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Dear Reader:

The Childhood of Famous Americans series, seventy years old in 2002, chronicles the early years of famous American men and women in an accessible manner. Each book is faithful in spirit to the values and experiences that influenced the person¹s development. History is fleshed out with fictionalized details, and conversations have been added to make the stories come alive to today¹s reader, but every reasonable effort has been made to make the stories consistent with the events, ethics, and character of their subjects.

These books reaffirm the importance of our American heritage. We hope you learn to love the heroes and heroines who helped shape this great country. And by doing so, we hope you also develop a lasting love for the nation that gave them the opportunity to make their dreams come true. It will do the same for you.

Happy Reading!

The Editors

Customer Reviews (2)

Another Great Reader
Just an outstanding history for children to dig into.We have a 7 and a 9 year old that love these series.

Wonderful series of books
The Childhood of Famous American series are excellent tools to help kids learn about history and great people who have lived.My 11 year old son and 9 year old daughter have both enjoyed reading these books, and now have some admirable heros to look up to!After reading about Thomas Jefferson, my son said--I hope I can become a great man someday!So, both educational, and inspirational! Easy reading that is appealing to children. ... Read more

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Following his single term as President of the United States (1825-1829), John Quincy Adams, embittered by his loss to Andrew Jackson, boycotted his successor's inauguration, just as his father John Adams had done (the only two presidents ever to do so). Rather than retire, the sixty-two-year-old former president, U.S. senator, secretary of state, and Harvard professor was elected by his Massachusetts friends and neighbors to the House of Representatives to throw off the "incubus of Jacksonianism." It was the opening chapter in what was arguably the most remarkable post-presidency in American history.

In this engaging biography, historian Joseph Wheelan describes Adams's battles against the House Gag Rule that banished abolition petitions; the removal of Eastern Indian tribes; and the annexation of slave-holding Texas, while recounting his efforts to establish the Smithsonian Institution. As a "man of the whole country," Adams was not bound by political party, yet was reelected to the House eight times before collapsing at his "post of duty" on February 21, 1848, and then dying in the House Speaker's office. His funeral evoked the greatest public outpouring since Benjamin Franklin's death.Mr. Adams's Last Crusade will enlighten and delight anyone interested in American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

A long neglected account
"Mr. Adams's Last Crusade" is an account of the long neglected vital influence of John Quincy Adams on the history of the U.S. from 1767-1848. Joseph Wheelan's evaluation of Mr. Adams's intellectual prowess is revealing. Mr. Adams's prescience and warnings to the younger generation, the Jacksonians, proved him correct. The U.S. suffered then and continues to do so now because Mr. Adams was not heeded. This book should be read by those interested in U.S. history and especially by those who consider themselves scholars of same. Wheelan's sources are excellent and without any doubt this book ranks with biographical commentaries by son Charles Francis Adams and grandsons Henry and Brooks Adams.

I have found a new hero from history (a history teacher's review)
I've known about John Quincy Adams's post-Presidential career ever since I read Profiles In Courage. by JFK many, many years ago. However, what I most remember about that description of him was that that he argued against slavery in the Congress when he could have just coasted along in a comfortable poltical semi-retirement.

Joseph Wheelan does us all a favor by elaborating on John Quincy Adams's amazing career in this well-written, informative book.Wheelan briefly covers John Quincy Adams's early career in the first 65 pages. As a teenager, John Qincy Adams was an assistant to his father while he was an ambassador to Europe during the Revolutionary War. He served as ambassador to several European countries after the War and also as Secretary of State (the Monroe Doctrine is as much his as Monroe's) and finally President.

Oddly enough, that amazing career was only a prelude to his final post - Representative from Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress. He reports to Congress at age 64. Adams was vaguely opposed to slavery but was very much in favor of the rights to free speech and petition. The Congress was avoiding any discussion of the topic of slavery, including ignoring all petitions to end slavery in Washington, D.C. (Congress administers the District of Columbia so it could have outlawed slavery within it by simple passage of a law).

Adams was idignant that a basic part of the Bill of Rights was being ignored so he began to read the peitions on the floor. He was told to stand down but he kept on reading. He was shouted it, threatened and shunned but he kept on reading. He began to investigate slavery, discovered he loathed it and was motivated to read even more petitiions. In fact, the conservative "Adams had become the de facto chief spokesman for many of those denied a voice in government - abolitionists silenced by the Gag Rule, slaves, Indians and finally, women." (p. 150)

Finally, after years of these struggles, Adams was censured by Congress for treason for presenting "a petition espousing the dissolution of the United States because of the 'peculiar institution' that the South so desperately wished not to discuss." (p. 196) Adams was previously known to be a poor public speaker but in this cause he found his voice. He was put on trial in the Congress and he defended himself for nine days. He spoke with soaring words, withering sarcasm, humor and anger. Ralph Waldo Emerson described him as a "bruiser" (p. 197) when discussing his poltical speach-making skills and he was not wrong. The charges were dropped but Adams's speeches destroyed the political careers of some of those who brought the charges of treason against him. He found his voice and he used it to full effect everywhere he went.

The unpopular president who could not seem to connect with the common man on any level became a sort of folk hero - the man who stands against the crowd and fights the fight that he knows is right despite the odds - and wins!

Adams's role in the establishment of the Smithsonian is also well-covered in the text as well as plenty of details about his personal life.

Adams was sitting at his seat in the House when he suddenly collapsed. Two days later he died in the Capitol building. His funeral procession was the most elaborate until Lincoln's 17 years later. with his death, most felt that their last living connection with the Revolutionary War era had ended - the youngest of that generation had passed.

Well-written, informative and inspiring - this book is highly recommended.

Excellent Book!!!!
I have been reading and studying the presidents since a was 8 years old. Now that I'm in my adulthood, I have grown to admire some of the them, those that most history teachers talk the least about. John Quincy Adams,our sixth president, was considered a "failure" after he left office, after a being a sucessful secretary of state. Thinking his political career all but dead, he is elected by his constituents to be their representation in the US House of Representatives. From thereon his political genius flurished along with his principals and ideals. I believe that it was in this time of his life that really understood his purpose in life... be a man not of party, but of your country. Believe me I see JQA in total different way. I strongly recommend this book for all history and biography lovers.

Country First.
For the most part, historians treat John Quincy Adams very poorly. Having left behind a quite complete, daily diary which is the delight of various academic wordsmiths, spin doctors and second guessers, he is always treated as some form of dysfunctional slacker by those who have written his biographies. My view of him has never changed. I always thought of him as independent in the true American sense, grumpy to be sure, but a remarkably brilliant man who chose his country and what was right over party affiliation. Until Joseph Wheelan's Mr. Adams Last Crusade, I felt sorry for this remarkably honest, gifted man. The academic deck just seemed too stacked against Adams by supposedly intelligent men for Adams to ever be recognized for his extraordinary contributions to his country. But thanks to Joseph Wheelan, no more!

After a lifetime in public service which included ambassadorships to the Netherlands, Spain, England and Germany, 8 years as Secretary of State under Monroe and his own term as President, he retires disgruntled, a self described failure. However, he returns to public life on December 5, 1831 at age 64, the only past president to do so, recalled by his 12th Congressional District constituency as a freshman congressman in the US House of Representatives. For 17 more years he would serve Massachusetts and the Nation in a strident defense of human rights. He became known as "Old Man Eloquent" for his stands for women's suffrage and against slavery, Texas Annexation, and the Indian Removal Act. Derided by the nation as he left his one term Presidency, he would go on to become the soul of the House of Representatives. He eschewed political parties and politics. As a result, his positions were complex, little understood by friend and foe alike. A strong abolitionist, he refused to join abolitionist organizations, believing the abolitionists, while right, were out to destroy the Union!

His sword was words, always rapier like, sharp, pointed, sarcastic and cutting. His position on women's suffrage was undeniably succinct,"I hope no member of the House of Representatives will ever again be found to treat with disrespect the sex of his Mother."On slavery,"If the Union must be dissolved, slavery is precisely the issue upon which it ought to break." On Georgia's illegal assertion of authority over the Cherokees,"You have sanctioned all those outrages upon justice, law and humanity, by succumbing to the power and the policy of Georgia." When Southerners passed the Gag Rule, suspending freedom of speech within Congress by making it illegal to even discuss slavery in the House, he would spend the next eight years flogging Southern Representatives with their own rule. He would ensure the monies left to the United States by Englishman James Smithson would be used for their intended purpose. As custodian, he pledged to guard the monies from "the canker of almost all charitable foundations - jobbing for parasites, and sops for hungry incapacity." As a result, today's Smithsonian Institution graces the Washington Mall.

Seen by his enemies, i.e., anyone who trampled on human rights, as evil incarnate, he approaches his zenith in his defense of the Amistad slaves before the US Supreme Court. After freeing the defendants, Justice Story would state in a letter to his wife, "extraordinary argument...Extraordinary for its power and its bitter sarcasm, and its dealing far beyond the record and points of discussion."

John Quincy Adams was a remarkable man. A President and son of a President, a direct descendant of one of the Founding Fathers and a man who was on a first name basis with many of the Founders, he was a man who, as a young boy, watched the battle of Bunker Hill from his home. More than anyone of his era, he understood what his country stands for: Liberty and human dignity.

You will truly enjoy this book.

John Quincy's turn to shine
For 35 years, John Quincy Adams served his country selflessly in several capacities including, Diplomat, Senator, Secertary of State, and 6th President of the U.S. The consensus among historians seems to be that Adams' one-term in office was a failure, largely due to his perceived "corrupt bargain" with Henry Clay. He left office isolated and unpopular. He could have easily retired to Massachusetts and lived out his life as a gentleman farmer. Thankfully for us, he decided to heed the call of his friends and neighbors and enter the House of Representatives. At 64, he was the oldest of 89 Freshman when he began serving in 1831. He died in his seat in 1848. It's these 17 years that are subject of Mr. Adams Last Crusade. Joseph Wheelan uses Adams' career as a jumping off point to discuss the entire Jacksonian Age, illuminating many of the critical flash points faced by politicians of this era. These included Slavery, Nullification, Indian removal and treatment, the Annexation of Texas and War with Mexico,and the settlement of the Oregon Territory. On most of these issues Adams led the principled opposition, regularly infuriating his southern counterparts. In addition he also chaired the committee in charge of spending James Smithson's $500,000 bequest. Thanks to Adams' recommendations and tireless championing The Smithsonian Institution was founded in 1846. One wonders how he ever found the time to consult on the Amistad case. This book contains the clearest synopsis of the issues involved in the case that I've read. When he died in 1848 at age 80, he was mourned by supporters and opponents alike, many considered him to be the greatest man of the age, and that's saying a lot considering who his contemporaries were.

I've read many Biographies of Presidents and Politicians, and this well written, informative gem ranks right up there near the top. It's my hope that it does for JQA what Mccollugh's Biography did for his father. Wheelan is slightly repetitive at times, but you'll barely notice as you are swept away by his engaging narrative. ... Read more

Product Description
John Adams chapter from the book Facts about the Presidents, featuringdata on the president's background, life, and administration. Here you will findcomprehensive,uniformly arranged data on birth, family, education, nominationand election, congressional sessions, cabinet and Supreme Court appointments,vice president, first lady, and more highlighting both the personal andpolitical. Bibliographies guide readers to additional information on thepresident. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Facts about the Presidents
I know this product well of old. I have previous editions. I enjoyed the current edition. I am a history lover so this well within my experience

Now in a fully updated eighth edition
Now in a fully updated eighth edition, "Facts About The Presidents From George Washington To Barack Obama" is an essential, core addition to every school and community library. Divided into two distinct parts, "Facts About The Presidents" offers biographical data on all 44 of America's presidents, as well as comparative data with respects to presidential chronology, family history, personal background, education and career, residence, physical characteristics, death and burial, commemoratives, and general statistics. Of special note is the section devoted to presidential elections, conventions, candidates, election returns, the vice-presidents, and more. "Facts About The Presidents" is an 816-page compendium of superbly researched, organized and presented information covering everything from presidential vetos to presidential salaries, making it an invaluable reference for students as well as an engaging browse for non-specialist general readers with an interest in those who have held the office and responsibility of presiding over the nation from its founding to the present day.
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The diplomatic correspondence of the American Revolution, being the letters of Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, John Adams, John Jay, Arthur Lee, William Lee, Ralph Izard, Francis Dana, William Carmichael, Henry Laurens, John Laurens, M. de Lafayette, M. Dumas, and others, concerning the foreign relations of the United States during the whole Revolution; together with the letters in reply from the secret committee of Congress, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, also the entire correspondence of the French ministers, Gerard and Luzerne, with Congress (1829) 566 pgs
Volume: 1 ... Read more

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John Quincy Adams chapter from Facts about the Presidents, featuring data on the president-s background, life, and administration. Here you will find comprehensive,-uniformly arranged data on birth, family, education, nomination and election, congressional sessions, cabinet and Supreme Court appointments, vice president, first lady, and more--highlighting both the personal and political. Bibliographies guide readers to additional information on the president. ... Read more

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The Pulitzer Prize–winning, best-selling author of Founding Brothers and His Excellency brings America’s preeminent first couple to life in a moving and illuminating narrative that sweeps through the American Revolution and the republic’s tenuous early years.
John and Abigail Adams left an indelible and remarkably preserved portrait of their lives together in their personal correspondence: both Adamses were prolific letter writers (although John conceded that Abigail was clearly the more gifted of the two), and over the years they exchanged more than twelve hundred letters. Joseph J. Ellis distills this unprecedented and unsurpassed record to give us an account both intimate and panoramic; part biography, part political history, and part love story.

Ellis describes the first meeting between the two as inauspicious—John was twenty-four, Abigail just fifteen, and each was entirely unimpressed with the other. But they soon began a passionate correspondence that resulted in their marriage five years later.

Over the next decades, the couple were separated nearly as much as they were together. John’s political career took him first to Philadelphia, where he became the boldest advocate for the measures that would lead to the Declaration of Independence. Yet in order to attend the Second Continental Congress, he left his wife and children in the middle of the war zone that had by then engulfed Massachusetts. Later he was sent to Paris, where he served as a minister to the court of France alongside Benjamin Franklin. These years apart stressed the Adamses’ union almost beyond what it could bear: Abigail grew lonely, while the Adams children suffered from their father’s absence.

John was elected the nation’s first vice president, but by the time of his reelection, Abigail’s health prevented her from joining him in Philadelphia, the interim capital. She no doubt had further reservations about moving to the swamp on the Potomac when John became president, although this time he persuaded her. President Adams inherited a weak and bitterly divided country from George Washington. The political situation was perilous at best, and he needed his closest advisor by his side: “I can do nothing,” John told Abigail after his election, “without you.”

In Ellis’s rich and striking new history, John and Abigail’s relationship unfolds in the context of America’s birth as a nation.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Fascinating story of John and Abigail
Joseph Ellis continues his string of successes with another great book on the American Revolution.This book looks at the relationship between John and Abigail Adams shedding new light on how the preeminent political team and first dynasty in America shared their intimate thoughts with one another.Utilizing letters between the two, (of which we have many due to the volume of time they spent apart) as well as sources from their children, Ellis is able to paint a vibrant picture of life in early America and explore how these patriots contributed towards their cause.From the shrewd political mind of Abigail to the limitless ambitions of John's vanity we see how two people shaped the course of the United States.This book also provides a look at John Quincy Adams as the heir apparent and one who was groomed for greatness. Little has been written in depth on JQA particularly his childhood so this was a very interesting account. Overall another wonderful book and one that sheds new light on how this family operated in American history.

Another Winner...
...from Joseph J. Ellis, who already has to his credit several excellent books of American history - including one that won a Pulitzer Prize - about the men who guided the American Revolution and the founding of the United States.In "First Family," he turns his attention to the 12-hundred or so letters that make up the decades-long "conversation . . . of unexpected intimacy and candor" between Abigail and John Adams that is "more revealing than any other correspondence between a prominent American husband and wife in American history."

After first encountering the letters some years ago, Ellis resolved one day to "read all their letters and tell the full story of their conversation within the context of America's creation as a people and a nation."He has now done so brilliantly, bringing these two intelligent people to life before us.He does not do this in isolation.He covers the historical context of the times with gratifying clarity.His writing is superb, carrying the reader along effortlessly to the point of making it difficult to put the book down.

I cannot recommend "First Family" too highly to anyone who has a scintilla of interest in the people who launched the United States.

A first-rate biography of a great partnership
This is an informative and well-crafted book that is the best presentation and analysis that I have come across of a partnership that is both inspiring in itself and the best-documented in history. It has some limitations but if you are interested in the social rather than political elements of the early Republic, this is a book I highly recommend. Here are the standout features:
1. It offers a convincing and rich portrayal of the long partnership between the brilliant, morally brave, totally honest and equally quite weird - perhaps even mentally disturbed - John Adams and his stable, supportive but independent wife Abigail. It is very unlikely that Adams could have held to his steadfast course without a true equal, with all his insecurities, feelings of being unappreciated, his ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and his self-importance. Abigail comes across as very grounded, shrewd and anchored in reality, far unlike her husband at times. The book doesn't stray into psychobabble or add romantic flourishes; it just presents the story as we know it from the evidence, most obviously the couple's letters to each other. Professor Ellis is judicious in his selection from these, building the reader's sense of confidence in his judgment. One small touch that illustrates this is the sense in the correspondence that the pair really enjoyed their sex life. This is not discussed in depth nor ignored, but is just part of the complete sketching of the picture, delicately handled.
2. It shows the complex dynamics of a family - Abigail's strengths, commonsense and management skills, the family investment in the superstar son, John Quincy Adams, the disappointments of other children, with business failures, poor marriage choices and death from chronic alcohol abuse. It's very much a partnership at work - John persistently trying to do the right thing and Abigail keeping it all together.
3. It brings out the very heavy burdens and price paid by the couple in Adam's truly patriotic service; the long, multi-year absences in France and England where their letters were infrequent, cautiously phrased because of the fear of their being intercepted by the British Navy in the many weeks it took for them to be conveyed across the Atlantic, and the frustrations each had to deal with but could not easily complain about. For me, this was one of the strongest elements of the book.
4. It has the right balance - enough depth to make it a serious contribution and enough pace and selectivity to make it a good read.
It has some limitations. It is not exciting, though it flows well. There's nothing new in the book - a strength as well as a limitation. It organizes material that is widely available and stays in the centrist mainstream, with no revisionist theory. Ellis doesn't play games with history; as he states in his opening he offers a "biography of a partnership." If you are already pretty familiar with the politics and personalities, this may not offer much. It takes the viewpoint of Adams and doesn't throw much light on Washington, who remains a background enigma. It has a marked flavor of being anti-Hamilton, Adam's villain and the most powerful political driver of the times. It continues the increasingly consensual puncturing of Franklin's skilled self-advertising and portrays him as a double-dealing egotist. It covers Jefferson in more detail because of the centrality of their friendship and its breakdown. By and large, he takes Adam's side on the issues of Anglo- versus Franco-relationships.
A good book, a quiet pleasure, and an explanation of why Professor Ellis wins Pulitzer Prizes for his books.

A concise and excellent biography of a great love.
There's nothing new here that you haven't seen before in the HBO mini series and the wonderful McCullough biography from a few years back, but this time, the story of John Adams, one of our most foremost founding fathers, is told through the eyes of his relationship to his dear friend Abigail. The two of them wrote so often to each other, and so many of their letters have been preserved, that we find a significant portion of the history of the beginning of the USA through their pens. So anything that is written about them is more than a little worth reading.

I would have to say that the aforementioned McCullough biography is probably the best biography I ever read, but Joseph Ellis tells the same story in fewer pages, and gives us just a slightly different slant on the story, and for those who just don't have the stomach or the time for a very very long book, the whole thing is told in about 250 pages.

There are great leadership lessons here, nice examples of how a couple works out some big family problems, amidst a grand and readable biography that will most likely give Ellis the attention he's also gotten with his previous works on the same period.

I found the book a bit short, I wanted more, but then again, there is ALWAYS another wonderful biography from that period to read. Bravo!

A Great First Family
Joseph Ellis has once again done a remarkable job in taking us back to early American history in this account of Abigail and John Adams. Truly, they were probably the most unique and close First Family of our Nation.
We are fortunate that Abigail and John maintained constant contact throughout their marriage with a multitude of letters and notes that have been preserved from their day. As a result, the author had an abundance of personal information from which to draw and as a result has given us insight that goes beyond mere historical documentation.
John was a determined man, set in his own ideas and very much opposed to partisan politics. Abigail was always there, if not in person, then by letters of encouragement and often helpful advice.
Through this personal account the reader will feel a close encounter with the lives of these two great Americans. You will follow John's career from the defending of the British soldiers in the Boston Massacre to his presidency and to his final days. You will feel the pain and suffering he endured with so many personal problems with his children as well as his heartaches from friends who turned on him. The beauty of the story is Abigail was always there for him.
This is a great look at history and a family that had so much impact in our founding years. It's a great read and I know you will enjoy it.
... Read more

Product Description
An Excerpt from the book-

In compliance with an usage coeval with the existence of our Federal
Constitution, and sanctioned by the example of my predecessors in the
career upon which I am about to enter, I appear, my fellow-citizens, in
your presence and in that of Heaven to bind myself by the solemnities of
religious obligation to the faithful performance of the duties allotted
to me in the station to which I have been called.

In unfolding to my countrymen the principles by which I shall be
governed in the fulfillment of those duties my first resort will be to
that Constitution which I shall swear to the best of my ability to
preserve, protect, and defend. That revered instrument enumerates the
powers and prescribes the duties of the Executive Magistrate, and in its
first words declares the purposes to which these and the whole action of
the Government instituted by it should be invariably and sacredly
devoted--to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure
domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the
general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to the people of
this Union in their successive generations. Since the adoption of this
social compact one of these generations has passed away. It is the work
of our forefathers. Administered by some of the most eminent men who
contributed to its formation, through a most eventful period in the
annals of the world, and through all the vicissitudes of peace and war
incidental to the condition of associated man, it has not disappointed
the hopes and aspirations of those illustrious benefactors of their age
and nation. It has promoted the lasting welfare of that country so dear
to us all; it has to an extent far beyond the ordinary lot of humanity
secured the freedom and happiness of this people. We now receive it as a
precious inheritance from those to whom we are indebted for its
establishment, doubly bound by the examples which they have left us and
by the blessings which we have enjoyed as the fruits of their labors to
transmit the same unimpaired to the succeeding generation.
... Read more

Product Description
Joseph Adams, the son of Henry Adams mentioned in the above inscription,
died on the sixth of December, 1694, aged sixty-eight years. Joseph, the
next in succession, died February 12th, 1736, at the age of eighty-four
years. His son John Adams, was a Deacon of the Church at Quincy, and died
May 25th, 1761, aged seventy years. This John Adams was the father of him
who was destined to give not only undying fame to his ancient family, but
a new and powerful impulse to the cause of Human Freedom throughout the
world.


Download Life And Public Services Of John Quincy Adams Now! ... Read more

Product Description
I live in the Faith and Hope of the progressive advancement of
Christian Liberty, and expect to abide by the same in death.

J. Q. Adams


MEMOIR

OF

THE LIFE OF

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

BY

JOSIAH QUINCY, LL. D.


Justum et tenacem propositi virum,
Non civium ardor prava jubentium,
Non vultus instantis tyranni,
Mente quatit solida.



BOSTON:
CROSBY, NICHOLS, LEE AND COMPANY.
1860.


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by
PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO.,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of
the District of Massachusetts.



Stereotyped by
HOBART & ROBBINS,
New England Type and Stereotype Foundery,
BOSTON.



THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS
OF THE
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

This Work,

PREPARED AT THEIR REQUEST,
IS
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY
THEIR ASSOCIATE,

JOSIAH QUINCY.

BOSTON, _June 1, 1858_.




PREFATORY NOTE.


The ensuing Memoir comprises the most important events in the life of
a statesman second to none of his contemporaries in laborious and
faithful devotion to the service of his country.

The light attempted to be thrown on his course has been derived from
personal acquaintance, from his public works, and from authentic
unpublished materials.

The chief endeavor has been to render him the expositor of his own
motives, principles, and character, without fear or favor,--in the
spirit neither of criticism or eulogy.

JOSIAH QUINCY.

BOSTON, _June 1, 1858_.




CONTENTS.


PAGE
CHAPTER I.

BIRTH.--EDUCATION.--RESIDENCE IN EUROPE.--AT COLLEGE.--AT THE BAR.
--POLITICAL ESSAYS.--MINISTER AT THE HAGUE.--AT BERLIN.--RETURN TO
THE UNITED STATES,1


CHAPTER II.

RESIDENCE IN BOSTON.--RETURNS TO THE BAR.--ELECTED TO THE SENATE OF
MASSACHUSETTS.--TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES.--HIS COURSE
RELATIVE TO THE ATTACK OF THE LEOPARD ON THE CHESAPEAKE.--RESIGNS
HIS SEAT AS SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES.--APPOINTED MINISTER TO
RUSSIA.--FINAL SEPARATION FROM THE FEDERAL PARTY,25


CHAPTER III.

VOYAGE.--ARRIVAL AT ST. PETERSBURG.--PRESENTATION TO THE EMPEROR.
--RESIDENCE AT THE IMPERIAL COURT.--DIPLOMATIC INTERVIEWS.--PRIVATE
STUDIES.--APPOINTED ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS TO TREAT FOR PEACE WITH
GREAT BRITAIN.--LEAVES RUSSIA, 44


CHAPTER IV.

RESIDENCE AT GHENT.--AT PARIS.--IN LONDON.--PRESENTATION TO THE
PRINCE REGENT.--NEGOTIATION WITH LORD CASTLEREAGH.--APPOINTED
SECRETARY OF STATE.--LEAVES ENGLAND, 59


CHAPTER V.

FIRST TERM OF MR. MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION.--STATE OF PARTIES.--SEMINOLE
WAR.--TAKING OF PENSACOLA.--NEGOTIATION WITH SPAIN.--PURCHASE OF THE
FLORIDAS.--COLONIZATION SOCIETY.--THE ADMISSION OF.... ... Read more

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Memoirs of the sixth president and son of John and Abigail Adams. ... Read more

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The 1828 presidential election, which pitted Major General Andrew Jackson against incumbent John Quincy Adams, has long been hailed as a watershed moment in American political history. It was the contest in which an unlettered, hot-tempered southwesetern frontiersman, trumpeted by his supporters as a genuine man of the people, soundly defeated a New England "aristocrat" whose education and political résumé were as impressive as any ever seen in American public life. It was, many historians have argued, the country's first truly democratic presidential election. Lynn Hudson Parsons argues that it also established a pattern in which two nationally organized political parties would vie for power in virtually every state.During the election of 1828 voters were introduced to a host of novel campaign tactics, includingco-ordinated media, get-out-the-vote efforts, fund-raising, organized rallies, opinion polling, campaign paraphernalia, ethnic voting blocs, "opposition research," and smear tactics.
In The Birth of Modern Politics, Parsons shows that the Adams-Jackson contest began a national debate that is eerily contemporary, pitting those whose cultural, social, and economic values were rooted in community action for the common good against those who believed the common good was best served by giving individuals as much freedom as possible to promote their own interests. It offers fresh and illuminating portraits of both Adams and Jackson and reveals how, despite their vastly different backgrounds, they had started out with many of the same values, admired one another, and had often been allies in common causes. Both were staunch nationalists, and both shared an aversion to organized parties and "electioneering."
But by 1828, caught up in a shifting political landscape, they were plunged into a competition that separated them decisively from the Founding Fathers' era and ushered in a style of politics that is still with us today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Planting partisanship's seeds
For most of us public school-educated Americans of a certain age, here is what our history classes sounded like: "Columbus in 1492 ... mumble, mumble ... Plymouth Rock and the first Thansgiving ... mumble, mumble ... Revolutionary War ... George Washington ... mumble, mumble, mumble ... slavery and the Civil War ... mumble, mumble ... cattle drive, cowboys, gold rush ... mumble ... World War I ... League of Nations ... World War II ... mumble, mumble ... zzzzzzzzz."

Most of us can recognize that Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams were presidents and if we really, really concentrated hard we might remember that Jackson gave us a victory at the Battle of New Orleans (though it came after the War of 1812 was concluded). But now Lynn Hudson Parsons has made some of those dusty names come alive in a very readable book that finds the seeds of modern politics in the 1828 presidential race between Jackson and J.Q. Adams.

This is a book that makes memorable a period of time that's often glossed over by teachers (or, more likely, napped through by bored students). There is enough sex, violence and intrigue to keep even the most bored student awake in history class. There's Jackson's famous temper that involved him in several duels in his younger years (and from which he still carried bullets lodged in his body from two of them). Then there's the scandal of Jackson running off with his future bride while she was still married to another man. The repercussions of that followed Jackson into the campaign and may have even contributed to his wife's death before he took the oath of office.

The Birth of Modern Politics draws stark comparisons between Jackson, the Southern little-educated orphan of immigrants, and Adams, the privleged son of the second president. Despite their differences, each man had a respect for the other and shared a sort of friendship. That friendship ended as Jackson and Adams locked horns for the presidency.

By 1828 the rules of the game had changed in elections. While blacks and women still were unable to vote, white males no longer had to be property owners in most states to vote. This brought an unprecedented number of new voters to the polls and Jackson's followers were the first to capitalize on this change. Likewise, the 1828 election saw coordinated political rallies, early attempts at fund-raising, and, perhaps the most lasting legacy, political partisanship.

Though it's a long way from today's 24-hour news cycle, sound bites and candidates racing back and forth across the country (candidates left the campaigning to their supporters in 1828), Parsons makes a convincing case that the election sewed the seeds of change in American politics. One of Parsons' most astute observations is the anti-intellectualism that accompanies tarring one's opponent as an "elitist." That's a tactic that still resonates in today's campaigns.

This is the kind of history book that not only brings history alive, but draws clear connections to the world we see about us today. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in politics and history.

Add this to your American Politics Collection!
This book is full of great information that any American History and Politics buff would absolutely love!

A Useful Overview of the Election of Andrew Jackson
This is an enjoyable and enlightening new book on the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828. It does a good job of discussing the coalition of supporters that put Jackson in the White House. It begins, appropriately with the collapse of the first party system and the election of 1824, which shaped fundamentally the 1828 campaign. The author contends that this election served as a watershed in the American political system. We have known this for a long time, but Parsons's goes further by insisting that the election of 1828 forever separated the politicians and people of the second American party system from the era of the Founders and its genteel, Enlightenment political ideals.

The author deals both with the rise of new styles of campaigning--emphasis on popular rallies, etc.--and on the division of American society into divergent pieces that had to be enticed to support the various organizations that could carry on the job of electing officials and formulating policies that reflected the priorities of its adherents. I'm not sure I would say that this election represented the "birth of modern politics," but it is a thought-provoking way to think about the election and its meaning.

While this is a very fine overview of its subject, clearly the author's primary intent, there is not that much new here for those immersed in the history of the era. The class divisions, the sectional influences, the push and pull of political traditions, the economics of the time, and the culture of the Antebellum U.S. are all present, but I looked hard for a new take on this and failed to find it. Instead it is a useful and succinct synthesis that builds on decades of historiographical contributions from a range of scholars, among them Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Robert Remini, Charles Sellars, Sean Wilentz, and others. I would recommend this book as an accessible survey of the election of Andrew Jackson, appropriate for classroom use, but not a benchmark in historical understanding of a well-studied subject.

Substantive and easy to read
Parsons packs an amazing amount of information in about 200 pages.While anyone who is familiar with this era will already have been exposed to a lot of what is said, the material is presented in an easily readable, logical, interesting manner.Really a quite good job accessable to anyone but also substantive enough for the already knowledgable.

an important step in understanding political development
The book makes a convincing argument that the election of 1828 is the first to resemble our current process.However aspects of modern politics occurred at different times.The beginning of true partisan electioneering definitely started in the 1800 contest between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.The book does acknowledge this and goes further to point out the changing electorate and the process for selecting electors.This would not be the final revision of these concepts.It's hard to draw a link to modern politics when election results were still factored by the three-fifths compromise.Two states also determined there electors in the state legislatures with no link to the popular vote.

The consensus among historians has been that the Jacksonian age was a revolutionary period in government, commerce, industry and of course politics.One problem I find with anointing this as the birth, is that both parties were not playing the same game using the same rules.Modern politics is a coordinated frenzy of press releases, rallies, debates, town halls and endorsements.The Jackson camp was really the only one using these tactics to their fullest advantage.It would still be years before these practices became the normal operation of political campaigns and evolve into their present state.A huge portion of modern politics is also fundraising and the Jackson's and Adam's did this but were not regulated in the way modern politicians are and since disclosure was not mandatory we can only estimate the influence and where the funds came from in 1828.

It's worth reading if you are not familiar with the period or looking for place to start.
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Product Description

It was the Era of Good Feelings, but all was not well with the young Republic. From 1825 to 1849, presidents John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and James K. Polk grappled with the legacy of the Monroe Doctrine, Indian removal, territorial expansion, the National Bank, tariffs, economic depressions, War with Mexico, near war with Great Britain, and the place of slavery in the growing nation.

As one would expect from confident citizens of the burgeoning young country, conflicting arguments swirled around the hot-button issues of the day. This rich resource of primary documents enables students to read these arguments first hand, and feel the passions and study the logic driving their often forceful positions.

All of the primary documents are annotated and placed into historical context. A thorough index concludes the work.

Product Description
1. George Washington
2. John Adams
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
5. James Monroe
6. John Quincy Adams
7. Andrew Jackson
8. Martin Van Buren
9. William Henry Harrison
10. John Tyler
11. James K. Polk
12. Zachary Taylor
13. Millard Fillmore
14. Franklin Pierce
15. James Buchanan
16. Abraham Lincoln
17. Andrew Johnson
18. Ulysses S. Grant
19. Rutherford B. Hayes
20. James Garfield
21. Chester A. Arthur
22. Grover Cleveland
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Whereas it appears that a state of war exists between Austria, Prussia, Sardinia, Great Britain, and the United Netherlands, of the one part, and France on the other; and the duty and interest of the United States require, that they should with sincerity and good faith adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerant Powers; I have therefore thought fit by these presents to declare the disposition of the United States to observe the conduct aforesaid towards those Powers respectfully; and to exhort and warn the citizens of the United States carefully to avoid all acts and proceedings whatsoever, which may in any manner tend to contravene such disposition. And I do hereby also make known, that whatsoever of the citizens of the United States shall render himself liable to punishment or forfeiture under the law of nations, by committing, aiding, or abetting hostilities against any of the said Powers, or by carrying to any of them those articles which are deemed contraband by the modern usage of nations, will not receive the protection of the United States, against such punishment or forfeiture; and further, that I have given instructions to those officers, to whom it belongs, to cause prosecutions to be instituted against all persons, who shall, within the cognizance of the courts of the United States, violate the law of nations, with respect to the Powers at war, or any of them. In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. Done at the city of Philadelphia, the twenty-second day of April, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the seventeenth.

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In 1,000 days in office, John F. Kennedy captivated a nation and inspired a generation. His mastery of a new form of media-television-enabled him to become the most accessible president of his time. Kennedy energized the presidency and imbued it with unrivaled style and grace.

The Everything John F. Kennedy Book is an intimate portrait of our youngest president and his lasting legacy, covering:

• His privileged childhood and the influence of his parents
• Illnesses and family tragedies that shaped him
• Meeting and romancing Jacqueline Bouvier
• His part in the first televised presidential debates
• The Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis
• His commitment to the Peace Corps and the space race
• His connection with the Civil Rights movement
• His assassination in Dallas

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This work offers the best of both worlds: broad analysis of the first five presidential administrations and specific excerpts from original documents supporting and opposing the presidents' positions. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe speak for themselves as they argue for their positions on the key political, social, and economic issues of their time in excerpts from primary sources. Excerpts from opposing positions on each issue give the presidents' critics a voice. An explanatory overview of each issue will help students to understand the argument and the context of the issue and to apply critical thinking skills to their understanding. The section on each president includes entries on 4-5 key issues of his administration, from the president's title at the beginning of Washington's administration to American Indian removal at the close of Monroe's term. ... Read more