John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767, in Braintree, Massachusetts, to John and Abigail Adams. He accompanied his father on diplomatic missions to Europe as a teenager, becoming fluent in French, Dutch, and German. He graduated from Harvard College in 1787 and was admitted to the bar in 1790.

President George Washington appointed him minister to the Netherlands in 1794, and later to Prussia. He served as a U.S. senator from Massachusetts (1803–1808), breaking with the Federalist Party to support Jefferson's embargo. As secretary of state under James Monroe (1817–1825), he negotiated the Adams-Onís Treaty with Spain, acquiring Florida, and helped formulate the Monroe Doctrine.

The 1824 election was a four-way contest among Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Crawford, and Henry Clay. No candidate won a majority of electoral votes, so the House of Representatives decided the outcome. Adams won with the support of Henry Clay, whom he then appointed secretary of state—a move Jackson's supporters called a "corrupt bargain."

As president, Adams advocated for ambitious federal programs, including a national university, an observatory, and internal improvements like roads and canals. His proposals were largely blocked by a Congress dominated by Jacksonian Democrats. He also supported the Tariff of 1828, which was unpopular in the South. He lost the 1828 election to Jackson in a bitter rematch.

After leaving office, Adams was elected to the House of Representatives in 1830, becoming the only former president to serve in that body. He served nine terms, earning the nickname "Old Man Eloquent" for his passionate oratory. He fought tirelessly against the "gag rule" that prevented discussion of antislavery petitions, arguing that it violated the First Amendment.

In 1841, he defended the enslaved Africans of the Amistad before the Supreme Court, winning their freedom. He also opposed the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War, fearing the expansion of slavery. He died on February 23, 1848, after collapsing on the floor of the House.

Adams kept a detailed diary from age 12 until his death, providing an invaluable record of early American politics. He was an early advocate for the metric system and proposed a uniform system of weights and measures. He also founded the Smithsonian Institution, pushing for its creation in 1846.

Adams was an avid swimmer and reportedly swam in the Potomac River each morning, sometimes skinny-dipping. He was also a skilled poet and translator, and he wrote a play about the Cherokee removal. His son, Charles Francis Adams, became a prominent diplomat, and his grandson, Henry Adams, was a noted historian.

Corrupt bargain

The alleged deal between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay in the 1824 election, where Clay's support secured Adams the presidency in exchange for Clay's appointment as secretary of state.

Gag rule

A procedural rule in the U.S. House of Representatives (1836–1844) that automatically tabled antislavery petitions, preventing their discussion.

Amistad

A Spanish schooner whose enslaved African captives mutinied in 1839; Adams successfully argued for their freedom before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1841.