Many, many years ago, a grave-faced little child, five or six years old, might have been seen in Boston, looking with startled eyes on the red-coated soldiers as they marched through the streets; or listening in his father's house to the loud talk, that he did not understand, about England and King George and the Tea Party and other subjects of anger. A few years later this boy and his mother climbed to a hill-top in Braintree, where they then lived, and from there saw a terrible sight, for red flames and dark smoke were bursting from the warships in the harbor, and the roar of cannon came sounding far across the water. They saw great sheets of fire mount high into the air, for the wooden houses of Charlestown were burning furiously, and on Bunker Hill, ten miles away, the flash of shots could be seen. The first great battle in the American Revolution was being fought, and the British were learning that the Yankee farmers could fight.
After the British left Boston, this little fellow, still only nine years old, used to ride on horseback into the city to bring back to his mother the latest news. It was twenty-two miles going and coming, which was a pretty long ride for a boy of that age.
The boy we are speaking of was the oldest son of John Adams, the great patriot, who was then in the Congress at Philadelphia, helping with the famous Declaration of Independence. The boy had been born on July 1767, in the old Adams home at Braintree. When he was baptized his mother's great-grandfather, John Quincy, lay dying, and the child was given his name. So he is known to us as John Quincy Adams. A great destiny awaited him, for, like his father, he was to become President of the United States. A grave, thoughtful little boy he was, one who would rather hear the old folks talk than play with his schoolmates, and who was to do the work of a man long before he ceased being a boy. Like his father, he was honest in grain, and like his father, he was fearless and obstinate. To the day of his death, nothing could scare him, and nothing could turn him from his course. He was the true son of his father.
The boy began life in the great world early. He was just past ten years of age when his father was sent by his country to France, and took him along. Here little John was sent to school and put to studying French. He learned a good deal more, for when they came back, a year and a half later, we find the boy giving lessons in English to the French ambassador, who was on board the ship. He was a severe teacher, too. He would stand no idleness. And he showed so much learning that the ambassador stared at him in wonder. The boy of twelve was more than half a man already.
"He is a better teacher than you are," said the ambassador to Mr. Adams.
They did not stay home long. In three months John Adams was sent back again, and once more he took his son along. This time the boy saw more of the world, for his father traveled from Paris to Holland and met many of the leading people. Young John Quincy must have shown himself wonderfully bright, for he was in public service himself before he was fourteen years old.
In 1785, before John Quincy was eighteen, his father was appointed Minister to England. The boy had then lived seven years in Europe. He liked foreign travel; he liked the life in courts; it would be pleasant to see and talk with the famous men of England. And his mother had come to London, which made that city like home to him. Here was a charming prospect, which most boys would have jumped to take.
But John Quincy Adams was not a boy of that sort He knew he had only half an education. And when his parents gave him the choice to stay in London with them or go to America and enter Harvard College, it did not take him long to decide. He felt that he had his own way to make in the world, and to loiter about London was not the way to prepare for that, no matter how pleasant it might be. So home he came, entered college, and graduated with honor in 1787, then studied law, and began to practice when he was twenty-three years old.
His political career in America began in 1802, when he was elected to the Senate of Massachusetts. The next year he was sent to the Senate of the United States. He was a Federalist and the Democrats were in power, and things were made lively for him. He had to fight his political foes, and when he supported some of Jefferson's measures his own party bitterly blamed him. He was between two fires, and it took all his sturdy honesty and obstinate spirit to hold his own between the opposite forces.
He supported the Louisiana Purchase, which his own party opposed. He supported other acts which he thought good ones, and they thought bad ones. The worst of all was the Embargo Act, which cut off commerce with England. When Adams voted for that the Federalists were wild with anger. They called him "traitor," and "renegade," and nominated his successor to the Senate in an insulting way. Adams was not the man to stay where he was not wanted, and at once he resigned.
In 1824 a new President was to be elected. Four men were named, Andrew Jackson, the great soldier; John Quincy Adams, the great diplomatist; Henry Clay, the great statesman; and William H. Crawford, the late Secretary of the Treasury. Jackson was the popular favorite and got the largest number of votes. But he did not get a majority of them all, and the election was thrown into the House of Representatives. They chose Adams, who then became President of the United States.
The four year term for John Quincy Adams, was a rather uneventfull presidentcy. His real work in the founding of this country came following his term as the renouned statesman and diplomat. he went back to Congress. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1830, and remained there until his death in 1848. And he played a prominent part there. The great slavery contest came on and Adams made himself the champion of the Anti-Slavery party. He was not a handsome man, with his bald head and short figure. He was not a graceful orator. His voice was high and shrill, and had no rich, deep tones. But he had something to say, and he said it in a way that won him the title of " the old man eloquent."
For years he kept the slavery question alive. The Southern members tried in vain to stop his voice, but nothing could check him. Hundreds of anti-slavery petitions were sent to Congress. Nobody but Adams was ready to present them, but he continued to do so in spite of all the anger he met and the savage clamor around him. Those were days when it needed a strong man in Congress to face the passionate Southern members. Adams was that man. The determination and strength of John Quincy Adams helped abolish slavery and prohibited anyone, regardless of color to become a slave if they were born on US soil.
What is just as amazing if not more is the man who instilled the strength and courage in that boy and helped create the man in which he became. Yes that would be none other than John Adams himself. A man whose independant spirit, commitment to personal liberty, and respect for the rule of law, profoundly influenced the values on which our country was founded. John Adams has never received the attention he so justly deserves. His Life and his accomplishments were amazing to say the least. The deeply rooted values were witnessed throughout his life and that of his sons.
Step back in time and read their stories. The lessons learned from these amazing men will change the way in which you look at life, liberty, and your pursuit for happiness.
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