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John Quincy Adams: A Featured Biography

Image of John Quincy Adams
John Q. Adams

The political career of John Quincy Adams was long and distinguished. The son of Abigail and John Adams, John Quincy was born in 1767, became a lawyer in 1787, and soon entered the political arena as a diplomat. He became a U.S. Senator in 1803, elected as a Federalist to represent the state of Massachusetts. Adams quickly established himself as an independent thinker with a willingness to break from party allegiance. In 1824, he became the sixth President of the United States, defeating Andrew Jackson in a controversial election. Following his presidency, John Quincy Adams returned to Congress, serving nearly seventeen years in the House of Representatives, where he earned the nickname "Old Man Eloquent." Adams suffered a stroke and died in the U.S. Capitol on February 23, 1848. His exceptional diary provides a revealing account of early American politics.


 

 
  

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