John Quincy Adams biography

Synopsis

Younger Years

Though he was one of few Americans to be so prepared to serve as president of the United States, John Quincy Adams's best years of service came before and after his time in the White House. Born on July 11, 1767, in Braintree, Massachusetts, John Quincy was the son of John Adams, a prodigy of the American Revolution who would become the second U.S. president just before his John Quincy's 30th birthday, and his wife, future first lady Abigail Adams.

As a child, John Quincy Adams witnessed firsthand the birth of the nation. From the family farm, he and his mother watched the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. At age 10, he traveled to France with his father, who was securing aid during the Revolution. By age 14, John Quincy was receiving "on-the-job" training in the diplomatic corps and going to school. In 1781, he accompanied diplomat Francis Dana to Russia, serving as his secretary and translator. In 1783, he traveled to Paris to serve as secretary to his father, negotiating the Treaty of Paris. During this time, John Quincy attended schools in Europe and became fluent in French, Dutch and German. Returning home in 1785, he entered Harvard College and graduated in 1787.

Early Political Career

In 1790, John Quincy became a practicing attorney in Boston. As tensions mounted between Britain and France, he supported President George Washington's neutrality policy of 1793. President Washington appreciated young Adams's support so much that he appointed him U.S. minister to Holland. When John Adams was elected president in 1797, he appointed his son U.S. minister to Prussia. On the way to his post, John Quincy traveled to England to wed Louisa Catherine Johnson, the daughter of Joshua Johnson, the first U.S. consul to Great Britain.

After John Adams lost his bid for a second term in 1800, he recalled his son from Prussia. In 1802, John Quincy was elected to the Massachusetts legislature, and one year later, he was elected the U.S. Senate. Like his father, John Quincy was considered a member of the Federalist Party, but in truth, he was never a strict party man. During his time in the Senate, he supported the Louisiana Purchase and President Thomas Jefferson's Embargo Act—actions that made him very unpopular with other Federalists. In June 1808, Adams broke with the Federalists, resigned from his Senate seat and became a Democratic-Republican.

John Quincy Adams returned to the diplomatic corps in 1809, when President James Madison appointed him the first officially recognized minister to Russia (Francis Dana was never officially accepted as a U.S. ambassador by the Russian government). In 1814, Adams was recalled from Russia to serve as chief negotiator for the U.S. government during the Treaty of Ghent, settling the War of 1812. The following year, Adams served as minister to England, a position his father had held 30 years earlier.