I had this slim volume on hand for months to read on the bus when I had no other magazine or book and certainly enjoyed it.
My brief notes:
Preface. "It is essentially a biography of a family, thrown against the changing background of its times for a hundred and fifty years (v)" not a series of brief biographies. The author's research has been greatly aided by the fact that so many letters exist from the 1750s onward.
Prologue. "In America there is one family, and only one, that generation after generation has consistently and without interruption made contributions of the highest order to our history and civilization. After four generations of simple but public-spirited yeomen, following the primal migration from England, a something, we know not what, occurred in the blood or brain of the line and lifted it to a higher plane, from which it has never descended. The family story is an inspiring tale and a fascinating problem. That a farmer's son should become a President is, happily, no strange phenomenon in the great democracy, but it is strange indeed, that his descendants, for five generations, by public service in the highest of offices or by intellectual contributions, should remain leaders of the nation which their ancestor so conspicuously helped to found. This is the tale we have to tell (1)."
The Adams worked the land in Somersetshire, with nothing known of them before the 1609 marriage of Edith and Henry Adams. Times had become harder and it is unknown whether that or religious matters (or both) led them to sell up and emigrate to Massachusetts in 1636. It is not known why they chose New England, the Barbados alone drawing as many emigrants as did New England. Upon Henry's 1646 death he left an estate valued at 75 pounds sterling, half being real estate (Braintree) and the other improvements (including three beds). Henry's youngest son Joseph (1626-1694) ran a brewery on his farm, served as a selectman of Braintree, and had twelve kids. He was the father of Joseph (II) and of John (father of Sam Adams of the Revolution). Joseph (II) had three wives and eleven kids, served as selectman and constable, the second wife being well connected (daughter of a deacon). âA deacon was a highly important figure in the tiny village life of that day, and a budding ambition in the family for better things is shown by the fact that Joseph educated his oldest son at Harvard in order that he might become, as he did, a clergyman, which then spelled, locally, both political power and social prestige (3).â Joseph (II) left an estate of 350 pounds sterling and his second son was named John (1691-1660, estate of 1330 pounds sterling) who lived in Braintree and was a farmer, cobbler, selectman, constable, and Lt. in the militia who had married the daughter of Peter Boylston (M.D. in Brookline).
"Of their three children, the eldest, born October 19, 1735, was named John, for his father, and, fortunately for him, being the eldest was given a college education as Harvard (4)."
The author points out that there were considerable opportunities that other settlers took advantage of as self-made men while Boston increased in population from 3,000 to 15,000. However, "the four generations of Adamses, all doing their private and public duty well in the narrow sphere of their village, none had shown neither the ability or the ambition to take part in the larger life of the colony. Thus far the most important man they had produced was, in the third generation, a village pastor in New Hampshire [Joseph (III)], pastor for 68 years of Newington]. With the fifth generation, in the person of John Adams, historian, publicist diplomat, President of the United States, the family not only suddenly achieves national and international position, but maintains it in successive generations for two centuries (5)."
Despite his long study, the author cannot explain why this happened but he is pleased to 'explain this phenomenon.'
Youth.
"When in 1751, at sixteen years of age, young John began his studies at Harvard he was graded as fourteenth in a class of twenty-four, the grading being still, as was seating in church, arranged according to social position. As his grandson wrote, even this placing in the class, low as it was, was probably achieved rather from the pretensions of his maternal than his paternal ancestry. (9)." Upon graduation, he was in the top three and hired to be the Latin master at the Worcester grammar school. The author explains the influence of pastors in civil affairs was diminishing at this time as men of business enjoyed more respect and lawyers came to the fore. John soon began to read law (1756). "Even during his young bachelor days, until his marriage in 1764, he appears to have been incessantly at work reading and writing, with merely such hours off for recreation as any healthy young man would take (17)."
After passing the bar in Boston in 1758, he lived with his parents and practiced in Braintree. He purchased the home buildings and 35 acres of land from his brother in 1773. He had bought a bit of farmland before that but fees were so small that he made as much from framing as from the law in some years.
He married Abigail Smith in 1764, who was of a good family.
He continued to reside in Braintree until 1768, but practiced mostly in Boston. The author compares the situation of Massachusetts then to Alaska Territory today: no representation, someone must pay the costs of defense, and even if there were a couple of Alaskans voting in Congress, they would have virtually no influence against the large majority. The colonists could suggest no fair way to help the UK pay for the recent war and for ongoing defense costs, but their precious liberty would be lost if taxes were imposed by Parliament. So both sides had some justice. The colonists were willing to wait forever for a solution but the UK had debts to pay and passed the Stamp Act in March 1765. The boycott of using stamps ended lawyer work and Adams was one of three lawyers chosen by the General Court to put their arguments to reopen the court before the governor. Adams law work increased, he moved to Boston, and was busy. Gradually moving toward the Patriot side, he turned down a lucrative appointment from Governor Bernard so as not to be beholden to the government. The author offers evidence that Adams never felt a traditional loyalty to England, unlike many prosperous Bostonians. On the other hand, he abhorred the mob and had no interest in becoming a popular leader. He did assist the work of such troublemakers as Sam Adams.
Regarding his efforts to recover John Hancock's ship that had been seized for collection of duties, the author writes, "...in fighting for the rights of the unrepresented citizen, legislated for without being represented, Adams in 1768 was leading the most powerful current of thought of his day (27)." It had been business as usual for Massachusetts to avoid English decrees for 150 years. The author says Adams gained 'imperishable fame' in his defense of the Captain Preston and his troops (Boston Massacre).
The closing of Boston Harbor and other retaliatory acts by the British left Adams with little employment in 1774. He was one of those appointed as Massachusett's delegates to the First Continental Congress. The author notes that the road from Newburyport to Philadelphia was the only decent road in America and the only road with frequent commerce, stage coaches, etc. [August 10 departure of delegates from Boston to Philadelphia, arrival 19 days later.] This was the first such journey of a farmer's son who had already become more prominent than the three generations that preceeded him. The author says that Adams had already realized that Independence was the only solution but acted with respect and discretion with the other delegates.
He served in the Provincial Assembly and wrote troublemaking letters for the newspapers, etc. during the winter, and then was elected to the Second Continental Congress. It assembled after the battle at Concord. On his own volition, Adams arouse without previous preparation and nominated Washington to command the army. After a few days of discussion, Washington won unanimously. "North and South were indissolubly bound in the common cause through the personality of the only man who could possibly have been accepted by all sections (43)." The USN has always had a ship named the John Adams because of his insistence that a navy be established. Re: Independence, the author states, "...to him belongs the chief credit for, after long struggle, bought Congress to the point of making it (45)." His work done in Congress, Adams was planning on retiring to Boston when he suddenly found himself appointed to France and reluctantly took up this service.
Europe.
"He had every desire and incentive to resume his private life. He had no wish to visit Europe, and assuredly not in war time and as one of three commissioners who had already squabbled sufficiently among themselves (50)." JQ got to go with him. After wasting eighteen months 1778-1779, he returned to Boston. He was again appointed in late 1779, this time to sign treaties with the UK. "The astute French Minister, Vergennes, had no intention of raising up a powerful democracy overseas. Adams himself, in spite of his bitter opposition to England and friendship for France, sensed this, and feared to trust French protestations very far. He may not have been a diplomat, but he was a shrewd Yankee and he was not long in Paris with his commissions to negotiate a peace and a commercial treaty with his country's foes before he realized where he stood as to his country's friend, France (54)." Adams made no progress in France and relocated to the Netherlands and eventually obtain loans from them. The latter and his work on the treaty with the UK are lauded by the author, who notes JQ did similar good work with the Treaty of Ghent, and Charles Francis with the Alabama claims.
Abigail had to keep the homestead in Braintree going with few resources during all these years. Adams ended up serving as Minister to the Court of St. James until resigning in 1788.
America.
While certainly not as popular as Washington, Adams was respected and chosen Vice-President. "Owing to the delays of Congress, difficulties of communication, and unfamiliarity with the workings of the new governmental machinery, the first election held under the Constitution was a clumsy and bungled affair. In five states, because of lack of time, the electors were not chosen by the people but by the legislatures. Owing to a deadlock in the legislature of New York, that state chose no electors at all. Various odd methods were used in other states (77)."
The author cites Adam's forthright independence as making him the most influential presiding officer of the Senate ever during his first term. The second term was less productive as there were Hamilton's Federalists and Jefferson's Anti-Federalists. As VP Adams had made $5000 a year and Sec. of the Treasury Hamilton $3500; frugality was needed!
Hamilton sabotaged Adam's reelection in 1800. He did move into the Executive Mansion on 1 November 1800 and Abigail joined him.
"She wrote that she saw nothing but woods all the way from Baltimore, and, the road to the capital being nothing but a dirt path, the party were lost for hours and rescued by a stray Negro (113)." "Woods and malarial swamps extended in every direction. There were few buildings of any sort, and scarcely one between the White House and the Capitol, along what is now Pennsylvania Avenue. The streets were mere mud in which even ambssadorial carriages would get mired to the hubs and have to be abandoned by unhappy diplomats (113)."
The Second Generation: J.Q. Adams. pp. 99-192.
The author, who is no relation to the Adams, considers JQ to be the best of the lot because of his service in Congress.
He witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill beside his mother and was fortunate to travel to Europe with his father. They were Franklin's guests in Paris. JQ, being a very sharp teenager, remained to further his education after his father returned home.
At the age of twenty-seven years JQ served the Washington Administration as Minister to the Hague and rose each morning to read from six to nine (English, Dutch, Italian, French, and Latin). He served as Minister to Berlin under his father, Geo. Washington's 1797 letter urging that he have this duty because of his diplomatic skills, despite the appearance of nepotism.
JQ remained independent of party during his entire lifetime and thus steered a straight course guided by his beliefs when the Federalists and the Republicans divided. He was elected to the Massachusetts' Senate (1802, representing Boston) despite not following the dictates of party politics, which led to dissatisfaction.
"Up to this period of John Quincy's life there had been manifest only slightly that bitterness of spirit and invective that were later to be so characteristic. The ablest of all his race, before or since, his psychological position was perhaps the best. His father, eminent as he was, had been a self-made man, with all the psychological disadvantages of that character. John Quincy was not, in the same sense, self-made. He had been brought in contact from earliest childhood with what was best and most stimulating socially and intellectually, in Europe and America. On the other hand, he had not behind him that long family record and tradition that we shall find, to some extent, paralyzing the career of Henry. He touched earth, the soil, with his grandfather. But with his Washington life he was to be made aware of two inimical forces, the enmity against his father and the new spirit of party (114)."
President Madison appointed JQ Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia in 1809. He was hard pressed to live on the rather meagre salary paid and St. Petersburg was an expensive city to reside in, let alone to participate in the social season.
The author offers considerable detail about the Treaty of Ghent (1814), JQ being one of five American Commissioners. JQ and Henry Clay did not hit if off, the latter (War Hawk) sometimes wishing that the war continue. The UK Commissioners had to seek orders from London at every turn. The UK sought the navigation of the Mississippi and the US fishery rights of 1783.
Thus in the end Lord Liverpool's desire for peace prevailed. It had been opposed by Castlereagh but the possibility of war led to the treaty that did not address the objections to UK impressment of sailors and the like was signed.
JQ went to Paris to await the arrival of his family from St. Petersburg and thus they saw the return of Napoleon as Louis XVIII and his adherents fled.
JQ must have been one of the most well connected Americans of that time. "Lafayette came in from the country to see him and he renewed many of his old acquaintances (134)."
He went to London to serve two years as Minister but again the salary was inadequate to really represent the USA properly;it was a rich man's post.
Appointed Secretary of State by Pt. Monroe, the author emphasizes that the US was turning from having a lot of concern about European affairs to a high interest in developing the nation. The population residing west of the Allegheny Mountains in 1820 (2.5 million) was equal to the population of the entire country in 1790. The author mentions the growth in manufacturing and singles out John Jacob Astor, a not of English descent immigrant of 1784, was being a much different sort than the Livingtons, Madisons, Washingtons, etc. Monroe had balanced his cabinet, JQ representing New England. He served abroad so much and had not been interested in party politics, so he learned much from the example of Pt. Monroe.
The Florida Question is examined in detail by the author. The rest of the cabinet wanted to roast General Jackson for his precipitate moves against Spain when he chased marauding Indians into Florida and summarily shot two British agents who were fomenting trouble. The treaty with Onis, who actually did not have authority to negotiate, was not ratified by Spain until JQ pushed them, but he saw it through.
JQ had sufficient mathematical knowledge to fulfill the request of Congress for a Report Upon Weights and Measures that was well respected abroad but ignored in the USA.
Abigail Adams died in 1818 and the author notes that she was a steadying influence in his life, calming him down when he was beset by fools.
While he was pleased that his skills and his straight forward stands on issues earned him respect from many, "Adams was passionately ambitious. From his earliest youth he had looked forward to the possibility of a notable public career. It was in no sense an ignoble passion, and his ambition had never for a moment swerved him from his principles. Not only was the culminations of any great public career in America the Presidency, but in Adam's case--and here family history began to exert what was to be its more and more potent influence--the fact that his father had held that office would make any career falling short of that end appear less successful than his. When Adams had been appointed Secretary of State he had placed his foot on the rung next to the top of the ladder, as the post of Secretary had come to be considered as not only a necessary but as the inevitable step to the nomination as President (150)."
The author reveals some cracks in 'The Era of Good Feeling' because there was considerable jockeying for the 1824 nomination (Clay, Jackson, Crawford). JQ continued to follow his belief that "public office should be accepted but not striven for (151)." "Adams's stand, so far from being appreciated, became the nightmare of his own political followers, practical men, and gave enormous advantages to his competitors for the nomination who knew no such scruples as he did. Adams stuck to his principles, but, as he watched the orgy of wire-pulling and political manipulation by those seeking to obtain what he felt was justly his of right, bitterness entered his soul. It has been shown over and over in our history what strange changes the ambition for the Presidency, once it has taken possession of a man, will work in his mental or moral character. With Adams it served to screw up to an even higher tension the stoicism of his stern Puritanical code of ethics, but as he kept his will clenched and watched others using every resource of political office and power to outdistance him in the race he became soured and embittered (152)."
JQ stood fast against British designs on the Pacific Northwest and limited Russian claims. The latter was the reason for the Monroe Doctrine.
The Election of 1824 was marred by dastardly attacks in print and in speeches. D.C. 'swarmed' with men seeking preference as the House prepared to vote on February 9, 1825.
"To the end Adams maintained the same lofty, if impractical, attitude he had always had as a candidate for public office. He became, perhaps, a little more conciliatory in manner, but otherwise would not make a pledge or lift a finger to aid himself (157)."
The accusation that Clay was promised State in exchange for supporting Adams for president in the House is dismissed by the author. "Clay and Adams did not like each other, but Clay disliked Jackson far more, and from his own record in public life, from his abilities, and from the fact that he was one of the three leading candidates for President, it was natural that he should receive the next highest post in the government (157)."
The Presidency.
Adams term in office was very quiet, the emphasis among Americans continuing to be building up the nation. The Federalist Party was gone and the five contenders for the presidency in 1824 were all Republicans; thus all politicians were looking forward to the 1828 election. Except JQ, who even retained in office the previous appointees unless they blotted their copybook. He also was out of step with the changing times in seeing himself as elected to do the right things according to principles and not to obey the dictates of his constituents. He did support internal improvements, including a university and astronomical observatory.
JQ and Jackson had few differences in the questions of the positions to be taken by the national government but Jackson was very willing to play politics to win the election of 1828. JQ did not remove Postmaster General McLean, an active Jackson man, from his cabinet despite his disloyalty. "The history of his administration is in the main the story of the machinations of his political enemies (167)."
The outcome of the election of 1828 was obvious by that summer but the administration press and that supporting Jackson went hammer and tongs at each other, as did the respective politicians. Jackson refused the courtesy of meeting when Adams invited him to do so before the inauguration. The author notes that this was not the close of the administration but the end of an era.
After his term as President, JQ needed to earn some income and set about organizing his father's papers. "In September 1830, he was unexpectedly asked to allow his name to be voted on as a candidate for the House of Representatives from the farming district of Plymouth in which his home at Quincy was situated. He replied that, if the people asked him to, he would serve them, but 'I shall not ask their votes. I wish them to act their pleasure.' Of the 2565 votes in twenty-two towns, 1817 were cast for Adams and the rest scattered among several candidates. On taking his seat, Adams announced to his constituents that he would hold himself accountable to no party and to no section, and it was on these terms, honorable alike to him and to them, that they returned him year after year until his death in the very hall of Congress itself (175)." Congress was considered a step down to his son Charles Francis and others of his friends. But the author terms his service in the House to be:
The Great Years. pp.178-192.
The author believes JQ's acerbic words about some public policy and men to be caused by events being so far below the high standard he set for guiding the nation to success. The author substantiates this by JQ considering Jackson and Clay had not opposed nullification strongly enough but he was the principal defender of Jackson in the House over collecting funds due from France.
"Congress convened on the fifth of December [1831] and on the twelfth Adams presented fifteen petitions from Pennsylvania for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia (180)." The slavery issue heated by 1835 and while JQ was not an Abolitionist, he continued to present petitions (almost all not from his own constituents) until the Gag Rule (tabling such petitions) passed on 18 January 1836 (182 to 9). The author terms Adams' opposition to be "the great contest of his life, a struggle that was not limited to slavery, but that was waged for the constitutional rights of each and every citizen (183)." He fought on and it was rescinded 3 December 1845. (108-80)
"In February 1837, he asked the Speaker if the âgag' rule would apply to a petition from twenty-two persons who stated that they were slaves. Immediately the House was in a wild uproar, and motions to censure and even expel Adams were hurled at the Speaker from all sides (183)." [four days debate]
Adams was able to see that Smithson's bequest was employed properly and took charge of organizing the House when the Clerk blocked action. "He took active part in the debates on such matters as the tariff, the annexation of Texasâ¦(190)" and was called upon to travel and speak [but not in the South I would wager].
The Third Generation: Charles Francis Adams pp. 193-254.
This is mostly concerned with CF's years as US Minister to the Court of St. James where he strove to ensure that recognition of the CSA was withheld and that ships of war not be constructed in UK yards for the CSA. France was the other major European player in the question of recognition, with the Emperor Napoleon III favoring recognition as part of his plans to do mischief in Mexico. Lord Palmerston's government favored neutrality, with Lord John Russell, the Foreign Minister, being CF's usual contact.
CF received changing orders from Secretary of State Seward but he was able to act with circumspection so that there was not too much damage to Anglo-American relations. A major problem was that the Union losses in the field until the Battle of Gettysburg made it appear the CSA would prevail.
Many of the British Lords and Ladies and business interests favored the CSA but there was surprising support among millworkers who were out of work as they eventually finished up the bountiful harvest of 1860. The delay in stating that the civil war was to end slavery rather than just preserve the Union was problematic in the Europe. Adams notes that $12 million dollars was raised in the UK to assist destitute millworkers who had lost $50 million dollars in wages (243).
There are also several pages dealing with the Third Generation's finding their place in life, including CF's becoming an antislavery man, but not joining the most vocal activists. There were Cotton Whigs and Conscience Whigs. There are details on the CSA Alabama claims, CF serving as the US Commissioner.
Most interesting to me is CF's visit to the Executive Mansion (where CF had lived for three years during his father's presidency and seen Pt. JQ Adams do his duties) to meet Pt. Lincoln and obtain instructions from him before departing for London. "In the room which he knew so well, as he often described the scene later, a door opened, and a tall, uncouth, shabbily dressed man in worn slippers entered. It was Mr. Lincoln. The Secretary of State introduced the new Minister, who made the usual brief and dignified speech of appreciation of the confidence bestowed upon him. Lincoln, while they seated themselves, listened in abstracted silence, and then replied carelessly that he had not made the appointment and that Adams should thank 'Governor Seward'; then, lying back in his chair, stretching out his long legs and folding his hands behind his head, he remarked, 'Well, Governor, I've this morning decided that Chicago post-office appointment.' That was all. Not only was the Minister dismissed, but also every thought of a foreign policy. Lincoln had no idea that anything further was expected from him. Adams never wholly recovered from the shock, and the sudden dismay at what seemed the revelation of complete unfitness for his office on the part of the President remained with him for years. Sumter fired on, the nation in civil war, the relations with foreign nations, particularly England of the utmost importance, and a country bumpkin at the head of the government dismissing the Minister to discuss post-office appointments (210-211)."
The Fourth Generation. pp. 255-296
Much of this is concerned with Henry Adams, with the author giving
high praise to various theories he espoused as did his brother Brooks. The author finds them to have been prescient in many ways.
My brief notes:
Preface. "It is essentially a biography of a family, thrown against the changing background of its times for a hundred and fifty years (v)" not a series of brief biographies. The author's research has been greatly aided by the fact that so many letters exist from the 1750s onward.
Prologue. "In America there is one family, and only one, that generation after generation has consistently and without interruption made contributions of the highest order to our history and civilization. After four generations of simple but public-spirited yeomen, following the primal migration from England, a something, we know not what, occurred in the blood or brain of the line and lifted it to a higher plane, from which it has never descended. The family story is an inspiring tale and a fascinating problem. That a farmer's son should become a President is, happily, no strange phenomenon in the great democracy, but it is strange indeed, that his descendants, for five generations, by public service in the highest of offices or by intellectual contributions, should remain leaders of the nation which their ancestor so conspicuously helped to found. This is the tale we have to tell (1)."
The Adams worked the land in Somersetshire, with nothing known of them before the 1609 marriage of Edith and Henry Adams. Times had become harder and it is unknown whether that or religious matters (or both) led them to sell up and emigrate to Massachusetts in 1636. It is not known why they chose New England, the Barbados alone drawing as many emigrants as did New England. Upon Henry's 1646 death he left an estate valued at 75 pounds sterling, half being real estate (Braintree) and the other improvements (including three beds). Henry's youngest son Joseph (1626-1694) ran a brewery on his farm, served as a selectman of Braintree, and had twelve kids. He was the father of Joseph (II) and of John (father of Sam Adams of the Revolution). Joseph (II) had three wives and eleven kids, served as selectman and constable, the second wife being well connected (daughter of a deacon). âA deacon was a highly important figure in the tiny village life of that day, and a budding ambition in the family for better things is shown by the fact that Joseph educated his oldest son at Harvard in order that he might become, as he did, a clergyman, which then spelled, locally, both political power and social prestige (3).â Joseph (II) left an estate of 350 pounds sterling and his second son was named John (1691-1660, estate of 1330 pounds sterling) who lived in Braintree and was a farmer, cobbler, selectman, constable, and Lt. in the militia who had married the daughter of Peter Boylston (M.D. in Brookline).
"Of their three children, the eldest, born October 19, 1735, was named John, for his father, and, fortunately for him, being the eldest was given a college education as Harvard (4)."
The author points out that there were considerable opportunities that other settlers took advantage of as self-made men while Boston increased in population from 3,000 to 15,000. However, "the four generations of Adamses, all doing their private and public duty well in the narrow sphere of their village, none had shown neither the ability or the ambition to take part in the larger life of the colony. Thus far the most important man they had produced was, in the third generation, a village pastor in New Hampshire [Joseph (III)], pastor for 68 years of Newington]. With the fifth generation, in the person of John Adams, historian, publicist diplomat, President of the United States, the family not only suddenly achieves national and international position, but maintains it in successive generations for two centuries (5)."
Despite his long study, the author cannot explain why this happened but he is pleased to 'explain this phenomenon.'
Youth.
"When in 1751, at sixteen years of age, young John began his studies at Harvard he was graded as fourteenth in a class of twenty-four, the grading being still, as was seating in church, arranged according to social position. As his grandson wrote, even this placing in the class, low as it was, was probably achieved rather from the pretensions of his maternal than his paternal ancestry. (9)." Upon graduation, he was in the top three and hired to be the Latin master at the Worcester grammar school. The author explains the influence of pastors in civil affairs was diminishing at this time as men of business enjoyed more respect and lawyers came to the fore. John soon began to read law (1756). "Even during his young bachelor days, until his marriage in 1764, he appears to have been incessantly at work reading and writing, with merely such hours off for recreation as any healthy young man would take (17)."
After passing the bar in Boston in 1758, he lived with his parents and practiced in Braintree. He purchased the home buildings and 35 acres of land from his brother in 1773. He had bought a bit of farmland before that but fees were so small that he made as much from framing as from the law in some years.
He married Abigail Smith in 1764, who was of a good family.
He continued to reside in Braintree until 1768, but practiced mostly in Boston. The author compares the situation of Massachusetts then to Alaska Territory today: no representation, someone must pay the costs of defense, and even if there were a couple of Alaskans voting in Congress, they would have virtually no influence against the large majority. The colonists could suggest no fair way to help the UK pay for the recent war and for ongoing defense costs, but their precious liberty would be lost if taxes were imposed by Parliament. So both sides had some justice. The colonists were willing to wait forever for a solution but the UK had debts to pay and passed the Stamp Act in March 1765. The boycott of using stamps ended lawyer work and Adams was one of three lawyers chosen by the General Court to put their arguments to reopen the court before the governor. Adams law work increased, he moved to Boston, and was busy. Gradually moving toward the Patriot side, he turned down a lucrative appointment from Governor Bernard so as not to be beholden to the government. The author offers evidence that Adams never felt a traditional loyalty to England, unlike many prosperous Bostonians. On the other hand, he abhorred the mob and had no interest in becoming a popular leader. He did assist the work of such troublemakers as Sam Adams.
Regarding his efforts to recover John Hancock's ship that had been seized for collection of duties, the author writes, "...in fighting for the rights of the unrepresented citizen, legislated for without being represented, Adams in 1768 was leading the most powerful current of thought of his day (27)." It had been business as usual for Massachusetts to avoid English decrees for 150 years. The author says Adams gained 'imperishable fame' in his defense of the Captain Preston and his troops (Boston Massacre).
The closing of Boston Harbor and other retaliatory acts by the British left Adams with little employment in 1774. He was one of those appointed as Massachusett's delegates to the First Continental Congress. The author notes that the road from Newburyport to Philadelphia was the only decent road in America and the only road with frequent commerce, stage coaches, etc. [August 10 departure of delegates from Boston to Philadelphia, arrival 19 days later.] This was the first such journey of a farmer's son who had already become more prominent than the three generations that preceeded him. The author says that Adams had already realized that Independence was the only solution but acted with respect and discretion with the other delegates.
He served in the Provincial Assembly and wrote troublemaking letters for the newspapers, etc. during the winter, and then was elected to the Second Continental Congress. It assembled after the battle at Concord. On his own volition, Adams arouse without previous preparation and nominated Washington to command the army. After a few days of discussion, Washington won unanimously. "North and South were indissolubly bound in the common cause through the personality of the only man who could possibly have been accepted by all sections (43)." The USN has always had a ship named the John Adams because of his insistence that a navy be established. Re: Independence, the author states, "...to him belongs the chief credit for, after long struggle, bought Congress to the point of making it (45)." His work done in Congress, Adams was planning on retiring to Boston when he suddenly found himself appointed to France and reluctantly took up this service.
Europe.
"He had every desire and incentive to resume his private life. He had no wish to visit Europe, and assuredly not in war time and as one of three commissioners who had already squabbled sufficiently among themselves (50)." JQ got to go with him. After wasting eighteen months 1778-1779, he returned to Boston. He was again appointed in late 1779, this time to sign treaties with the UK. "The astute French Minister, Vergennes, had no intention of raising up a powerful democracy overseas. Adams himself, in spite of his bitter opposition to England and friendship for France, sensed this, and feared to trust French protestations very far. He may not have been a diplomat, but he was a shrewd Yankee and he was not long in Paris with his commissions to negotiate a peace and a commercial treaty with his country's foes before he realized where he stood as to his country's friend, France (54)." Adams made no progress in France and relocated to the Netherlands and eventually obtain loans from them. The latter and his work on the treaty with the UK are lauded by the author, who notes JQ did similar good work with the Treaty of Ghent, and Charles Francis with the Alabama claims.
Abigail had to keep the homestead in Braintree going with few resources during all these years. Adams ended up serving as Minister to the Court of St. James until resigning in 1788.
America.
While certainly not as popular as Washington, Adams was respected and chosen Vice-President. "Owing to the delays of Congress, difficulties of communication, and unfamiliarity with the workings of the new governmental machinery, the first election held under the Constitution was a clumsy and bungled affair. In five states, because of lack of time, the electors were not chosen by the people but by the legislatures. Owing to a deadlock in the legislature of New York, that state chose no electors at all. Various odd methods were used in other states (77)."
The author cites Adam's forthright independence as making him the most influential presiding officer of the Senate ever during his first term. The second term was less productive as there were Hamilton's Federalists and Jefferson's Anti-Federalists. As VP Adams had made $5000 a year and Sec. of the Treasury Hamilton $3500; frugality was needed!
Hamilton sabotaged Adam's reelection in 1800. He did move into the Executive Mansion on 1 November 1800 and Abigail joined him.
"She wrote that she saw nothing but woods all the way from Baltimore, and, the road to the capital being nothing but a dirt path, the party were lost for hours and rescued by a stray Negro (113)." "Woods and malarial swamps extended in every direction. There were few buildings of any sort, and scarcely one between the White House and the Capitol, along what is now Pennsylvania Avenue. The streets were mere mud in which even ambssadorial carriages would get mired to the hubs and have to be abandoned by unhappy diplomats (113)."
The Second Generation: J.Q. Adams. pp. 99-192.
The author, who is no relation to the Adams, considers JQ to be the best of the lot because of his service in Congress.
He witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill beside his mother and was fortunate to travel to Europe with his father. They were Franklin's guests in Paris. JQ, being a very sharp teenager, remained to further his education after his father returned home.
At the age of twenty-seven years JQ served the Washington Administration as Minister to the Hague and rose each morning to read from six to nine (English, Dutch, Italian, French, and Latin). He served as Minister to Berlin under his father, Geo. Washington's 1797 letter urging that he have this duty because of his diplomatic skills, despite the appearance of nepotism.
JQ remained independent of party during his entire lifetime and thus steered a straight course guided by his beliefs when the Federalists and the Republicans divided. He was elected to the Massachusetts' Senate (1802, representing Boston) despite not following the dictates of party politics, which led to dissatisfaction.
"Up to this period of John Quincy's life there had been manifest only slightly that bitterness of spirit and invective that were later to be so characteristic. The ablest of all his race, before or since, his psychological position was perhaps the best. His father, eminent as he was, had been a self-made man, with all the psychological disadvantages of that character. John Quincy was not, in the same sense, self-made. He had been brought in contact from earliest childhood with what was best and most stimulating socially and intellectually, in Europe and America. On the other hand, he had not behind him that long family record and tradition that we shall find, to some extent, paralyzing the career of Henry. He touched earth, the soil, with his grandfather. But with his Washington life he was to be made aware of two inimical forces, the enmity against his father and the new spirit of party (114)."
President Madison appointed JQ Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia in 1809. He was hard pressed to live on the rather meagre salary paid and St. Petersburg was an expensive city to reside in, let alone to participate in the social season.
The author offers considerable detail about the Treaty of Ghent (1814), JQ being one of five American Commissioners. JQ and Henry Clay did not hit if off, the latter (War Hawk) sometimes wishing that the war continue. The UK Commissioners had to seek orders from London at every turn. The UK sought the navigation of the Mississippi and the US fishery rights of 1783.
Thus in the end Lord Liverpool's desire for peace prevailed. It had been opposed by Castlereagh but the possibility of war led to the treaty that did not address the objections to UK impressment of sailors and the like was signed.
JQ went to Paris to await the arrival of his family from St. Petersburg and thus they saw the return of Napoleon as Louis XVIII and his adherents fled.
JQ must have been one of the most well connected Americans of that time. "Lafayette came in from the country to see him and he renewed many of his old acquaintances (134)."
He went to London to serve two years as Minister but again the salary was inadequate to really represent the USA properly;it was a rich man's post.
Appointed Secretary of State by Pt. Monroe, the author emphasizes that the US was turning from having a lot of concern about European affairs to a high interest in developing the nation. The population residing west of the Allegheny Mountains in 1820 (2.5 million) was equal to the population of the entire country in 1790. The author mentions the growth in manufacturing and singles out John Jacob Astor, a not of English descent immigrant of 1784, was being a much different sort than the Livingtons, Madisons, Washingtons, etc. Monroe had balanced his cabinet, JQ representing New England. He served abroad so much and had not been interested in party politics, so he learned much from the example of Pt. Monroe.
The Florida Question is examined in detail by the author. The rest of the cabinet wanted to roast General Jackson for his precipitate moves against Spain when he chased marauding Indians into Florida and summarily shot two British agents who were fomenting trouble. The treaty with Onis, who actually did not have authority to negotiate, was not ratified by Spain until JQ pushed them, but he saw it through.
JQ had sufficient mathematical knowledge to fulfill the request of Congress for a Report Upon Weights and Measures that was well respected abroad but ignored in the USA.
Abigail Adams died in 1818 and the author notes that she was a steadying influence in his life, calming him down when he was beset by fools.
While he was pleased that his skills and his straight forward stands on issues earned him respect from many, "Adams was passionately ambitious. From his earliest youth he had looked forward to the possibility of a notable public career. It was in no sense an ignoble passion, and his ambition had never for a moment swerved him from his principles. Not only was the culminations of any great public career in America the Presidency, but in Adam's case--and here family history began to exert what was to be its more and more potent influence--the fact that his father had held that office would make any career falling short of that end appear less successful than his. When Adams had been appointed Secretary of State he had placed his foot on the rung next to the top of the ladder, as the post of Secretary had come to be considered as not only a necessary but as the inevitable step to the nomination as President (150)."
The author reveals some cracks in 'The Era of Good Feeling' because there was considerable jockeying for the 1824 nomination (Clay, Jackson, Crawford). JQ continued to follow his belief that "public office should be accepted but not striven for (151)." "Adams's stand, so far from being appreciated, became the nightmare of his own political followers, practical men, and gave enormous advantages to his competitors for the nomination who knew no such scruples as he did. Adams stuck to his principles, but, as he watched the orgy of wire-pulling and political manipulation by those seeking to obtain what he felt was justly his of right, bitterness entered his soul. It has been shown over and over in our history what strange changes the ambition for the Presidency, once it has taken possession of a man, will work in his mental or moral character. With Adams it served to screw up to an even higher tension the stoicism of his stern Puritanical code of ethics, but as he kept his will clenched and watched others using every resource of political office and power to outdistance him in the race he became soured and embittered (152)."
JQ stood fast against British designs on the Pacific Northwest and limited Russian claims. The latter was the reason for the Monroe Doctrine.
The Election of 1824 was marred by dastardly attacks in print and in speeches. D.C. 'swarmed' with men seeking preference as the House prepared to vote on February 9, 1825.
"To the end Adams maintained the same lofty, if impractical, attitude he had always had as a candidate for public office. He became, perhaps, a little more conciliatory in manner, but otherwise would not make a pledge or lift a finger to aid himself (157)."
The accusation that Clay was promised State in exchange for supporting Adams for president in the House is dismissed by the author. "Clay and Adams did not like each other, but Clay disliked Jackson far more, and from his own record in public life, from his abilities, and from the fact that he was one of the three leading candidates for President, it was natural that he should receive the next highest post in the government (157)."
The Presidency.
Adams term in office was very quiet, the emphasis among Americans continuing to be building up the nation. The Federalist Party was gone and the five contenders for the presidency in 1824 were all Republicans; thus all politicians were looking forward to the 1828 election. Except JQ, who even retained in office the previous appointees unless they blotted their copybook. He also was out of step with the changing times in seeing himself as elected to do the right things according to principles and not to obey the dictates of his constituents. He did support internal improvements, including a university and astronomical observatory.
JQ and Jackson had few differences in the questions of the positions to be taken by the national government but Jackson was very willing to play politics to win the election of 1828. JQ did not remove Postmaster General McLean, an active Jackson man, from his cabinet despite his disloyalty. "The history of his administration is in the main the story of the machinations of his political enemies (167)."
The outcome of the election of 1828 was obvious by that summer but the administration press and that supporting Jackson went hammer and tongs at each other, as did the respective politicians. Jackson refused the courtesy of meeting when Adams invited him to do so before the inauguration. The author notes that this was not the close of the administration but the end of an era.
After his term as President, JQ needed to earn some income and set about organizing his father's papers. "In September 1830, he was unexpectedly asked to allow his name to be voted on as a candidate for the House of Representatives from the farming district of Plymouth in which his home at Quincy was situated. He replied that, if the people asked him to, he would serve them, but 'I shall not ask their votes. I wish them to act their pleasure.' Of the 2565 votes in twenty-two towns, 1817 were cast for Adams and the rest scattered among several candidates. On taking his seat, Adams announced to his constituents that he would hold himself accountable to no party and to no section, and it was on these terms, honorable alike to him and to them, that they returned him year after year until his death in the very hall of Congress itself (175)." Congress was considered a step down to his son Charles Francis and others of his friends. But the author terms his service in the House to be:
The Great Years. pp.178-192.
The author believes JQ's acerbic words about some public policy and men to be caused by events being so far below the high standard he set for guiding the nation to success. The author substantiates this by JQ considering Jackson and Clay had not opposed nullification strongly enough but he was the principal defender of Jackson in the House over collecting funds due from France.
"Congress convened on the fifth of December [1831] and on the twelfth Adams presented fifteen petitions from Pennsylvania for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia (180)." The slavery issue heated by 1835 and while JQ was not an Abolitionist, he continued to present petitions (almost all not from his own constituents) until the Gag Rule (tabling such petitions) passed on 18 January 1836 (182 to 9). The author terms Adams' opposition to be "the great contest of his life, a struggle that was not limited to slavery, but that was waged for the constitutional rights of each and every citizen (183)." He fought on and it was rescinded 3 December 1845. (108-80)
"In February 1837, he asked the Speaker if the âgag' rule would apply to a petition from twenty-two persons who stated that they were slaves. Immediately the House was in a wild uproar, and motions to censure and even expel Adams were hurled at the Speaker from all sides (183)." [four days debate]
Adams was able to see that Smithson's bequest was employed properly and took charge of organizing the House when the Clerk blocked action. "He took active part in the debates on such matters as the tariff, the annexation of Texasâ¦(190)" and was called upon to travel and speak [but not in the South I would wager].
The Third Generation: Charles Francis Adams pp. 193-254.
This is mostly concerned with CF's years as US Minister to the Court of St. James where he strove to ensure that recognition of the CSA was withheld and that ships of war not be constructed in UK yards for the CSA. France was the other major European player in the question of recognition, with the Emperor Napoleon III favoring recognition as part of his plans to do mischief in Mexico. Lord Palmerston's government favored neutrality, with Lord John Russell, the Foreign Minister, being CF's usual contact.
CF received changing orders from Secretary of State Seward but he was able to act with circumspection so that there was not too much damage to Anglo-American relations. A major problem was that the Union losses in the field until the Battle of Gettysburg made it appear the CSA would prevail.
Many of the British Lords and Ladies and business interests favored the CSA but there was surprising support among millworkers who were out of work as they eventually finished up the bountiful harvest of 1860. The delay in stating that the civil war was to end slavery rather than just preserve the Union was problematic in the Europe. Adams notes that $12 million dollars was raised in the UK to assist destitute millworkers who had lost $50 million dollars in wages (243).
There are also several pages dealing with the Third Generation's finding their place in life, including CF's becoming an antislavery man, but not joining the most vocal activists. There were Cotton Whigs and Conscience Whigs. There are details on the CSA Alabama claims, CF serving as the US Commissioner.
Most interesting to me is CF's visit to the Executive Mansion (where CF had lived for three years during his father's presidency and seen Pt. JQ Adams do his duties) to meet Pt. Lincoln and obtain instructions from him before departing for London. "In the room which he knew so well, as he often described the scene later, a door opened, and a tall, uncouth, shabbily dressed man in worn slippers entered. It was Mr. Lincoln. The Secretary of State introduced the new Minister, who made the usual brief and dignified speech of appreciation of the confidence bestowed upon him. Lincoln, while they seated themselves, listened in abstracted silence, and then replied carelessly that he had not made the appointment and that Adams should thank 'Governor Seward'; then, lying back in his chair, stretching out his long legs and folding his hands behind his head, he remarked, 'Well, Governor, I've this morning decided that Chicago post-office appointment.' That was all. Not only was the Minister dismissed, but also every thought of a foreign policy. Lincoln had no idea that anything further was expected from him. Adams never wholly recovered from the shock, and the sudden dismay at what seemed the revelation of complete unfitness for his office on the part of the President remained with him for years. Sumter fired on, the nation in civil war, the relations with foreign nations, particularly England of the utmost importance, and a country bumpkin at the head of the government dismissing the Minister to discuss post-office appointments (210-211)."
The Fourth Generation. pp. 255-296
Much of this is concerned with Henry Adams, with the author giving
high praise to various theories he espoused as did his brother Brooks. The author finds them to have been prescient in many ways.
