John Quincy Adams

**John Quincy Adams** was the 6th President of the United States, a Senator from Massachusetts, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, a Secretary of State, and a Secretary of Literacy and Education. John Quincy Adams was also the son of the Second President, John Adams, being the first son of a former President to become President himself.

## Early Political Career

John Quincy Adams was a famous Massachusetts citizen, having been the practical secretary of his father, John Adams, the President in the late 1700s. Adams had been in Washington D.C. when his home state seceded from the Union in the Second American Civil War, Adams himself along with his father were anti-secession, but their influence had not been enough to stop the secession vote. John Adams was captured by southern secessionists in the late 1800s, Quincy would work as an advisor for Scott Benckendorf, the acting president, while his father was captured up until the end of his term.

Following the beginning of President George Benckendorf's term, Adams was used as more of a figurehead to calm the captured territories of Massachusetts. In 1802 the U.S. called up Senate elections in Massachusetts, which Adams would run in and win, being the first post-secession Massachusetts Senator.

### Senator

Adams took up his position in early 1803, one of the first returning New English Senators. Adams had a very large Indigenous Rights Amendment in 1805, which was very controversial in most of the nation, including President George Benckendorf. Though passing in the Senate, the Amendment was denied in the House, one of a serious of issues between the two leaders, including when John Quincy Adams supported a bill to allow Southern States back into the Union, which would lead to George Benckendorf getting him and other New English leaders kicked out of the Constitutional Democratic Party. Adams and other New English leaders being separated from the Constitutional Democrats would form the Yankee Party, which lead to a rift in the north between federalist powers for 11 years until the two factions reunited.

Adams would later go on to push through a bill to re-allow southern states into the Union along with other southern leaders, and Adams would also write the Flotilla Service Act in 1812, which it wouldn't be passed until 1818, during his Presidency.

Adams would run for President in 1816, and though gaining low national support, he was able to make it into the Contingent, where with the support of the Yankee, New People's Labor, Constitutional Democrats, and a combination of Anti-Treaty Democrats would be elected the President. Adams would work with Massachusetts Governor Caleb Strong to select his replacement in the Senate.

### Secretary

John Quincy Adams served in the Cabinet from 1809-1817, as the Secretary of Education and Literacy first, and then the Secretary of State.

#### Secretary of Education and Literacy

The Secretary of Education and Literacy was a newly established position, and under Adams they were able to expand public schools in the country by significant amounts, though with little to no budget most of the time, they relied on donations from outside forces.

#### Secretary of State

As Secretary of State Adams had tried to stay out of international affairs, however with Congressional permission, President Hartmann declared war on Britain, which would be a huge affair, one Adams personally opposed. Adams would be involved in multiple attempts to bring peace back, and with Hartmann and the Senate's approval in 1815, Adams brought into effect the Treaty of Ghent.

## Presidency

As the President-Elect, Adams brought forth in discussions with the Constitutional Democratic Party to reunify, forming the Republican Party, which was later joined by the New People's Labor Party. By inauguration, the faction had been formed, though they didn't hold a majority in either house of Congress.

Adams was able to get several of his acts passed, including the long-overdue Coinage Act, which had been in Congress for years; the Judicial Expansion Act; and the Flotilla Service Act. Adams also supported new tax acts, but was unable to get them passed through the hostile Congress. Adams did help pass several states into the Union, including Indiana, Sicily, Naples, Illinois, and Mississippi. Adams also dealt hugely with the debt crisis that happened under his predecessors, though Adams did significantly reduce the problem, it was not enough.

Adams was generally more popular then the other Presidents of his time, and would most likely have won re-election if he ran for it, however the political aspirations of one John G. Benckendorf were large, declaring his candidacy before Adams had the chance. Adams decided to resign himself to one term instead of attempting a second, causing a blow to Republican electability, and costing them the 1820 Election.

## Personal Life

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.

Adams and Louisa had three sons and a daughter. Their daughter, Louisa, was born in 1811 but died in 1812. They named their first son George Washington Adams after the first president. This decision upset Adams's mother, and, by her account, his father as well. Both George and their second son, John, led troubled lives. Adams had one more son, Charles Francis Adams.