Presidents of the United States: John Quincy Adams, a first-rate diplomat, towering secretary of state and an unsuccessful president

Editor’s Note: This profile is part of a series taking a closer look at US presidents ahead of the 2024 presidential election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

John Quincy Adams was the first US president who was the son of another president.

From the time he was a child, Adams was taught to revere public service. He got his start early by serving as an aide to his father in Europe. Like his father, Adams too rose to the highest office in the land.

However, he too ended up only serving one term after finding himself unwilling to play the political game.

Let’s take a closer look at the 6th President of the United States.

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Early years

Adams was born July 11, 1767, in Massachusetts’ Braintree. His father, as mentioned, was John Adams and his mother was Abigail Adams. He was named after his grandfather John Quincy.

As a boy, Adams watched the famed Battle of Bunker Hill – the first major war of the US Revolution – from a hill above the family farm. The war deprived Adams of a typical education. Instead, he served as his secretary to his father in Europe, who was busy negotiating on behalf of America with European powers.

Adams attended school in Paris and the Netherlands. After the war ended, Adams returned home to Massachusetts and attended Harvard. In 1790, Adams was admitted to the Boston Bar Association.

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Politics

Adams, who was struggling to set up a practice, began writing columns in the newspapers. These were brought to the notice of President George Washington. The president, impressed by the young man, appointed him Minister to the Netherlands in 1974.

By 1797, Adams’ father had succeeded Washington as president. He decided to send him to Prussia. That was the year that Adams married Louisa Catherine Johnson – daughter of the US Consul.

Adams returned to America after Thomas Jefferson succeeded his father as president. In 1802, Adams was elected to the state senate and then the US Senate in 1803. In 1809, President James Madison appointed Adams as Minister to Russia.

He next served as Secretary of State under President James Monroe. It was here that his light arguably shined the brightest. Adams worked with the president to come up with the Monroe Doctrine, acquired Florida from Spain and signed the 1818 treaty with Great Britain that resulted in the joint occupation of Oregon.

With Monroe’s second term in office ending, Adams was among the top contenders for the post. The others were Secretary of War John C Calhoun, Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford, House Speaker Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson. Since no candidate received a clear victory, the House of Representatives now stepped in to decide the election.

Clay, the House Speaker, now threw his support behind Adams. It proved to be just the fillip that Adams needed – one ballot was all it took for Adams to be confirmed as the new president.

Then, a few days later, Adams offered Clay the post of secretary of state. Now, Jackson and his followers were outraged. They claimed a ‘corrupt bargain’ had been struck between the men and the election wrongly decided.

Time in office

Adams now put forth a number of progressive proposals. He called on Congress to create a national university and a national astronomical observatory. He asked for the country’s roads to be expanded and improved using federal aid. He proposed the building of a network of highways and canals.

But Congress stymied every proposal. His critics accused him of wanting to exceed the constitutional limits.

Adams lost his re-election campaign to his arch-rival Jackson. Adams returned to Massachusetts and was elected to serve in the House of Representatives. It was here that he became an outspoken opponent against the expansion of slavery.

Adams presented a number of bills against slavery and opposed the ‘gag rule’ – which banned the discussion of slavery in Congress. It was an honour he held until his death in 1848.

Legacy

Adams was not a successful president. Nor did he have the common touch or the political nous needed to be the man in charge.

However, there is no denying his accomplishments as a diplomat and a secretary of state. To the modern eye, his battle against slavery also reflects well on his standing.