who was john quincy adams a lawyer for

What did John Quincy Adams do for the United States?

John Quincy Adams Early Diplomatic Career President Washington appreciated the younger Adams' support so much that he appointed John Quincy Adams as U. S. Minister to Holland. John Quincy wrote frequent reports to the State Department detailing the military and diplomatic activities in Europe and warned against U. S. involvement.

What did John Adams do to become a lawyer?

In 1790, Adams opened his own legal practice in Boston. Despite some early struggles, he was successful as an attorney and established financial independence from his parents. Adams initially avoided becoming involved in politics, instead focusing on building his legal career.

Where did John Quincy Adams go to Law School?

The next year, after his family was reunited in France and his father was appointed U.S. Minister to Great Britain, John Quincy Adams returned to America to attend Harvard University. Adams sought to become an attorney like his father, and upon graduation, in 1787, read law at Newburyport, Massachusetts under the tutelage of Theophilus Parsons.

Was John Quincy Adams a federalist or a state senator?

John Quincy arrived in Massachusetts in 1801 and the next year was elected to the Massachusetts Senate. In 1803 the Massachusetts legislature elected him as a member of the United States Senate. John Quincy Adams up to this time was commonly regarded as a member of the Federalist Party, but he found its general policy less and less appealing.

Why is John Quincy Adams important?

John Quincy Adams was the sixth president of the United States (1825–29). In his prepresidential years he was one of America’s greatest diplomats—f...

What was John Quincy Adams’s childhood like?

John Quincy Adams was the eldest son of John and Abigail Adams. Growing up during the American Revolution, he watched the Battle of Bunker Hill fro...

How did John Quincy Adams become president?

In the U.S. presidential election of 1824, Andrew Jackson received 99 electoral votes, Adams 84, William Crawford 41, and Henry Clay 37. Because no...

What was John Quincy Adams’s occupation?

John Quincy Adams was a diplomat in the administrations of George Washington, John Adams, and James Madison. He served in the Massachusetts Senate...

What were John Quincy Adams’s achievements?

John Quincy Adams signed the Treaty of Ghent and played a leading part in the U.S. acquisition of Florida and establishing the northern boundary of...

Where was John Quincy Adams born?

Born on July 11, 1767, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts, John Quincy Adams was the second child and first son of John and Abigail Adams. As a young boy, John Quincy watched the famous Battle of Bunker Hill (June 1775) from a hilltop near the family farm with his mother. He accompanied his father on a diplomatic mission to France when he was 10, and would later study at European universities, eventually becoming fluent in seven languages. Adams returned to Massachusetts in 1785 and entered Harvard College, graduating two years later. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1790, after which he set up a law practice in Boston.

How many terms did John Quincy Adams serve?

John Quincy Adams went on to win the presidency in a highly contentious election in 1824, and served only one term. Outspoken in his opposition to slavery and in support of freedom of speech, Adams was elected to the House of Representatives in 1830; he would serve until his death in 1848.

What happened to John Adams after he lost the presidency?

After John Adams lost the presidency to Thomas Jefferson in 1800, he recalled John Quincy from Europe; the younger Adams returned to Boston in 1801 and reopened his law practice. The following year he was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate, and in 1803 the state legislature chose him to serve in the U.S. Senate. Though Adams, like his father, was known as a member of the Federalist Party, once in Washington he voted against the Federalist Party line on several issues, including Jefferson’s ill-fated Embargo Act of 1807, which greatly harmed the interests of New England merchants. He soon became estranged from the Federalists, and came to abhor party politics. Adams resigned his Senate seat in June 1808 and returned to Harvard, where he had been made a professor.

What did John Adams do during his presidency?

John Quincy Adams began his diplomatic career as the U.S. minister to the Netherlands in 1794, and served as minister to Prussia during the presidential administration of his father, the formidable patriot John Adams. After serving in the Massachusetts State Senate and the U.S. Senate, the younger Adams rejoined diplomatic service under President James Madison, helping to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent (1814), which ended the War of 1812. As secretary of state under James Monroe, Adams played a key role in determining the president’s foreign policy, including the famous Monroe Doctrine. John Quincy Adams went on to win the presidency in a highly contentious election in 1824, and served only one term. Outspoken in his opposition to slavery and in support of freedom of speech, Adams was elected to the House of Representatives in 1830; he would serve until his death in 1848.

What party did Adams belong to?

Though Adams, like his father, was known as a member of the Federalist Party, once in Washington he voted against the Federalist Party line on several issues, including Jefferson’s ill-fated Embargo Act of 1807, which greatly harmed the interests of New England merchants.

What was the Monroe doctrine?

He also served as the chief architect of what became known as the Monroe Doctrine (1823), which aimed to prevent further European intervention or colonization in Latin America by asserting U.S. protection over the entire Western Hemisphere.

Why was the Old Man Eloquent so famous?

He served as a leading congressman for the rest of his life, earning the nickname “Old Man Eloquent” for his passionate support of freedom of speech and universal education, and especially for his strong arguments against slavery, the “peculiar institution” that would tear the nation apart only decades later.

Who was John Quincy Adams?

John Quincy Adams entered the world at the same time that his maternal great-grandfather, John Quincy , for many years a prominent member of the Massachusetts legislature, was leaving it—hence his name. He grew up as a child of the American Revolution. He watched the Battle of Bunker Hill from Penn’s Hill and heard the cannons roar across ...

What was John Adams' occupation?

What was John Quincy Adams’s occupation? John Quincy Adams was a diplomat in the administrations of George Washington, John Adams, and James Madison. He served in the Massachusetts Senate and the United States Senate, and he taught at Harvard. He was secretary of state under James Monroe.

What did Adams negotiate with Prussia?

While in Berlin, Adams negotiated (1799) a treaty of amity and commerce with Prussia. Recalled from Berlin by President Adams after the election of Thomas Jefferson to the presidency in 1800, the younger Adams reached Boston in 1801 and the next year was elected to the Massachusetts Senate.

Who was the 6th president of the United States?

John Quincy Adams was the sixth president of the United States (1825–29). In his prepresidential years he was one of America’s greatest diplomats—formulating, among other things, what came to be called the Monroe Doctrine —and in his postpresidential years (as a U.S. congressman, 1831–48) he fought against the expansion of slavery.

Where did Thomas Paine read law?

He then read law at Newburyport under the tutelage of Theophilus Parsons, and in 1790 he was admitted to the bar association in Boston. While struggling to establish a practice, he wrote a series of articles for the newspapers in which he controverted some of the doctrines in Thomas Paine ’s Rights of Man (1791).

Who appointed Adams as the minister of Portugal?

In 1796 Washington, who came to regard young Adams as the ablest officer in the foreign service, appointed him minister to Portugal, but before his departure his father became president and changed the young diplomat’s destination to Prussia. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.

Who painted Louisa Adams?

Louisa Adams, oil on canvas by Charles Bird King , 1821–25. ART Collection/Alamy. Johnson was not, however, Adams’s first love. When he was 14 years old, he had had a “crush” on an actress he saw perform in France, and for years afterward, he confessed, she was in his dreams.

Who is John Quincy Adams' spouse?

Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association. Learn more about John Quincy Adams’ spouse, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams.

What did Adams do in 1828?

In 1828, he broke ground for the 185-mile C & 0 Canal. Adams also urged the United States to take a lead in the development of the arts and sciences through the establishment of a national university, the financing of scientific expeditions, and the erection of an observatory.

Where did John Adams live after his defeat?

After his defeat he returned to Massachusetts, expecting to spend the remainder of his life enjoying his farm and his books. Unexpectedly, in 1830, the Plymouth district elected him to the House of Representatives, and there for the remainder of his life he served as a powerful leader.

Who appointed Adams as a minister to Russia?

Six years later President Madison appointed him Minister to Russia. Serving under President Monroe, Adams was one of America’s great Secretaries of State, arranging with England for the joint occupation of the Oregon country, obtaining from Spain the cession of the Floridas, and formulating with the President the Monroe Doctrine.

Who appointed Clay as Secretary of State?

Clay, who favored a program similar to that of Adams, threw his crucial support in the House to the New Englander. Upon becoming President, Adams appointed Clay as Secretary of State.

Who was the 6th president of the United States?

Presidents. John Quincy Adams, son of John and Abigail Adams, served as the sixth President of the United States from 1825 to 1829. A member of multiple political parties over the years, he also served as a diplomat, a Senator, and a member of the House of Representatives.

Where was John Quincy Adams born?

Born on July 11, 1767 in Braintree, Massachusetts, he was the son of two fervent revolutionary patriots, John and Abigail Adams, whose ancestors had lived in New England for five generations. Abigail gave birth to her son two days before her prominent grandfather, Colonel John Quincy, died so the boy was named John Quincy Adams in his honor.

How did John Quincy Adams weakened his position?

At home, while his foes continued their relentless attack, John Quincy Adams further weakened his position by spurning the role of party leader and refusing to use the patronage weapon in his own defense.

Where did John Adams take his wife?

Before Adams started his duties as U.S. Minister, he took his wife on a trip through part of Prussia called Silesia (today part of Poland). The countryside in this region reminded John Quincy of his home far away in Braintree and Louisa received her first glimpse of what the terrain in Massachusetts was like.

What did John Adams write to Abigail?

From Philadelphia John wrote to Abigail of the Congress' activities and of their duties, as parents, to educate a new generation of Americans. John wrote: "Let us teach them not only to do virtuously, but to excel. To excel, they must be taught to be steady, active and industrious.".

What was John Quincy's adherence to his own principles in supporting President Jefferson's Embargo Act?

John Quincy's adherence to his own principles in supporting President Jefferson's Embargo Act (1807), at once gained him the gratitude of the Republican Party, the bitter hostility of the Federalists; and 150 years later - a place in John F. Kennedy's book, Profiles in Courage.

Was John Quincy Adams a child of the Revolution?

Experiencing the battles of the Revolutionary War around Boston in 1775-1776, and reading his father's letters from Philadelphia about the struggle to declare independence, John Quincy Adams was literally a child of the American Revolution.

Did John Quincy Adams like Thomas Jefferson?

representatives in Europe. The young Adams often sat in on conversations between his father and Benjamin Franklin and was so fond of Thomas Jefferson that John Adams later wrote that: "he (John Quincy) seemed as much your (Thomas Jefferson's) son as mine.".

Who was John Adams?

By Paul Cornish. John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) was the sixth president of the United States, a legislator, and an attorney. Adams served as a diplomat, senator, and secretary of state before becoming President. Adams was the first son of a president of the United States to also become as president. (Official White House portrait via The White House ...

What did John Adams do after Jackson defeated him?

After Jackson defeated Adams in 1828, Adams retired to Massachusetts. In 1830 the Plymouth district elected him to the House of Representatives, where he served until his death, in 1848. As a representative, Adams was an eloquent leader in defense of civil liberties in general, and particularly the right to petition government.

What did Adams object to?

Adams objected strenuously to any restriction on the right of any person to petition, which he identified as a right that “belongs to humanity” and which in no way depended upon the condition of the petitioner. Adams eventually won the repeal of the rule in 1844.

What was Jackson's argument about the election of John Adams?

Jackson and his supporters contended that the election of Adams had been achieved by a “corrupt bargain” and went on to campaign vigorously for his defeat in 1828. The electoral dispute split the Republican Party — the only party following the demise of the Federalist Party of John Adams after the end of the War of 1812 — with ...

How old was John Quincy when he became a diplomat?

John Quincy later served as a diplomat in several European countries, beginning with his appointment as minister to the Netherlands at the age of 26.

Where was John Adams born?

Born in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1767, he entered public service in his youth as a secretary to his father, John Adams, during the elder Adams’s work as an ambassador in Europe during the founding era.

Who opposed the gag rule?

Adams objected to the gag rule against slavery in Congress. In the 1830s, abolitionists adopted a strategy of repeatedly petitioning the House of Representatives for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and throughout the nation.

Who was John Quincy Adams married to?

On 26 July 1797, in London, John Quincy Adams married Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughter of the U.S. consul. He was appointed minister plenipotentiary to Berlin in 1797 and recalled by his father after the elder Adams ' defeat in the presidential election of 1800.

What was John Quincy Adams' role in the war?

Within months of the United States ’ declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812, John Quincy Adams was involved in efforts to bring about a peace —first through Russian mediation and later as a negotiator at Ghent in 1814.

How many volumes are in John Quincy Adams diary?

The Diaries of John Quincy Adams: A Digital Collection contains all 51 volumes of his diary. The published volumes of John Quincy Adams's early diary are available online at the Adams Papers Digital Editions, although with the Adams Family Correspondence and Papers of John Adams.

How long did John Adams keep his diary?

Adams’ voluminous correspondence, both personal and public, can be found in the Adams Papers, along with the Diary that he kept for 68 years (from November 1779, when he was twelve, to December 1847, just a few months before he died), and his many literary endeavors.

Where did John Adams go to school?

He attended school at a private academy outside Paris, the Latin School of Amsterdam, and Leyden University. The years 1781–1782 he spent in St. Petersburg as private secretary and interpreter to Francis Dana, U.S. minister to Russia. In 1785 Adams returned to the United States to continue his formal education. He graduated from Harvard College in 1787, studied law for three years with Theophilus Parsons in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and then practiced law in Boston .

Where did John Adams live in 1781?

The years 1781–1782 he spent in St. Petersburg as private secretary and interpreter to Francis Dana, U.S. minister to Russia. In 1785 Adams returned to the United States to continue his formal education.

What was John Adams' last voyage?

John Quincy Adams’ eighth and final voyage across the Atlantic was made in 1817 when he returned home to become secretary of state in the Monroe administration. Significant among his many accomplishments are the negotiation of the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819 with Spain, the completion of his authoritative Report on Weights and Measures (1821), ...

What was John Quincy Adams' stance on abolition?

Although John Quincy Adams publicly downplayed his abolitionist stance, he too viewed the practice as contrary to the nation’s core principles of freedom and equality. After serving one term as president between 1825 and 1829, Adams was elected to the House of Representatives, in which he served until his death in 1848.

What did Adams say to the judges?

In a dramatic moment, Adams faced the judges, pointed to a copy of the Declaration of Independence hanging on the courtroom wall, and said “ [I know] no law, statute or constitution, no code, no treaty, except that law…which [is] forever before the eyes of your Honors.”.

How long did the Adams v. Van Buren case last?

In a seven-hour argument that lasted two days, Adams attacked Van Buren’s abuse of executive power. His case deflated the U.S. attorney’s argument that the treaty with Spain should override U.S. principles of individual rights.

Who was the first president to argue the Amistad case?

John Quincy Adams begins arguments in Amistad case. On February 24, 1841, former President John Quincy Adams begins to argue the Amistad case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. A practicing lawyer and member of the House of Representatives, John Quincy Adams was the son of America’s second president, founding father and avowed abolitionist John ...

Who was the President of Spain in 1795?

Spain, backed by a 1795 anti-piracy treaty with the U.S., also claimed rights to the Amistad and her cargo. President Martin Van Buren, personally neutral on the issue of slavery and concerned about his popularity in southern states, supported Spain’s claim.

What was John Adams known for?

Adams was well known for his extreme political independence, brilliant mind and passionate patriotism. He was a leader in the Continental Congress and an important diplomatic figure, before becoming America's first vice president.

Who was John Adams' wife?

Also dear to John Adams was his wife and partner of 54 years, Abigail Adams.