John Quincy Adams | Biography, Presidency, Facts & Death

John Quincy Adams Summary

John Quincy Adams, the sixth American president, was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, around July 11, 1767, and passed away there on February 23, 1848. (1825–29). He was the oldest child of Abigail and John Adams, the country’s second leader. He traveled to Europe with his dad on foreign embassies in 1778–1780 and eventually became the United States envoy to the Netherlands with Prussia (1794). 

John Quincy Adams returned to Massachusetts around 1801, where he worked mostly in the U.S. Senate (1803–08). He resumed his official career and was appointed the United States ambassador to Britain (1809–11) and Russia (1815–17). As state secretary (1817–25), he played a key role in acquiring Florida from Portugal and formulating the Monroe Policy.

In 1824, he competed against several other contenders for the president; only Andrew Jackson won a share of the presidential votes. According to the convention, the Representatives of the House were responsible for choosing the president. Adams was chosen there after obtaining supportive services from Henry Clay, who’d already placed third in the first round. Clay was made state secretary by him, further infuriating Jackson. 

Adams’ administration was brief; Jackson beat him whenever he sought office. He served as a House of Representatives from 1830 until his death. In 1839, he put up a constitutional change that would have prohibited slavery in either new state that joined the United. He was vociferous in his stance against slavery.

Members of Congress from the South created gag laws prohibiting the discussion of antislavery initiatives; he eventually abolished these laws in 1844 due to Adams’ perseverance. He effectively represented the enslaved people within the Amistad rebellion case in 1841.

Explore the full list of Presidents in the United States to understand their legacy and impact.

Fast Facts

John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States of America
BornBraintree, Massachusetts, in the United States, on July 11, 1767
DiedWashington, D.C., around February 23, 1848
WifeLouisa Catharine Adams, (m. 1797–1848)
ParentsJohn Adams > Abigail Adams

John Quincy Adams Early Life

On July 11, 1767, in a section near Braintree, Massachusetts, that has become Quincy, John Quincy Adams was born to John Adams’s wife, Abigail Adams (formerly Smith). He was given the surname Quincy in honor of Col . John Quincy, who passed away two days before Adams was born and is also the namesake of Quincy, Ma

The youthful Adams had individual instruction from Nathan Rice, a legal secretary for his dad, and his relative James Thaxter. His writing prowess quickly became apparent, and then in 1779, he began keeping a diary, which he continued until he died in 1848. Adams was raised mostly by his mom on the small farm near Braintree till the age of 10.

Adams and his dad traveled to Europe around 1778 when John Adams participated in American foreign embassies to France and the Netherlands. Adams visited many schools, notably Leiden Institute, and studied politics, French, Greek, and even Latin throughout this time. 

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Adams went to St Petersburg, Russia, in 1781 and worked as his assistant for American ambassador Francis Dana. In 1783, he returned to the Netherlands, and in 1784, he traveled to the United Kingdom with his dad. Adams loved Europe, but he and his parents felt he had to return to America to finish his schooling and start a political future.

In 1794, John Jay nominated him, secretary, to the Netherlands, wherein he persisted in pleading for American impartiality in the French Republican Wars. In a number of publications, he made the case that Britain offered a superior form of administration than France. Adams backed the Jay Agreement, but many Americans found it unpopular. It contributed to the Continental Congress and Democratic-Republican Party being increasingly estranged.

In 1797, Adams wed Louisa Catharine Johnson, the second child of American businessman Joshua Johnson. Adams’ family didn’t agree with his choice to wed an English-born lady.

Washington chose Adams as the country’s representative to Portugal in 1796. In the 1796 federal campaign, John Adams beat Jefferson earlier that year. The older Adams named his child to serve as the U.S. embassy to Prussia after he was elected president.

John Quincy Adams’s Presidency

John Quincy Adams
(John Quincy Adam’s Presidency March 4, 1825–March 3, 1829)

1824 United States presidential election

Adams would be the first American president’s son to serve in the same office. In the contentious campaign of 1824, the Legislature chose Adams as president, notwithstanding Andrew Jackson’s defeat in both the national vote and the voting system. Henry Clay from Kentucky, among the four contenders, supported Adams throughout the House hearings and was subsequently named state secretary under Adams.

Jackson and his allies fervently campaigned for Adams’ loss in 1828, claiming that he had secured Adams’ victory through a “corrupt agreement.” The Nationwide Democrats, or “Whigs,” supported Adams, the Democrats supported Jackson, and they destroyed the Conservative Movement, the only party left after the Revolutionary Group of John Adams during the War of 1812, was divided over the election.

Adams withdrew to Massachusetts in 1828 after losing to Jackson. The Plymouth constituency elected him to the Representative House in 1830 and remained there until his demise in 1848. Adams was a powerful advocate for civil rights and the freedom to contact the government, specifically while serving as a member.

John Quincy Adams and the Gag Rule

The abolitionist movement frequently petitioned the State legislature in the 1830s to eliminate slavery, mostly in the City of Columbia and the entire country. Southern House lawmakers successfully got a “gag order” to put all petitions pertaining to slavery on hold in 1836. 

Adams vehemently opposed any restrictions on the freedom of anybody to petition, claiming that this is a right that “relates to mankind” and is unrelated to the petitioner’s health. Adams ultimately succeeded in having the provision repealed in 1844.

Adams joined the reform movement despite not being an abolitionist personally because he protected civil freedoms. He is already renowned for his High Court appeal hearing in the Amistad decision when he argued in favor of the liberty of several enslaved people who’d already taken the power of their vessel and refused to be deported to Cuba after arriving at Long Island.

John Quincy Adams’s Death

John Quincy Adams Death & Grave
John Quincy Adams Grave, United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States

The 78-year-old past president had a stroke in the middle of November 1846, which left him severely incapacitated. He took some time off to recover before starting his job in Congress again. Everybody “started cheering” when Adams entered The housing arena on February 13, 1847.

The issue of recognizing the U.S. Military commanders who participated in the Mexican-American War was being discussed in the House of Reps on February 21, 1848. Adams, a vocal opponent of the war, shouted “No!” when Congressmen stood to support the proposal by saying, “Aye!” He got up in response to a query from Majority Leader Robert Charles Winthrop. Adams fell right unconscious due to a severe brain hemorrhage

He passed away on February 23 at 7:20 p.m. in the Speaker’s Room of the Senate Complex in Washington, D.C., having his spouse at his bedside. His only kid, Charles Frances, would not survive to see his dad alive.

People Also Ask?

What was the biggest success for John Quincy Adams?

Adams returned home to take the position of state secretary after James Monroe was elected president, which was undoubtedly his most successful time. He was instrumental in developing the Doctrine, which forbade European countries from interfering in Western Hemisphere matters.

What issues would John Quincy Adams encounter?

When Adams was running for reelection in 1828, he was hampered by claims of bribery and condemnation of his controversial domestic policy, among many other things. Jackson defeated Adams handily and won most of the northwestern and southern voters.


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