Son of a revolutionary, father of a nation - John Quincy Adams was born to lead during one of the most transformative periods in American history. But his lifetime of monumental achievements and influences stretched far beyond his presidency. This compelling biography brings to vivid life the incredible journey of a true Renaissance man.
Born into Massachusett's elite in 1767, Adams had an insatiable thirst for knowledge instilled in him from a young age under the tutelage of his father John Adams and the other Founding Fathers. Witness his coming-of-age journey across revolutionary America and Europe as his precocious talents thrusted him into the heart of nation-shaping events like the Paris Peace Negotiations that ended the Revolutionary War.
Follow Adams's unprecedented rise to become one of America's first international statesmen and diplomats in Prussia and Russia under Presidents Washington and Madison. His foreign policy vision laid the foundations for the Monroe Doctrine and America's westward expansion. But it was as Secretary of State under President Monroe where Adams truly made his biggest mark negotiating the enormously consequential Adams-Onis Treaty that acquired Florida from Spain.
However, Adams's most arduous struggles and impressive accomplishments were still to come after fulfilling what he saw as his destiny - the Presidency. Witness his tenacious battle to win the intensely disputed 1824 election against Andrew Jackson despite winning the popular vote. Examine the triumphs and setbacks of his consequential single term as Commander-in-Chief that strived for progress on internal improvements, abolition, and more.
But undoubtedly John Quincy Adams's most remarkable contributions came after his presidency in one of the most improbable late-life pivots ever undertaken. Go behind the scenes of his 17-year crusade as a passionate congressman leading the fight against the "Gag Rules" to protect free speech against slavery - culminating in two days of riveting oration that essentially sealed his legacy as a leading voice for abolition.
Drawing from a wealth of correspondences, writings, and historical sources, this sweeping biography intimately explores the boundless curiosity, courageous fights, and unwavering integrity that drove America's consummate public servant and intellectual. With eloquent narration and novelistic storytelling, it paints a vivid portrait of this son of New England who traversed the world as a poet, lawyer, professor, and president before finishing as the moral conscience of the American republic. More than any other figure, John Quincy Adams exemplified the spirit of the self-made American.
