John Quincy Adams
Best known as: 6th president of the USA
Occupation: Lawyer, politician
Nationality: American
Religion: Unitarian
Political party: Democratic-Republican
Born: July 11, 1767, Quincy, MA
Died: February 23, 1848, of a stroke at the Capitol Building, Washington, DC
Remains: First Unitarian Church, Quincy, MA
Education: Harvard College and Harvard Law School
Offices held:
Ambassador to the Netherlands (1794-1796)
Ambassador to Prussia (1797-1801)
Massachusetts State Senator (1802)
Senator (1803-1808)
Professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard (1806-1809)
Ambassador to Russia (1809-1814)
Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1815-1817)
Secretary of State (1817-1825)
U.S. President (1825-1829)
Member of House of Representatives (1831-death)
Short biography:
John Quincy Adams developed an affinity for diplomacy early on when, as a teenager, he traveled around Europe working for his father and other diplomats and politicians. He was an ambassador to several countries throughout his lifetime. Adams began his tenure in the U.S. Senate as a Federalist, but his support of the Louisiana purchase and Jefferson's Embargo Bill cost him support among his party and in 1808 he resigned his Senate seat and became a Democratic-Republican. Adams was James Monroe's Secretary of State and orchestrated the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, in which Spain gave up its claims to all land east of the Mississippi River, and the Monroe Doctrine of 1923, in which the U.S. forbade Europe from forming any new colonies in the Americas. He gained the presidency in a viciously contested election during which Andrew Jackson received more electoral votes, but not a majority, so the decision went to the House of Representatives. Speaker of the House Henry Clay persuaded the House to choose Adams, and in return Adams made him Secretary of State, giving Jackson an understandable reason to accuse Adams of "bargain and corruption." As president, Adams actively supported the American System, an economic system that called for a national bank, a national currency, high tariffs, and a system of roads and canals, including the famous Cumberland Road. He left officer after one term, having been defeated by Andrew Jackson in the election of 1828, and served a lengthy tenure in Congress.
Wife: Louisa Catherine Johnson
Vice president: John C. Calhoun
Enemies: Andrew Jackson
Parents: John and Abigail Adams
Fun facts:
- At age seven, Adams watched the Battle of Bunker Hill.
- He spoke French, Dutch, and German.
- Adams helped to found the All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C.
- At his inauguration, he took the oath of office on a law book, not a Bible.
- He was the first president to have a toilet installed in the White House.
- Adams would go swimming naked in the Potomac River every morning at 5:00. One day, a tramp took his clothes, and he had to wait in the water for an hour until a boy walked by, and he asked the boy to go to the White House to get him some new clothes. Twenty minutes later, the boy did indeed return with a White House servant and a new outfit for the president.
- Psychologist Keith Simonton estimates that Adams has the highest IQ of any U.S. president.
- After his term ended, he became the first president to be photographed.
- JFK chose him as the first of 8 brave senators featured in the book Profiles in Courage.
