-Educated as only a president’s son can be, John Quincy Adams was destined for success:
-Like his father, John Quincy Adams was an extremely accomplished writer. You can pretty much see all of his collected works online for free. However, the Twitter account that posts his daily journal entries is totally awesome!
-Adams’s impact to our country can’t be overstated, and the credit he has been given is lacking. Although it bears the name of his predecessor, The Monroe Doctrine was formulated by then Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.
-Among John Quincy Adams’s many contributions, without his help the Smithsonian institution may have never been founded. Here is an excerpt from Nina Burleigh’s seminal work on the subject.
-This daguerrotype is probably the most famous photograph of John Quincy Adams:
However, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery holds the oldest extant photograph of a U.S. president, the subject of which is of course John Quincy Adams. Although, according to Clifford Krainik’s article, Face the Lens, Mr. President: A Gallery of Photographic Portraits of 19th-Century U.S. Presidents, he was probably not the first president to have posed for a photograph.
-Adams was the first president to be Phi Beta Kappa.
-One of the most important legacies that Mr. Adams left was his vehement abhorrence of slavery. He devoted a great deal of his life after the presidency to the abolishment of it. The greatest example of this was his pro bono defense work in the Supreme Court case United States v. Libellants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad.
-His post-Presidential work was highlighted by a 17-year term representing Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives. In reference to his greatness, current Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska states:
Then I thought about Abraham Lincoln. He served a term in the House. He was once quoted as saying it was an utterly forgettable experience except for one thing: There was an old man who used to constantly give speeches as to the evil of slavery. That’s what Lincoln remembered most. He was referring to John Quincy Adams.
-David Greenberg over at Slate wrote an interesting article comparing our country’s two sets of father-son presidents.
-In 1814, John Quincy Adams was recalled from a diplomatic post in Russia–during which time he was highly involved in keeping the United States apprised of Napoleon’s actions in Europe. He would work with Henry Clay to craft the Treaty of Ghent, bringing closure to the War of 1812.
-Buy this shirt and you can wear one of my favorite quotes.
Previous Presidents:
1. George Washington
2. John Adams
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
5. James Monroe
