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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: ADA-AIZ |
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ADAMS, JOHN QUINCY (1767-1848) , eldest son of President John Adams, sixth
series of papers written by him in which he controverted some of Thomas Paine's doctrines in the Rights of Man, and later another series in which he ably supported the neutral policy of the - administration toward France and England, led to his appointment by Washington as minister to the Netherlands in May 1794. There was little for him to do at the Hague, but in the absence of a minister at London, he transacted certain public business with the English foreign secretary. In 1796 Washington appointed him minister to Portugal, but before his departure thither his father John Adams became president and changed his destination to Berlin (1797). While there, he'negotiated (1799) a treaty of amity and, commerce with Prussia. On Thomas Jefferson's election to the presidency in 1800, the elder Adams recalled his son, who returned home in 18o,. The next year, he was electedto the Massachusetts senate, and in 1803 was sent to Washington as a member of the Senate of the United States. Up to this time, John Quincy Adams was regarded as belonging to the Federalist party, but he now found its general policy displeasing to him, was frowned upon, as the son of his father, by the followers of Alexander Hamilton, and found himself nearly powerless as an unpopular member of an unpopular minority. He was not now, and indeed never was, a strict party man. On the first important question that came before him in the Senate, the acquisition of Louisiana, he voted with the Republicans, regardless of the opposition of his own section. In December 1807 he warmly seconded Jefferson's suggestion of an embargo and vigorously urged instant action, saying: "The president has recommended the measure on his high responsibility. I would not consider, I would not deliberate; I would act!" Within five hours the Senate had passed the Embargo Bill and sent it to the House
In 1809 President Madison sent Adams to Russia to represent the United States. He arrived at St Petersburg
Petersburg
Bayard to act as commissioners with Mr Adams; but England would have nothing to do with it. In August 1814, however, these gentle-men, with Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell, began negotiations with English commissioners which resulted in the signature of the treaty of Ghent
As secretary of state, Adams played the leading part in two most important episodes,the acquisition of Florida and the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine. Ever since the acquisition of Louisiana successive administrations had sought to include a part at least of Florida in that purchase. In 1819, after long negotiations, Adams succeeded in bringing the Spanish minister to the point of signing a treaty in which the Spaniards abandoned all claims to territory east of the Mississippi, and the United States relinquished all claim to what is now known as Texas
Texas
House
feud
Up to this point Adams's career had been almost uniformly successful, but his presidency (18251829) was in most respects a failure, owing to the virulent opposition of the Jacksonians; in 1828 Jackson was elected president over Adams. It was during his administration that irreconcilable differences developed between the followers of Adams and the followers of Jack-son, the former becoming known as the National Republicans, who with the Anti-Masons were the precursors of the Whigs. In 1829 Adams retired to private life in the town of Quincy; but only for a brief period, for in 1830, largely by Anti-Masonic votes, he was elected a member of the national House of Representatives. On its being suggested to him that his acceptance of this position would degrade an ex-president, Adams replied that no person could be degraded by serving the people as a representative in congress or, he added, as a selectman of his town. His service in congress from 1831 until his death is, in some respects, the most noteworthy part of his career. Through-out he was conspicuous as an opponent of the extension of slavery, though he was never technically an abolitionist, and in particular he was the champion in the House of Representatives of the right of petition at a time when, through the influence of the Southern members, this right was, in practice, denied by that body. His prolonged fight for the repeal of the so-called" Gag Laws " is one of the most dramatic contests in the history of congress. The agitation for the abolition of slavery, which really began in earnest with the establishment of the Liberator by William Lloyd Garrison in 1831, soon led to the sending of innumerable petitions to congress for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, over which the Federal government had jurisdiction, and for other action by congress with respect to that institution. These petitions were generally sent to Adams for presentation. They aroused the anger of the pro-slavery members of congress, who, in 1836, brought about the passage of the first " Gag Rule," the Pinckney Resolution, presented by Henry L. Pinckney, of South Carolina. It provided that all petitions relating to slavery should be laid on the table without being referred to committee or printed; and, in substance, this resolution was re-adopted at the beginning of each of the immediately succeeding sessions of congress, the Patton Resolution being adopted in 1837, the Atherton Resolution, or " Atherton Gag," in 1838, and the Twenty-first Rule in 184o and subsequently until repealed. Adams contended that these " Gag Rules " were a direct violation of the First Amendment to the Federal Constitution, and refused to be silenced on the question, fighting for repeal with indomitable courage, in spite of the bitter denunciation of his opponents. Each year the number of anti-slavery petitions received and presented by him increased; perhaps the climax was in 1837, when Adams presented a petition from twenty-two slaves, and, when threatened by his opponents with censure, defended himself with remarkable keenness and ability. At each session, also, the majority against him decreased until in 1844 his motion to repeal the Twenty-first Rule was carried by a vote of 108 to 8o and his battle was won. On the 21st of February 1848, after having suffered a previous stroke of apoplexy, he fell insensible on the floor of the Representatives' chamber, and two days later died. Few men in American public life have possessed more intrinsic worth, more independence, more public spirit and more ability than Adams, but throughout his political career he washandicapped by a certain reserve, a certain austerity and coolness of manner, and by his consequent inability to appeal to the imaginations and affections of the people as a whole. He had, indeed, few intimate political or personal friends, and few men in American history have, during their lifetime, been regarded with so much hostility and attacked with so much rancour by their political opponents. End of Article: ADAMS, JOHN QUINCY (1767-1848) If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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