Born: July 11, 1767, in Braintree (now in Quincy), Massachusetts... John Quincy Adams, the first son of a president (John Adams) to be elected, was raised by his parents to attain the highest office in the land. As it turned out, the circumstances of his election created enemies that neutralized his presidency. Adams is now considered to have been one of America's greatest diplomats (before his presidency) and one of America's greatest congressmen (after his presidency) but not a particularly effective president.... Died: February 23, 1848, in Washington, D.C.

After graduating from Harvard College, he became a lawyer. At age 26 he was appointed Minister to the Netherlands, then promoted to the Berlin Legation. In 1802 he was elected to the United States Senate. Six years later President Madison appointed him Minister to Russia.

Adams was President Monroe's Secretary of State, arranging with England for the joint occupation of the Oregon country and obtaining from Spain the cession of the Floridas. He was the primary author of the Monroe Doctrine, negotiated the end of the War of 1812, and set policies regarding newly independent colonies in the Americas.

In the political tradition of the early 19th century, Adams as Secretary of State was considered the political heir to the Presidency. But the old ways of choosing a President were giving way in 1824 before the clamor for a popular choice.

Within the one and only party--the Republican--sectionalism and factionalism were developing, and each section put up its own candidate for the Presidency. Adams, the candidate of the North, fell behind Gen. Andrew Jackson in both popular and electoral votes, but received more than William H. Crawford and Henry Clay. Since no candidate had a majority of electoral votes, the election was decided among the top three by the House of Representatives. Clay, who favored a program similar to that of Adams, threw his crucial support in the House to the New Englander.

Upon becoming President, Adams appointed Clay as Secretary of State. Jackson and his angry followers charged that a "corrupt bargain" had taken place and immediately began their campaign to wrest the Presidency from Adams in 1828.

The campaign of 1828, in which his Jacksonian opponents charged him with corruption and public plunder, was an ordeal Adams did not easily bear. After his defeat he returned to Massachusetts, expecting to spend the remainder of his life enjoying his farm and his books. Adams believed that the United States should prosper as a national entity, with different regions specializing in different industries. In his first annual speech to Congress he called for federal projects like road and canal building, a national university and a national bank. The legislators balked at the perceived gall of such a narrowly elected president and pointed out the imbalance of regional aid and the opportunities for graft in Adams' proposal. At the end of his term, Adams signed a tariff bill into law -- called the "Tariff of Abominations" by its critics -- which protected American manufacturers but raised the prices on many goods, especially in the South. The tariff assured Adams would not be reelected and had repercussions for his successors.

Ironically, he accomplished little in the way of foreign policy during his presidency, in part because his previous activities settled so many issues and in part because of opposition from Andrew Jackson's congressional supporters who denied Adams the resources necessary to hire more diplomats.

In 1824 Andrew Jackson received more popular votes and more electoral college votes than any of the other three major candidates. Adams finished second. Yet Jackson lacked a full majority of electoral college votes. The decision to elect a president went to the House of Representatives, where Henry Clay threw his support behind Adams. Jackson supporters cried foul, especially after Adams appointed Clay his secretary of state, a post from which many previous presidents had ascended. The Jacksonians kept the pressure on Adams throughout his administration and in a rematch in 1828, Jackson won by a landslide.

The campaign of 1828, in which his Jacksonian opponents charged him with corruption and public plunder, was an ordeal Adams did not easily bear.

After his defeat, John Quincy Adams did not stay moping at home. He did what no other President has ever done; 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.

In 1846 a stroke of paralysis came to warn the old man that death was at hand. But he kept at his post. He had kept a diary for years, and the last words in it were these:

"A stout heart, a clear conscience, and never despair."

He was in his seat in Congress on February 21, 1848. He rose, with a paper in his hand, to address the Speaker, when he suddenly fell to the floor. He was picked up insensible. Paralysis had seized him again. When he came to himself he said, This is the end of earth. I am content."

They were his last words. He died two days later. They buried him under the church portal at Quincy, where the bodies of his father and mother lay.