John Quincy Adams
At a Glance
6th President of the United States (1825-1829)
Born: July 11, 1767, Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts
Nickname: "Old Man Eloquent"
Education: Harvard College (graduated 1787)
Religion: Unitarian
Marriage: July 26, 1797, to Louisa Catherine Johnson (1775-1852)
Children: George Washington (1801-1829), John (1803-1834), Charles Francis (1807-1886), Louisa Catherine (1811-1812)
Career: Lawyer, Senator, Diplomat
Political Party: Federalist, Democratic-Republican, Whig
Writings: Memoirs (12 vols., 1874-1877); Writings of John Quincy Adams (7 vols., 1913-1917)
Died: February 23, 1848, Washington, D.C.
Buried: First Unitarian Church, Quincy, Massachusetts
A Life in Brief: Reared for public service, John Quincy Adams became one of the nation’s preeminent secretaries of state, but he proved to be the wrong man for the presidency. Aloof, stiff-necked, and ferociously independent, he failed to develop the support he needed in Washington, even among his own party. More....
Essays on John Quincy Adams and His Administration
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John Quincy Adams
A Life in Brief • Life Before the Presidency • Campaigns and Elections • Domestic Affairs • Foreign Affairs • Life After the Presidency • Family Life • The American Franchise • Impact and Legacy • Key Events |
| First Lady Louisa Adams |
| Vice President John C. Calhoun (1825-1829) |
| Secretary of State Henry Clay (1825 - 1829) |
| Secretary of War James Barbour (1825 - 1828) • Peter B. Porter (1828 - 1829) |
| Postmaster General John McLean (1825 - 1829) |
| Secretary of the Treasury Richard Rush (1825 - 1829) |
| Attorney General William Wirt (1825 - 1829) |
| Secretary of the Navy Samuel L. Southard (1825 - 1829) |
Consulting Editor: Mary Hargreaves
Professor Hargreaves is a professor emeritus in the University of Kentucky’s Department of History. Her writings include:
The Presidency of John Quincy Adams (University Press of Kansas, 1985)
Dry Farming in the Northern Great Plains: Years of Readjustment, 1920-1990 (University Press of Kansas, 1993)
Papers of Henry Clay (Co-editor with James F. Hopkins, University Press of Kentucky, multi-volume collection)
Presidential Speeches
Below are selections from the Miller Center's John Quincy Adams speech collection. To view the Miller Center's other speeches by John Quincy Adams or by another President, please click the link below.
July 4, 1821 - Speech to the U.S. House of Representatives on Foreign Policy
March 4, 1825 - Inaugural Address
February 24, 1841 - Argument before the Supreme Court in the Case of United States v. Cinque
Miller Center Scholarship and Speakers
The Miller Center of Public Affairs is a national nonpartisan center to research, reflect, and report on American government, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency. Below is a selection of Miller Center resources on John Quincy Adams.
Listen to Hunter Duptee’s 1989 presentation at the Miller Center Science Advising during the presidency of John Quincy Adams.
Click here to learn more about the Center’s National Commission on Federal Election Reform and its relationship to Adams.
Scripps Library Reference Resources
Below are links to reference resources prepared by the Miller Center's Scripps Library that are designed to help students and scholars quickly conduct their research.
Information on John Quincy Adams's Private and Public Papers
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