John Quincy Adams – Washington, D.C.
October 22 & 29, 2011
First, let us say that John Quincy Adams is one of Tom’s favorite presidents to date. He was an abolitionist, a champion of higher education and scientific research, and a master of languages. The only strike against him is that he didn’t seem to care much for his mother, the esteemed Abigail Adams.
Since we had already visited Boston to learn about John Quincy Adams’s dad, we sought another significant location to learn about JQA. It turns out that he is more closely associated with Washington, D.C., than most of his predecessors. He served as Secretary of State in the Monroe administration, as president for one term, followed by 16 years in the House of Representatives. In fact, he died in the U.S. Capitol after collapsing while giving a speech.
We spread our acquaintance JQA over two weekends. The first weekend, on Oct. 22, we were downtown to participate in an “Urban Dare.” (This is basically an Amazing Race-like treasure hunt to locate clues throughout downtown D.C. Competing against 90 other teams, we were given a list of 13 clues and given six hours to find the answers and take photographs proving we had reached the correct site. Most of the destinations were statues of historic figures and easy challenges like jump rope, three legged runs, and making balloon swords. OK, we could not make a balloon sword, but still….)
George Washington University Campus
Following our successful completion of the Urban Dare – we placed 37th -- we visited the John Quincy Adams House on the nearby George Washington University Campus. It turns out that JQA was a key contributor to the founding of the university in 1821 when it was called Columbian College. Starting during his tenure as Secretary of State, he helped establish and operate the College. As an advocate of higher education and scientific research, he was involved with the college for 30 years. At his funeral, the school’s professors and students marched in the funeral procession. (The 1998 plaque in front of the building interestingly reads, “To date this is the only time in U.S. history that a former President’s son has become president.” Little did they know that two years later, George W. Bush would become president and create the second father-son team.)
Smithsonian Castle
We next visited the site of another JQA accomplishment, the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall. The Castle, designed by James Renwick Jr. in 1846, is the original building of the Smithsonian Institution. Unbeknownst to us, if it had not been for JQA, the Smithsonian would not have been established. The story is told in Nina Burleigh’s fine book, The Stranger and the Statesman (2003). The Stranger is John Smithson, a wealthy British scientist who died in 1828 and left a $500,000 fortune (the equivalent of tens of millions now) to the United States to be used for the “establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men.” The Statesman was JQA, who fought for eight years to convince Congress to apply the money as intended.
This is a remarkable story in that Smithson actually left all his money to his nephew with the stipulation that “In the case of the death of my said Nephew without leaving a child or children, or the death of the child or children he may have had under the age of twenty-one years or intestate, I then bequeath the whole of my property…. to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men.” It was a seemingly random act since Smithson had never visited the United States nor shown sympathy for Republicanism. Smithson also could not have known that his nephew would die young six years later without any heirs.
October 22 & 29, 2011
First, let us say that John Quincy Adams is one of Tom’s favorite presidents to date. He was an abolitionist, a champion of higher education and scientific research, and a master of languages. The only strike against him is that he didn’t seem to care much for his mother, the esteemed Abigail Adams.
Since we had already visited Boston to learn about John Quincy Adams’s dad, we sought another significant location to learn about JQA. It turns out that he is more closely associated with Washington, D.C., than most of his predecessors. He served as Secretary of State in the Monroe administration, as president for one term, followed by 16 years in the House of Representatives. In fact, he died in the U.S. Capitol after collapsing while giving a speech.
We spread our acquaintance JQA over two weekends. The first weekend, on Oct. 22, we were downtown to participate in an “Urban Dare.” (This is basically an Amazing Race-like treasure hunt to locate clues throughout downtown D.C. Competing against 90 other teams, we were given a list of 13 clues and given six hours to find the answers and take photographs proving we had reached the correct site. Most of the destinations were statues of historic figures and easy challenges like jump rope, three legged runs, and making balloon swords. OK, we could not make a balloon sword, but still….)
George Washington University Campus
Following our successful completion of the Urban Dare – we placed 37th -- we visited the John Quincy Adams House on the nearby George Washington University Campus. It turns out that JQA was a key contributor to the founding of the university in 1821 when it was called Columbian College. Starting during his tenure as Secretary of State, he helped establish and operate the College. As an advocate of higher education and scientific research, he was involved with the college for 30 years. At his funeral, the school’s professors and students marched in the funeral procession. (The 1998 plaque in front of the building interestingly reads, “To date this is the only time in U.S. history that a former President’s son has become president.” Little did they know that two years later, George W. Bush would become president and create the second father-son team.)Smithsonian Castle
We next visited the site of another JQA accomplishment, the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall. The Castle, designed by James Renwick Jr. in 1846, is the original building of the Smithsonian Institution. Unbeknownst to us, if it had not been for JQA, the Smithsonian would not have been established. The story is told in Nina Burleigh’s fine book, The Stranger and the Statesman (2003). The Stranger is John Smithson, a wealthy British scientist who died in 1828 and left a $500,000 fortune (the equivalent of tens of millions now) to the United States to be used for the “establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men.” The Statesman was JQA, who fought for eight years to convince Congress to apply the money as intended.This is a remarkable story in that Smithson actually left all his money to his nephew with the stipulation that “In the case of the death of my said Nephew without leaving a child or children, or the death of the child or children he may have had under the age of twenty-one years or intestate, I then bequeath the whole of my property…. to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men.” It was a seemingly random act since Smithson had never visited the United States nor shown sympathy for Republicanism. Smithson also could not have known that his nephew would die young six years later without any heirs.
When the money reached the U.S., Congress applied the money to other uses including the purchase of worthless state bonds. JQA, who had long advocated for federally funded scientific research, fought hard to have the money replaced and was finally successful in 1846.
U.S. Capitol
The following weekend, we visited the U.S. Capitol. October 29 turned out to be the earliest snowfall in Washington in 40 years. A cold, raw rain fell for most of the day, but the afternoon was punctuated by big, sloppy snowflakes that covered Cathy’s umbrella. (Yes, we seem to choose rainy or cold days to visit presidents.)
To tour the Capitol, you need to sign up beforehand for the free tickets. You can do this online at www.visitthecapitol.gov. Be sure to leave enough time to get through security and do not bring any food or water with you. Cathy’s bottle -- even after she drained it -- was sadly banished to the recycle bin.
The tour begins with a 12-minute movie about Congress and the Capitol. The theme is “finding common ground” among 300 million or so U.S. citizens to move the country forward. The movie ends with the Latin phrase “E Pluribus Unum,” which means Out of Many, One.
It is worth noting that although many of us think that the current Congress is completely dysfunctional, it has almost always been like this. There have been battles in the halls of Congress going back 200 years. In fact, in 1798 two members of the House of Representatives got into a physical battle that involved the use of tongs from one of the fireplaces! Another ruckus erupted in 1877 that caused the Speaker of the House to cancel the session. The only time Congress has been completely unified was during national emergencies such as the World Wars and following 9/11.
Following the movie, we were given headsets so that we could
hear our tour guide. We began our tour in the Crypt, which is the base of the Capitol. It consists of 40 sandstone columns supporting the enormous weight of the upper building and the dome. It’s called the Crypt because it was supposed to have been the resting place of George Washington. But since Washington’s will expressly stated his desire to stay put in Mount Vernon, his body was never moved. So nobody is buried there. The Crypt does contain 13 statues, one for each of the original 13 colonies.
We next visited the Capitol Rotunda, which is the open area beneath the dome. The ceiling is painted with the “Apotheosis of George Washington,” a biblical-feeling work that shows a seated George Washington, wearing his blue uniform, his legs covered by a red blanket. It feels a lot like the Sistine Chapel, which we visited several years ago. There is also a frieze around the base of the dome representing 411 years of American history, beginning with Columbus and ending with the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk.
Many famous people have laid in state in the Rotunda starting with Henry Clay in 1852 and most recently President Gerald Ford in 2007. Rosa Parks is the only woman and second African American to lay in state, in 2005. We tried paying our respects to her back then, but the line snaked at least a mile long outside the Capitol.
The final room was the one we had come to see--Statuary Hall, formerly the Old Hall of the House.
The election of 1824 was decided in this Chamber. Since none of the candidates had won a
majority of the Electoral College votes, the vote was thrown to the House of Representatives. John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson – who had won the popular vote -- and William Crawford were the top three vote getters. Backroom political maneuvering gave JQA the endorsement of the fourth candidate, Henry Clay. Implied in this endorsement was a possible major role for Clay in a JQA administration. In a secret ballot, the House voted for JQA. (The subsequent appointment of Clay as Secretary of State caused a political uproar and led to JQA’s defeat to Andrew Jackson in the next election.)
JQA was inaugurated in this room on March 4, 1825. His inauguration speech, flowery to our ears, noted the success of the United States since its founding 36 years before: “a population of four million has multiplied to twelve. A territory bounded by the Mississippi has been extended from sea to sea.” He noted the passing of the (as yet unnamed Founding Fathers) by saying, “Since the adoption of this social compact one of these generations has passed away. It is the work of our forefathers.”
JQA was defeated in the 1828 election. However, in 1830 he was elected to the House of Representatives representing Massachusetts. The House met here from 1807 to 1857. The location of his desk is marked by a plaque in the floor.
The current dome was installed in 1902 and produces a whisper effect in some places. Our tour guide gathered us around the location of JQA’s desk and walked 50 meters away. We could clearly hear her talking from that location. As she moved closer, she was no longer audible. The myth that JQA would sit at his desk and overhear the conversations of other representatives is not true since the current dome postdates him.
Like his father’s, JQA’s death was dramatic. He suffered a severe stroke in this room while giving a speech on February 21, 1848. He was taken into the Speaker’s Chamber just off the Hall where he lingered for two days before dying.
The Hall is now used to display statues of prominent Americans. Each state is allowed two statues made of bronze or marble. Thirty-eight of these statutes are in the Hall.
JQ Adams, the Man
John Adams was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 11, 1767. He was brought up under the lofty expectations of his father, John Adams, who was a lawyer at the time of his birth, and his mother, Abigail, who insisted throughout his life that he overcome his “slovenly” ways and consistently strive to improve himself. She basically browbeat JQA at every opportunity either in words or in her many letters. When he was 8 years old, his mother took him to an overlook so he could witness the Battle of Bunker Hill.
JQA accompanied his father to Europe and became fluent in French and Russian. By age 14 his Russian was so good that his father assigned him to accompany the U.S. ambassador to Russian for several years.
He returned to the United States to enter Harvard and became a lawyer in 1790. He was appointed by President George Washington to be the Minister to the Netherlands. When his father because president, he was assigned to be the minister to Prussia.
In 1802, he was elected to the Senate and served until 1808. In 1809, President James Madison appointed him as minister to Russia. He was also the leader of the peace commission that negotiated the end to the War of 1812.
When James Monroe was elected president in 1816, he did not have to think hard about who to appoint as Secretary of State. With his vast diplomatic experience, JQA was the obvious choice. Remini (2002) calls JQA “the greatest Secretary of State to serve that office.”
While Secretary of State, JQA negotiated Monroe’s Florida Treaty, which expanded the United States by purchasing Florida as well as a large area that extended from the Louisiana border to the Pacific Northwest. (General Andrew Jackson figured prominently in the Florida portion, but we’ll cover that later.)
He was also the main architect of the Monroe Doctrine. As we learned before, the Monroe Doctrine was three paragraphs that James Monroe gave in a congressional speech in 1823, the so-called “Principles of 1823.” The Doctrine stated that the European powers were no longer permitted to colonize or otherwise interfere in North or South America below Canada. At the same time the United States declared its intention to stay out of internal European affairs.
JQA PresidencyJQA was a disaster as president. Although he had served as a diplomat for most of his life, he was unskilled at partisan politics; and those early 1800s politics were as bad as anything we see today. He was plagued throughout his presidency by an embittered Andrew Jackson and his allies (including future presidents Martin Van Buren and John Tyler).
Part way through his presidency, JQA became a strong advocate for a strong federal government role in improving the lives of citizens. It was almost as though he had become a Federalist again. He advocated a massive infrastructure program that included roads, canals and bridges. He also advocated the founding of a national university, an observatory, and a naval academy. In his 1925 inauguration speech he announced his intention to undertake federally financed public works: “…nearly twenty years have passed since the construction of the first national road was commenced. The authority for its construction was then unquestioned. To how many thousands of our countrymen has it proved a benefit? To what single individual has it ever proved an injury?” Similar debates about the role of government in creating the nation’s infrastructure still rage today.
In 1828 Congress passed the so-called Tariff of Abominations. These were protective tariffs that were applied unevenly — favoring the Southern (Democratic leaning) states at the expense of the New England states (Adams supporters). JQA signed it in 1828.
The election of 1828 was purportedly the dirtiest to date. JQA was labeled a pimp, Andrew Jackson’s wife a bigamist, and Jackson’s mother a prostitute. In addition, Adams and his wife Louisa were excoriated for allegedly having had premarital sex. Notice that the common theme here is sex, which has brought down more than one presidential candidate even now. The other hot-button issue was religion. Accusations of Unitarianism and Catholicism dogged Adams while accusations of Free Masonry haunted Jackson.
Adams was decisively defeated by Andrew Jackson. Like his father, he was so embittered over his loss that he did not attend the inauguration of his successor.
His Next CareerBut JQA’s career was nowhere near over. A year later, he was recruited by his home state of Massachusetts to represent it in Congress. He easily won the election and served 17 brilliant years.
He slowly became an abolitionist, particularly after the 1836 House vote that prohibited any anti-slavery debate. This prohibition became known as the Gag Rule. For eight years he fought hard against it, alienating many of his colleagues. The rule was finally overturned in 1844.
In 1841, Adams went to the Supreme Court to defend 39 slaves who had taken over the Spanish ship, the Amistad. These slaves took control of the ship as it made its way to from Cuba to Puerto Rico. The Amistad then sailed north to New York, where the ship was taken by the United States. Spain petitioned to have the slaves returned as property. Adams’ arguments were successful and the former slaves were free to return to Africa.
JQA was nicknamed “Old Man Eloquent” following a speech he gave castigating Daniel Webster for advocating too much power to the presidency. Even his enemies, the Democrats, loved this speech. Some of his writings regarding slavery were so inspiring, that Abraham Lincoln was said to have borrowed his ideas 30 years later.
Personal Life
JQA was harassed by his mother, Abigail, throughout her life. She constantly harangued him about improving his appearance and his slothful ways. Even when he was overseas with his father, she sent him letters of admonition. Nobody knows how this affected him, but when his mother lay on her deathbed in Quincy, JQA, now Secretary of State in Washington, did not go to her. He did not attend her funeral, either.
JQA was married to Louisa Catherine Johnson. She does not receive the historical attention of Martha Washington, Abigail Adams or Dolly Madison. However, she was a solid presence in his life and raised three sons.
He was plagued by depression throughout his life. The loss of two of his three sons -- one by suicide and the other by alcoholism — certainly didn’t help.
Was JQA the first (and maybe only) president with Asperger’s Syndrome? He was unquestionably one of the most brilliant of the presidents. He mastered anywhere from five to nine languages (accounts vary) including French, Dutch, Russian, Spanish, Italian, German, Greek, Latin, and of course English. Burleigh (2003) describes journalist Anne Royall’s first meeting with JQA. In Royall’s own words she writes: “He neither smiled nor frowned but regarded me with a calmness peculiar to him, awaited my business. He never smiled while I was in his company, it is a question with me whether he ever laughed in his life…”
ReferencesBurleigh, N. 2003. The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America’s Greatest Museum: The Smithsonian. RB Large Print. Prince Frederick, MD.
Nagel, P. 1997. John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, NY.
Remini, R.V. 2002. John Quincy Adams. Henry Holt and Company. New York, NY.
The following weekend, we visited the U.S. Capitol. October 29 turned out to be the earliest snowfall in Washington in 40 years. A cold, raw rain fell for most of the day, but the afternoon was punctuated by big, sloppy snowflakes that covered Cathy’s umbrella. (Yes, we seem to choose rainy or cold days to visit presidents.)To tour the Capitol, you need to sign up beforehand for the free tickets. You can do this online at www.visitthecapitol.gov. Be sure to leave enough time to get through security and do not bring any food or water with you. Cathy’s bottle -- even after she drained it -- was sadly banished to the recycle bin.
The tour begins with a 12-minute movie about Congress and the Capitol. The theme is “finding common ground” among 300 million or so U.S. citizens to move the country forward. The movie ends with the Latin phrase “E Pluribus Unum,” which means Out of Many, One.
It is worth noting that although many of us think that the current Congress is completely dysfunctional, it has almost always been like this. There have been battles in the halls of Congress going back 200 years. In fact, in 1798 two members of the House of Representatives got into a physical battle that involved the use of tongs from one of the fireplaces! Another ruckus erupted in 1877 that caused the Speaker of the House to cancel the session. The only time Congress has been completely unified was during national emergencies such as the World Wars and following 9/11.
Following the movie, we were given headsets so that we could
hear our tour guide. We began our tour in the Crypt, which is the base of the Capitol. It consists of 40 sandstone columns supporting the enormous weight of the upper building and the dome. It’s called the Crypt because it was supposed to have been the resting place of George Washington. But since Washington’s will expressly stated his desire to stay put in Mount Vernon, his body was never moved. So nobody is buried there. The Crypt does contain 13 statues, one for each of the original 13 colonies.
We next visited the Capitol Rotunda, which is the open area beneath the dome. The ceiling is painted with the “Apotheosis of George Washington,” a biblical-feeling work that shows a seated George Washington, wearing his blue uniform, his legs covered by a red blanket. It feels a lot like the Sistine Chapel, which we visited several years ago. There is also a frieze around the base of the dome representing 411 years of American history, beginning with Columbus and ending with the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk.Many famous people have laid in state in the Rotunda starting with Henry Clay in 1852 and most recently President Gerald Ford in 2007. Rosa Parks is the only woman and second African American to lay in state, in 2005. We tried paying our respects to her back then, but the line snaked at least a mile long outside the Capitol.
The final room was the one we had come to see--Statuary Hall, formerly the Old Hall of the House.
The election of 1824 was decided in this Chamber. Since none of the candidates had won a
majority of the Electoral College votes, the vote was thrown to the House of Representatives. John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson – who had won the popular vote -- and William Crawford were the top three vote getters. Backroom political maneuvering gave JQA the endorsement of the fourth candidate, Henry Clay. Implied in this endorsement was a possible major role for Clay in a JQA administration. In a secret ballot, the House voted for JQA. (The subsequent appointment of Clay as Secretary of State caused a political uproar and led to JQA’s defeat to Andrew Jackson in the next election.)JQA was inaugurated in this room on March 4, 1825. His inauguration speech, flowery to our ears, noted the success of the United States since its founding 36 years before: “a population of four million has multiplied to twelve. A territory bounded by the Mississippi has been extended from sea to sea.” He noted the passing of the (as yet unnamed Founding Fathers) by saying, “Since the adoption of this social compact one of these generations has passed away. It is the work of our forefathers.”
JQA was defeated in the 1828 election. However, in 1830 he was elected to the House of Representatives representing Massachusetts. The House met here from 1807 to 1857. The location of his desk is marked by a plaque in the floor.
The current dome was installed in 1902 and produces a whisper effect in some places. Our tour guide gathered us around the location of JQA’s desk and walked 50 meters away. We could clearly hear her talking from that location. As she moved closer, she was no longer audible. The myth that JQA would sit at his desk and overhear the conversations of other representatives is not true since the current dome postdates him.Like his father’s, JQA’s death was dramatic. He suffered a severe stroke in this room while giving a speech on February 21, 1848. He was taken into the Speaker’s Chamber just off the Hall where he lingered for two days before dying.
The Hall is now used to display statues of prominent Americans. Each state is allowed two statues made of bronze or marble. Thirty-eight of these statutes are in the Hall.
JQ Adams, the Man
John Adams was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 11, 1767. He was brought up under the lofty expectations of his father, John Adams, who was a lawyer at the time of his birth, and his mother, Abigail, who insisted throughout his life that he overcome his “slovenly” ways and consistently strive to improve himself. She basically browbeat JQA at every opportunity either in words or in her many letters. When he was 8 years old, his mother took him to an overlook so he could witness the Battle of Bunker Hill.
JQA accompanied his father to Europe and became fluent in French and Russian. By age 14 his Russian was so good that his father assigned him to accompany the U.S. ambassador to Russian for several years.
He returned to the United States to enter Harvard and became a lawyer in 1790. He was appointed by President George Washington to be the Minister to the Netherlands. When his father because president, he was assigned to be the minister to Prussia.
In 1802, he was elected to the Senate and served until 1808. In 1809, President James Madison appointed him as minister to Russia. He was also the leader of the peace commission that negotiated the end to the War of 1812.
When James Monroe was elected president in 1816, he did not have to think hard about who to appoint as Secretary of State. With his vast diplomatic experience, JQA was the obvious choice. Remini (2002) calls JQA “the greatest Secretary of State to serve that office.”
While Secretary of State, JQA negotiated Monroe’s Florida Treaty, which expanded the United States by purchasing Florida as well as a large area that extended from the Louisiana border to the Pacific Northwest. (General Andrew Jackson figured prominently in the Florida portion, but we’ll cover that later.)
He was also the main architect of the Monroe Doctrine. As we learned before, the Monroe Doctrine was three paragraphs that James Monroe gave in a congressional speech in 1823, the so-called “Principles of 1823.” The Doctrine stated that the European powers were no longer permitted to colonize or otherwise interfere in North or South America below Canada. At the same time the United States declared its intention to stay out of internal European affairs.
JQA PresidencyJQA was a disaster as president. Although he had served as a diplomat for most of his life, he was unskilled at partisan politics; and those early 1800s politics were as bad as anything we see today. He was plagued throughout his presidency by an embittered Andrew Jackson and his allies (including future presidents Martin Van Buren and John Tyler).
Part way through his presidency, JQA became a strong advocate for a strong federal government role in improving the lives of citizens. It was almost as though he had become a Federalist again. He advocated a massive infrastructure program that included roads, canals and bridges. He also advocated the founding of a national university, an observatory, and a naval academy. In his 1925 inauguration speech he announced his intention to undertake federally financed public works: “…nearly twenty years have passed since the construction of the first national road was commenced. The authority for its construction was then unquestioned. To how many thousands of our countrymen has it proved a benefit? To what single individual has it ever proved an injury?” Similar debates about the role of government in creating the nation’s infrastructure still rage today.
In 1828 Congress passed the so-called Tariff of Abominations. These were protective tariffs that were applied unevenly — favoring the Southern (Democratic leaning) states at the expense of the New England states (Adams supporters). JQA signed it in 1828.
The election of 1828 was purportedly the dirtiest to date. JQA was labeled a pimp, Andrew Jackson’s wife a bigamist, and Jackson’s mother a prostitute. In addition, Adams and his wife Louisa were excoriated for allegedly having had premarital sex. Notice that the common theme here is sex, which has brought down more than one presidential candidate even now. The other hot-button issue was religion. Accusations of Unitarianism and Catholicism dogged Adams while accusations of Free Masonry haunted Jackson.
Adams was decisively defeated by Andrew Jackson. Like his father, he was so embittered over his loss that he did not attend the inauguration of his successor.
His Next CareerBut JQA’s career was nowhere near over. A year later, he was recruited by his home state of Massachusetts to represent it in Congress. He easily won the election and served 17 brilliant years.
He slowly became an abolitionist, particularly after the 1836 House vote that prohibited any anti-slavery debate. This prohibition became known as the Gag Rule. For eight years he fought hard against it, alienating many of his colleagues. The rule was finally overturned in 1844.
In 1841, Adams went to the Supreme Court to defend 39 slaves who had taken over the Spanish ship, the Amistad. These slaves took control of the ship as it made its way to from Cuba to Puerto Rico. The Amistad then sailed north to New York, where the ship was taken by the United States. Spain petitioned to have the slaves returned as property. Adams’ arguments were successful and the former slaves were free to return to Africa.
JQA was nicknamed “Old Man Eloquent” following a speech he gave castigating Daniel Webster for advocating too much power to the presidency. Even his enemies, the Democrats, loved this speech. Some of his writings regarding slavery were so inspiring, that Abraham Lincoln was said to have borrowed his ideas 30 years later.
Personal Life
JQA was harassed by his mother, Abigail, throughout her life. She constantly harangued him about improving his appearance and his slothful ways. Even when he was overseas with his father, she sent him letters of admonition. Nobody knows how this affected him, but when his mother lay on her deathbed in Quincy, JQA, now Secretary of State in Washington, did not go to her. He did not attend her funeral, either.
JQA was married to Louisa Catherine Johnson. She does not receive the historical attention of Martha Washington, Abigail Adams or Dolly Madison. However, she was a solid presence in his life and raised three sons.
He was plagued by depression throughout his life. The loss of two of his three sons -- one by suicide and the other by alcoholism — certainly didn’t help.
Was JQA the first (and maybe only) president with Asperger’s Syndrome? He was unquestionably one of the most brilliant of the presidents. He mastered anywhere from five to nine languages (accounts vary) including French, Dutch, Russian, Spanish, Italian, German, Greek, Latin, and of course English. Burleigh (2003) describes journalist Anne Royall’s first meeting with JQA. In Royall’s own words she writes: “He neither smiled nor frowned but regarded me with a calmness peculiar to him, awaited my business. He never smiled while I was in his company, it is a question with me whether he ever laughed in his life…”
ReferencesBurleigh, N. 2003. The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America’s Greatest Museum: The Smithsonian. RB Large Print. Prince Frederick, MD.
Nagel, P. 1997. John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, NY.
Remini, R.V. 2002. John Quincy Adams. Henry Holt and Company. New York, NY.
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