice-presidential nomination in 1848, was elected to
his father’s seat in the House of Representatives in
1856, and served as ambassador to Great Britain
during the Civil War, where his efforts were decisive
in preventing the British Government from recog-
nizing the independence of the Confederacy.
(7) Henry Adams (1838–1918), the son of
Charles Francis Adams, was an eminent writer,
scholar, historian, and public intellectual, and was
the author of many celebrated works, including ‘‘De-
mocracy’’, ‘‘The Education of Henry Adams’’, and
his 9-volume ‘‘History of the United States during
the Administrations of Jefferson and Madison’’.
(8) Both individually and collectively, the mem-
bers of this illustrious family have enriched the Na-
tion through their profound civic consciousness,
abiding belief in the perfectibility of the Nation’s de-
mocracy, and commitment to service and sacrifice
for the common good.
(9) Although the Congress has authorized the
establishment of commemorative works on Federal
lands in the District of Columbia honoring such cele-
brated former Presidents as George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, the Na-
tional Capital has no comparable memorial to former
President John Adams.
(10) In recognition of the 200th anniversary of
the end of the presidency of John Adams, the time
has come to correct this oversight so that future
generations of Americans will know and understand
the preeminent historical and lasting significance to
the Nation of his contributions and those of his fam-
ily.
(b) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH COMMEMORATIVE
WORK.—The Adams Memorial Foundation may establish
a commemorative work on Federal land in the District of
Columbia and its environs to honor former President John
Adams, along with his wife Abigail Adams and former
President John Quincy Adams, and the family’s legacy of
public service.
(c) COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS FOR COMMEMO-
RATIVE WORKS.—The establishment of the commemora-
tive work shall be in accordance with the Commemorative
Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001, et seq.).
(d) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS PROHIBITED.—Fed-
eral funds may not be used to pay any expense of the es-
tablishment of the commemorative work. The Adams Me-
morial Foundation shall be solely responsible for accept-
ance of contributions for, and payment of the expenses
of, the establishment of the commemorative work.
(e) DEPOSIT OF EXCESS FUNDS.—If, upon payment
of all expenses of the establishment of the commemorative
work (including the maintenance and preservation amount
provided for in section 8(b) of the Commemorative Works
Act (40 U.S.C. 1001, et seq.)), or upon expiration of the
authority for the commemorative work under section 10(b)
of such Act, there remains a balance of funds received for
the establishment of the commemorative work, the Adams
Memorial Foundation shall transmit the amount of the
balance to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit in
the account provided for in section 8(b)(1) of such Act.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the terms ‘‘commemorative
work’’ and ‘‘the District of Columbia and its environs’’
have the meanings given to such terms in section 2 of the
Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1002).
Passed the House of Representatives June 25, 2001.
Attest:
Jeff Trandahl,
Clerk.