 |
John Quincy Adams
b. 11 Jul 1767, Braintree (now Quincy), Norfolk County, Massachusetts [1]
d. 23 Feb 1848, Washington, D.C. |
| Title: |
President of the United States |
| Term: |
4 Mar 1825 - 4 Mar 1829 |
| Chronology: |
9 Feb 1825, elected, session of the House of Representatives, House Chamber, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [2][3] |
|
4 Mar 1825,
commencement of term |
|
4 Mar 1825,
took an oath of office as President of the United States, inaugural ceremony as part of the special session of the Senate, House Chamber, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [4] |
|
4 Mar 1829,
expiration of term |
| Biography: |
| Eldest son of John Adams, President of the United States (4 Mar 1797 - 4 Mar 1801); received education at home; while accompanying his father to France, he attended a school in Paris; returned to the United States in 1779; left for Europe in 1780 and studied at the University of Leyden, Netherlands; at the age of 14, he was appointed private secretary to the U.S. minister to Russia (1781); lived in St. Petersburg until Oct 1782; studied at The Hague, Netherlands; upon his return to the United States, he entered Harvard College (1786), graduating in 1788; was admitted to the bar (1791); began to practice in Boston; published a series of essays on foreign policy and earned nomination as minister to the Netherlands (1794-1797); was appointed minister to Berlin (1797-1801); negotiated a treaty of amity and commerce with Prussia; was elected to the Senate, representing Massachusetts (1803-1808); appointed professor of rhetoric and belles-letters at Harvard College (1805); became connected with the Democratic party, opposing the Federalists; resigned his seat in the Senate (1808); was appointed minister to Russia (1808-1815); declined the appointment as associate justice of the Supreme Court (1811); was appointed a commissioner to negotiate a treaty of peace with Great Britain (1813); signed a treaty of peace (24 Dec 1814); was appointed minister to Great Britain (1815-1817); served as Secretary of State (1817-1825) in the administration of James Monroe; failed to win the majority of electoral votes at presidential elections of 1824, but he was aided by the influence of Henry Clay, and was elected President of the United States, receiving the majority in the House of Representatives (9 Feb 1825); called for strong national policies under executive leadership; used the Bank of the United States as an instrument of the national fiscal authority; promoted a national tariff to protect domestic industries; launched a broad programme of internal physical improvements, including highways, canals, and railways; was defeated for reelection (1828) by General Andrew Jackson; retired to his estate at Quincy (1829); was elected to the Congress, serving his term in 1831-1848. |
| Biographical sources: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (2005); Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents (1903), vol. 2. |
| Elections: |
| Candidate |
Electoral vote (1 Dec 1824) |
| Andrew Jackson |
99 |
| John Quincy Adams |
84 |
| William Harris Crawford |
41 |
| Henry Clay |
37 |
| total number of electors appointed |
261 |
| number of votes for a majority |
131 |
| Candidate |
House vote (9 Feb 1825) |
| John Quincy Adams |
13 |
| Andrew Jackson |
7 |
| William Harris Crawford |
4 |
|
| Electoral sources: Register of Debates, 18th Congress, 2nd Session, 526-527. |
| |
| [1] |
"Records of the Town of Braintree : 1640 to 1793", ed. by Samuel A. Bates (Randolph, Mass.: Daniel H. Huxford, 1886, web site), p. 829: "[15] <...> John Quincy Adams, Son of John Adams Esqr. & Abigail his wife was born July 11th. 1767." |
| [2] |
The electoral votes cast 1 Dec 1824 were counted at the joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives held in the House Chamber 12:00-14:30 9 Feb 1825. The counting revealed that no candidate had received a majority of the votes of all the electors appointed. The election then devolved to the House of Representatives, where each state was entitled to cast a single vote. |
| [3] |
Register of Debates, 18th Congress, 2nd Session, 526-527. |
| [4] |
Senate Journal, 18th Congress, 2nd Session, 273-280. |
| |
Image: portrait of John Quincy Adams by Thomas Sully, 1824. |
