The Washington times., 1915-03-21
THE ApAMSES

each of whom served but single
term in time when it was fash.
ionable for Presidents to be re-
elected. Consequently a good many
people have got the impression that
the Adamses of Massachusetts were
a family of prodigiously aristocratic
quality, who, however, had never
quite measured up to the first rank
of craftsmanship.
On the other hand, the Adamses
desire to be understood for what
they have actually done. Taking it
through four generations, no Ameri-
can family has deserved so we'll at
the hands of its country as this of
the Adamses. The time will come
when the one-term Presidents-the
men like John Adams, John Quincy
Adams, Martin Van Buren,, Ruther-
ford B. Hayes-will be accorded the
recognition that their services JUS
tify, without being set down as fail
ures because they were not re-
elected. And among all these one
term Presidents, none will rank
higher than the two Adamses. They
were both greatly distinguished for
services to their country entirely
outside of the White House. Both
were diplomats of that old school
whose capacity demonstrated the
peculiar ability of the new Ameri-
can nation to take care of itself in
the turmoil of a very turbulent
world. The great service of John
Quincy Adams, indeed, was per-
formed outside the period in which
he was President; first, as diplomat,
and especially as a member of the
American peace commission at
Client, which by diplomatic capa-
bility, saved this country from max.
ing humiliating peace at the end
of the War of 1872. The story of
that one incident, if it were better
known, would win for John Quincy
Adams and Henry Clay a place
which neither of them has ever been
able to attain in popular estimate
Second only to that service was the
splendid career of John Quincy Ad-
ans as member of the House Of
Representatives after he had retired
from the Presidency. In the House
he was the longtime and insistent
spokesman of human freedom. Nc
man did more, perhaps none did SO
much as he, to prepare the national
mind for the tremendous conflict that
the slavery question was destined to
bring, through which this experiment
with popular government was to be
tested and purified.
A son of John Quincy Adams rep.
resented the United States as am
bassador in England during the civil
war period. We may go back to the
difficult tasks that American diplo-
mats have performed at various pc
riods in connection with our relations
abroad, but the clojc;t search will
find no one of them who accomp-
lished so much toward the broad pub
lic interest as did Charles Francis
Adams as our agent at the Court of
st. James, in the Administration of
Lincoln and johnson. 1t is not need
full to recall here the difficulties of
the situation there presented. Mr..
Adams possessed far more tact and
skill than either his father or his
grandfather. Neither of them would
have carried off the task of the civil
war period so we'll as did Charles
Francis Adams. Indeed, it may be
said that whenever the country has
called an Adams to be President it
has found him rather a misft; but
whenever it has called one to great
diplomatic service it has found him
exactly the man for the time, the
occasion, and the task.
1t is perhaps not so widely re-
membered as it deserves to be, that
this Charles Francis Adams was
himself nominee on Presidential
ticket. Three successive generations
of the family held this distinction.
Charles Francis Adams was in 1848
the Free Soil party's candidate for
Vice President, on a ticket of which
Van Buren, was the head. 1t was a
conscience ticket. Van Buren, had
been elected President once: defeated
for the second term; and then, in
stead of going into a disgusted re
tirement, had in 1848 enlisted him
self with the Free Soil party in tho
effort to split the pro-slavery De.
mocracy. That was the year in which
the Democrats named Cass for Pres
ident. Van Buren, and Adams were
the leaders of the conscience revolt
against the pro-slavery attitude of
the party, and they were named re-
spectively for President and Vice
President. Il will he recallad hy