John quincy adams presidential biography outline
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John Quincy Adams
Born in to one of the most consequential early American political families, John Quincy Adams became one of the most controversial Presidents of the first years of American nationhood. He was also a skilled diplomat and Secretary of State, a Senator and a member of the United States House of Representatives.
During the American Revolution, young Adams journeyed to Europe with his father, John Adams, to assist with secretarial work and early diplomacy for the United States. Later returning to North America, John Quincy Adams attended and graduated from Harvard in and passed the Massachusetts Bar three years later in He began his political career shortly after being appointed to several key diplomatic posts to represent the United States. His first post was the Prussian capital in Berlin where he remained from to , followed by an appointment to the Russian court from to , and finally to Great Britain from till Between
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John Quincy Adams: Life in Brief
Reared for public service, John Quincy Adams became one of the nation's preeminent secretaries of state but proved the wrong man for the presidency. Aloof, stubborn, and ferociously independent, he failed to develop the support he needed in Washington, even among his own party. Faced throughout his term with organized opposition from the Democrats—who were committed to limiting Adams to a single term and replacing him with Andrew Jackson—Adams refused to forge the political alliances necessary to push his ideas into policy. His father, President John Adams, had also ignored the political side of the office and served only one term. History repeated itself with his son: John Quincy Adams lost his reelection bid to Jackson in
Worldly Upbringing
John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, , the son of a father who would serve in the Continental Congress and helped draft the Declaration of Independence. When John Quincy was ten, his father was posted t
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Biographies of the Secretaries of State: John Quincy Adams (–)
Influence on American Diplomacy
Adams’ unsurpassed diplomatic career addressed the major utländsk policy challenges of his time. President George Washington appointed him U.S. Minister Resident to the Netherlands in After serving three years in the Netherlands, Adams became U.S. Minister Resident to Prussia from to , appointed this time by his father.
President James Madison appointed Adams U.S. Minister to Russia in , and Adams served until He duly reported on Napoleon’s failed invasion, among other events. Adams headed the Commission that negotiated the Treaty of Ghent in , which ended the War of with Great Britain. His placement as U.S. Minister to Great Britain from to insured that he would be central to the ongoing efforts to improve Anglo-American relations. He concluded the Commercial Convention of , which included a mutual import non-discrimination measure that would serve as a model for future trade agreem