John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States, eldest son of
John Adams, second President, was born at Braintree, Mass., July 11,
1767. He enjoyed peculiar and rare advantages for education. In
childhood he was instructed by his mother, a granddaughter of Colonel
John Quincy, and a woman of superior talents. In 1778, when only 11
years old, he accompanied his father to France; attended a school in
Paris, and returned home in August, 1779. Having been taken again to
Europe by his father in 1780, he pursued his studies at the University
of Leyden, where he learned Latin and Greek. In July, 1781, at the age
of 14, he was appointed private secretary to Francis Dana, minister to
Russia. He remained at St. Petersburg until October, 1782, after which
he resumed his studies at The Hague. Was present at the signing of the
definitive treaty of peace in Paris, September 3, 1783. He passed some
months with his father in London, and returned to the United States to
complete his education, entering Harvard College in 1786 and graduating
in 1788. He studied law with the celebrated Theophilus Parsons, of
Newburyport; was admitted to the bar in 1791, and began to practice in
Boston. In 1791 he published in the Boston Centinel, under the signature
of "Publicola," a series of able essays, in which he exposed the
fallacies and vagaries of the French political reformers. These papers
attracted much attention in Europe and the United States. Under the
signature of "Marcellus" he wrote, in 1793, several articles, in which
he argued that the United States should observe strict neutrality in the
war between the French and the British. These writings commended him to
the favor of Washington, and he was appointed minister to Holland in
May, 1794. In July, 1797, he married Louisa Catherine Johnson, a
daughter of Joshua Johnson, of Maryland, who was then American consul at
London. In a letter dated February 20, 1797, Washington commended him
highly to the elder Adams, and advised the President elect not to
withhold promotion from him because he was his son. He was accordingly
appointed minister to Berlin in 1797. He negotiated a treaty of amity
and commerce with the Prussian Government, and was recalled about
February, 1801. He was elected a Senator of the United States by the
Federalists of Massachusetts for the term beginning March, 1803. In 1805
he was appointed professor of rhetoric and belles-lettres at Harvard
College, and accepted on condition that he should be permitted to attend
to his Senatorial duties. He offended the Federalists by supporting
Jefferson's embargo act, which was passed in December, 1807, and thus
became connected with the Democratic party. He resigned his seat in the
Senate in March, 1808, declining to serve for the remainder of the term
rather than obey the instructions of the Federalists. In March, 1809, he
was appointed by President Madison minister to Russia. During his
residence in that country he was nominated to be an associate justice of
the Supreme Court of the United States, and confirmed February, 1811;
but he declined the appointment. In 1813 Adams, Bayard, Clay, Russell,
and Gallatin were appointed commissioners to negotiate a treaty of peace
with Great Britain. They met the British diplomatists at Ghent, and
after a protracted negotiation of six months signed a treaty of peace
December 24, 1814. In the spring of 1815 he was appointed minister to
the Court of St. James, remaining there until he was appointed by Mr.
Monroe Secretary of State in 1817. In 1824 Adams, Jackson, Crawford, and
Clay were candidates for the Presidency. Neither of the candidates
having received a majority in the electoral colleges, the election
devolved on the House of Representatives. Aided by the influence of
Henry Clay, Mr. Adams received the votes of thirteen States, and was
elected. He was defeated for reelection in 1828 by General Andrew
Jackson. On the 4th of March, 1829, he retired to his estate at Quincy.
In 1830 he was elected to Congress, and took his seat in December, 1831.
He continued to represent his native district for seventeen years,
during which time he was constantly at his post. On the 21st of
February, 1848, while in his seat at the Capitol, he was stricken with
paralysis, and died on the 23d of that month. He was buried at Quincy,
Mass.