home Gasification

John Quincy Adams. The history of the life and reign of the sixth president of the United States. John Quincy Adams - quotes

The title of “father of American expansion” was deservedly awarded by historians to John Quincy Adams after he, as Secretary of State in the government of John Monroe, made his programmatic and sensational statement on the goals of US foreign policy in November 1819.

This statement, voiced in Congress, said, in part: “Since we became an independent people, it is as much a law of nature that the continent of North America has become our claim as that the Mississippi flows into the sea." The Secretary of State also called the existence of territories whose owners are far beyond the sea, in contact with “a great, powerful, enterprising and rapidly growing nation,” unnatural and absurd.

The house in Braintree where John Quincy was born

We will tell you later what D. C. Adams managed to do to expand the territory of the country; Now let's return to the origins of his life. The future sixth president of the United States was born on July 11, 1767 in the small town of Braintree, located 16 km away. from Boston, the capital of the largest English colony, the Province of Massachusetts Bay. His parents were the famous Boston lawyer and aspiring politician, 32-year-old John Adams, and the well-educated, twenty-three-year-old Abigail Smith, who belonged to the Quincy dynasty, famous in the colony. It so happened that the founder of this dynasty died two days after the birth of the boy, the first-born in the family, and therefore he was given the double name John Quincy. A year later, the family moved to Boston and four more children were subsequently born there. John Quincy did not attend school; his parents, mainly his mother and cousin, and his father, who worked in a law office, were involved in his home education.

In 1778, an eleven-year-old teenager, together with his father, sent on a diplomatic mission to France, came to Paris, where he studied French and Latin at a local school for a year. Then, since the mission was unsuccessful, they return home. During a new joint trip to the Netherlands, which took place a year later, John Quincy attends classes at the University of Leiden. When the young man turns fourteen, his father gets him a job on the first US diplomatic mission sent to Russia to negotiate a proposed treaty of friendship and trade. This mission was led by the famous American lawyer Francis Dana, who intended to use John Quincy, who spoke French (necessary for negotiations with Empress Catherine II) as a personal secretary. The diplomatic mission was in St. Petersburg from August 16, 1781 to August 24, 1783, but, unfortunately, did not achieve positive results. While recognizing the existence of the United States, Russia, however, refused to officially accept American diplomats until a peace treaty was signed to end the War of Colonial Independence of 1775-1783. As a result, F. Deyna and his young secretary remained only “private individuals traveling to get acquainted with the country.” During the two years spent in Russia, the young man got acquainted with the capital of the empire, visited Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Silesia. Many years later, some of the impressions from these trips, written down on paper, were published by him.

During the years spent in Europe, John Quincy mastered French, Dutch, German, Latin and Greek, studied the works of the ancient Roman poets Virgil and Horace and the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. Returning from Russia to his homeland, he briefly visits London and meets with his parents (his father became the US Ambassador to England). Then, having arrived in Boston, he entered the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard College. Having completed his studies with a Bachelor of Arts in 1787, a twenty-year-old young man gets a job as a paralegal in the small town of Newburgport, 65 km away. from Boston. After working there for two years, he moved to the capital of the colony, where, continuing his legal practice, he eventually passed the exam and received a lawyer's license in 1791.

In subsequent years, successfully working as a lawyer, John Quincy begins to show interest in social and political activities and joins the ranks of A. Hamilton's Federalist Party, which advocates the greatest possible rapprochement of the United States with England. From these positions, he writes and publishes – albeit under a pseudonym – a critical article directed against the pamphlet of the famous American publicist T. Paine “The Rights of Man,” which defended all the actions of the government of revolutionary France. His father, John Adams, vice president in the administration of George Washington, advises his eldest son to temporarily stop practicing law and journalism and move to a more prestigious and better paid diplomatic service. John Quincy, who always treated his parent with respect and love, agreed to this proposal, and the president of the country appointed him, who spoke impeccable Dutch, as US Ambassador to the Netherlands.

John Quincy in his youth

The diplomatic service began on November 6, 1794 and continued intermittently until September 22, 1817.

In total, John Quincy Adams served as US Ambassador for thirteen years in four countries - in addition to the Netherlands, Prussia, Russia and Great Britain.

The duration of his stay in each of them ranged from two and a half to four and a half years, and he spent the most time in Russia. It should be emphasized that in all these countries the internal political situation was unstable; this interfered with the normal functioning of the US Embassy. So, shortly before John Quincy arrived in the Netherlands, the country was occupied by France, and patriots, in protest, proclaimed the so-called “Batavian Republic” (named after the ancient tribe). In this regard, the US Ambassador had to urgently adjust all previously signed diplomatic agreements between the two states and then approve them with the leaders of the republic. At the end of June 1797, John Quincy completed his work in the Netherlands and left The Hague for London. A month later, in this city, his marriage took place to 22-year-old Louise Katherine Johnson, the daughter of the American consul in Great Britain and an Englishwoman. The newlyweds met many years ago, when Louise's family lived in France, and John Quincy and his father came there (the age difference between them was eight years). After spending four months in London, the couple went to Berlin, the capital of Prussia, where John Quincy was to become the US ambassador from December 5, 1797.

At that time, the king of Prussia was twenty-seven-year-old Frederick William III, who took the throne after the death of his father less than a month before the arrival of the American diplomat. Despite his military education and participation in a number of battles, the king remained a deeply religious, kind and timid person. Due to his lack of experience in government and indecision of character, there was complete stagnation in all spheres of life of Prussian society, including in foreign policy. Therefore, John Quincy failed to deepen and expand cooperation between the two countries, and President T. Jefferson recalled him to his homeland. A month before leaving, the family welcomed its first child, who was named George Washington Adams in honor of the first US President.

After John Quincy returned to Braintree in May 1801, his diplomatic career was interrupted for eight and a half years. During this period, the ex-diplomat served for five years in the US Senate and practiced law. We will talk about his legislative activities later, but now let’s return to St. Petersburg, where John Quincy was US Ambassador from November 5, 1809 to April 28, 1814. With him were his wife Louise and their two-year-old child Charles Francis. They left their two eldest sons, George Washington and John, born in 1801-1803, in their home in their homeland to continue their school education. Unfortunately, Louise turned out to be a sickly woman, suffering from frequent migraines and fainting. In addition, she had to protect herself from the unusual and cold Russian winters. Perhaps for these reasons, their daughter Louisa Catherine, born in 1811, died a year later.

Louisa Katherine Johnson became the wife of John Quincy Adams

In 1809–1814 The Emperor of Russia was Alexander I, who carried out moderate liberal reforms and fought with a number of countries. In particular, instead of the archaic collegiums formed by Peter I, ministries arose, including commerce and foreign affairs. Russia annexed Finland and Bessarabia and defeated France in the War of 1812. Despite these extraordinary and even alarming events, John Quincy Adams successfully fulfilled the duties assigned to him. In conversations with the tsar, communicating with employees of the mentioned ministries, participating in some events, for example, in meetings of the Imperial Society of Natural Scientists, the diplomat actively contributed to strengthening friendly ties between the United States and Russia and the development of trade and economic relations between them. When the long-standing conflict between the USA and Great Britain began to really threaten war, Alexander I offered Russian mediation to Ambassador D.K. Adams, which, unfortunately, was not implemented due to the position of the British.

Anglo-American War 1812–1815 ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. To conduct negotiations with the former enemy, prepare the text and subsequent execution of this document, President G. Madison includes in the American delegation the experienced diplomat John Quincy Adams, who urgently moves with his family from St. Petersburg to London. After the successful completion of the assigned work and ratification of the treaty at the beginning of 1815, the diplomat remained in the capital of Great Britain and served as US Ambassador until September 22, 1817. During the last two years of his diplomatic service he participated in the organization and activities of the Anglo-American commissions provided for by the treaty to resolve certain problems in fisheries, navigation on the Great Lakes, trade and other areas. Soon, at the invitation of the new President J. Monroe, the ex-ambassador took the position of Secretary of State for eight years, and the family began to live in Washington. Before talking about the activities of J. Quincy in this responsible position, it is necessary to go back to the period 1803 - 1808, when he was elected from Massachusetts to the Senate of the US Congress.

At that time, the president of the country was the leader of the Democratic Republican Party, T. Jefferson, who supported the practice of compromise between the Federalists and the Republicans in Congress and never used his veto.

Federalist Senator Jones Quincy most often supported the president's proposals and, as a lawyer, participated in documenting them in the form of regulations or laws.

Thus, he actively supported the refusal of foreign loans, increasing import tariffs on products, reducing taxes on small producers and the repeal of previously adopted laws against immigrants. He also agreed with a new, balanced budget for the country, allowing for the balanced development of agriculture, manufacturing, shipping and trade - the four pillars of prosperity. The Senate paid much attention to judicial reform and the problem of acquiring new lands. With the participation of John Quincy, in 1803, Congress agreed to the purchase of Louisiana from France and passed a bill giving the president the right to take possession of the new territory. In 1804 - 1806 The famous expedition of M. Lewis and W. Clark took place, which opened the way to the Pacific Ocean. Its preparation, including financing, was carried out under the control of congressmen and senators. John Quincy also participated in the adoption of laws banning the import of new slaves, establishing diplomatic relations with Russia and an embargo on the export of goods from the country (as a protest against the seizure of merchant ships by the fleets of England and France).

John Quincy Adams

Before the senator became Secretary of State, as we already mentioned above, his wife Louise gave birth to two sons, and he himself switched to the Democratic Republican Party. When the family moved to Washington, Louise organized musical and theatrical evenings in their house once a week for diplomats and other famous people in society, and she herself loved to play the harp.

The popularity of the family and John Quincy's sensational statements in Congress about the principles of US foreign policy not only contributed to giving the Secretary of State the title of “father of American expansion”, but also significantly helped to implement new proposals in practice.

So, on February 22, 1819, in Washington, D.C. Adams and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain signed an agreement, ratified two years later, on the transfer of the Florida Peninsula to the United States and on territorial demarcation with Spanish possessions in Mexico, beneficial for the Americans. The conventions with Great Britain on the border with British Canada and on the regime for joint development of the Oregon Territory in the west of the North American continent turned out to be just as successful. On April 5, 1824, a Russian-American convention was signed in St. Petersburg, which, in particular, fixed the exact geographical coordinates of the border of Russia's possessions in North America. On behalf of the President, the Secretary of State, in more detail than previously, developed the concept of the country’s foreign policy, which in the history of diplomacy was called the “Monroe Doctrine”, which later became the basis of US foreign policy and received international recognition, which stated that the Western Hemisphere of the planet was no longer subject to European colonization and that any attempt to interfere with the independence of the American States will be considered an act of hostility.

In 1824, the next presidential election took place, and for the first time under one-party conditions, since the Federalist Party had already been dissolved. The Democratic-Republican Party nominated four candidates, including John Quincy Adams. He was second only to General Andrew Jackson in terms of the number of electoral votes, but neither one nor the other received the majority required by law. Therefore, for the first time in history, the US President had to be elected by the House of Representatives of Congress. Before discussing the problem, one of the former presidential contenders, the famous politician Henry Clay, announced that his supporters in the House were ready to vote for John Quincy Adams. Their agreement, formalized on January 29, 1825, was known in history as the “Adams-Clay deal.” As a result, D. C. Adams was proclaimed president of the country, who, as a sign of gratitude, appointed G. Clay as Secretary of State, which led to accusations of corruption. For his part, E. Jackson, the future President of the United States, called this deal “unholy.” However, on March 4, 1825, John Quincy began acting as president

The family moved to the White House, where Louise Adams, after becoming First Lady, continued to host weekly evenings. However, she soon became depressed, preferring to read or play the harp alone and accusing her sons and husband of being insensitive and cold. In his diary, John Quincy acknowledged the dissimilarity of their tastes and opinions on various issues, including those related to the economy and the education of children. However, he added: “She was always a faithful wife, careful, tender, indulgent and watchful mother.”

In his inauguration speech, John Quincy stated, in particular, that his greatest goal was to create the preconditions for economic progress through the development of science, education and technical improvement of industrial production. Speaking about foreign policy, he especially emphasized the need for US participation in the Panama Congress, which was first organized to strengthen the union of Latin American independent states.

John Quincy Adams

Unfortunately, the activities of D.K. Adams' presidency proved to be significantly less fruitful than his diplomatic service.

The most important reason for the ineffective work of the president was his characteristic straightforwardness, restraint in party matters and inability to rally his supporters around himself.

As a result, a large and well-organized parliamentary opposition arose, which was further strengthened after the 1826 elections to Congress, when opponents of the president's policies achieved a majority in both houses. Having lost control of legislators, D. C. Adams nevertheless continued to advocate independent politics, which contributed to his defeat in the next presidential election. This circumstance, however, was not the only reason for the failed re-election of D. K. Adams to a second term as president in 1828. Another, no less important, reason was the irreconcilable confrontation in Congress, which flared up during the discussion of a number of problems of domestic and foreign policy. Thus, advocates of states' rights categorically opposed the federal reforms proposed by Adams, including in the field of funding science and the arts. Congressmen and senators from the southern states sharply criticized the president for his negative attitude towards slavery in the country and for his desire to maintain good neighborly relations with the Indians. They also did not forgive him for his erroneous decisions in foreign policy. One such decision took place in relations with Great Britain, which unexpectedly banned American merchant ships from the ports of its Caribbean islands. The president was unable to resolve the problem diplomatically, and therefore ordered to block ports for British ships and significantly increase duties on English woolen goods popular among the population. These measures, however, seriously aggravated the situation, caused a significant decline in the US economy and delayed the resolution of the conflict for three years. Another unsuccessful decision was made when assigning a delegation to the above-mentioned Panama Congress, held in June-July 1826. Due to the negligence of the presidential administration, one of the two delegates turned out to be sick and died on the way, while the second arrived at the site after the forum closed.

At the same time, some of the activities carried out by the administration ended successfully and had a beneficial impact on the development of American society. Among them are the conclusion of trade agreements with many countries in Europe and South America, the improvement of the central banking and credit systems, the founding of a multidisciplinary university in the state of South Carolina and the widespread distribution of previously unknown useful plants in the flora of the country (John Quincy himself, being fond of botany, organized the import of them seeds and seedlings). Having completed his activities in March 1829, the ex-president and his family returned to the family estate, in which, four months later, their eldest, 28-year-old son George Washington, who suffered from a mental disorder, committed suicide. Despite the family tragedy, the suffering of his wife and his approaching retirement age, the ex-president decides to return to political life. He joined the National Republican Party, formed in 1825 after the collapse of T. Jefferson's party, and in 1831 he was elected a member of the US House of Representatives from Massachusetts. Then, being re-elected twice, he worked there for seventeen years, until his death. All these years the family lived in Washington, and here in 1834 the second son, John, died of alcoholism. Despite the tragic event, John Quincy continues to work as a congressman, moving to the “anti-Masonic party”, then, four years later, to the “Whig” party, not forgetting to constantly support his wife suffering from grief.

The ex-president's activities in Congress were quite varied. Considering the United States as a single cohesive state, he proposed bills for its centralized industrialization, enhancing the protection of domestic products from foreign ones, accelerating the development of mineral resources and stabilizing the purchasing power of the national currency. Being a staunch opponent of slavery, he opposed any laws that encouraged its spread. After many years of efforts, he achieved the abolition of the so-called “gag rule,” adopted at the initiative of representatives of the southern states and prohibiting the consideration of petitions on slavery issues in Congress. He opposed the forced removal of Indians from their lands and the Mexican War of 1846-1848. Moreover, the main reason for the protest against the war was the fear that new states would be formed in the annexed Mexican territories, increasing the share of the slave-holding South, and the United States could face a split.

Thanks to the efforts of John Quincy Adams, the Smithsonian Institution was built (with money bequeathed to the English scientist) and opened, which is the largest research center, surpassing all American universities of that time.

On February 21, 1848, Congress considered a bill to reward American generals participating in the war with Mexico. John Quincy made a speech saying that he would not thank the murderers. He apparently experienced great excitement, and the elderly politician suffered a stroke. Two days later, without regaining consciousness, the “father of American expansion” died. He was buried in the Church of the Presidents in Quincy (formerly Braintree), not far from his parents, John and Abigail Adams. His wife Louise survived her husband by four years and died on May 15, 1852 at the age of 77. They buried her next to her husband.

In memory of the sixth president and outstanding diplomat, as well as his wife, the United States Mint issued coins and medals with their images. The surviving diary of the president and his correspondence with other politicians are of great historical value.

Material prepared

Leonid LURIE

San Francisco

Article: John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams is one of the most difficult nineteenth-century politicians to understand, perhaps because they left behind so many accounts of themselves. He was born on July 11, 1767, in Braintree, Massachusetts, the eldest son of John Adams, the second President of the United States, and his strong-willed wife Abigail.

Three important factors shaped his life: first, belonging to one of the great old, politically extremely influential families in New England. Secondly, the culture of the region, which not only imbued him with a heightened sense of duty and high moral and Christian values, but also instilled in him that self-righteousness and inability to establish and maintain close relationships with other people that made him little liked and often feared , but, especially in the years before and after his presidency, due to his integrity and extensive knowledge, a respected politician. And finally, thirdly, Adams's policy was also influenced by the fact that he spent most of his youth and years of study as a politician in Europe. At the age of 17, accompanied by his father, he visited Holland, Prussia, Russia, Denmark and England, and from 1794, as an envoy, he represented his country in The Hague. During these trips, he not only acquired great knowledge in schools and universities, but also became acquainted with the European balance of power and the problems of individual households. This experience allowed him to become the most insightful and far-sighted American foreign policy of his era. As Foreign Secretary, Adams emphasized US national independence in the international interaction of forces, which conceptually linked him with James Monroe. This national starting position was a reaction to the arrogance with which European dignitaries greeted the representatives of the American republic. Three important factors produced a heavy mixture: Adams outwardly controlled himself, was cold, sharp-tongued to the point of causticity, always knowledgeable, extremely well-read and diligent. Egocentrically, he always took criticism personally. Unlike his wife, he was not inclined towards sociability and home life, and paid equal attention to politics and personal studies in science. Words and often used in his diary. He had sympathy with his wife Louise Katherine Johnson, who came from a wealthy family of tobacco merchants from London and Maryland, but nothing more. They married on July 26, 1797 in London.

After spending his youth on numerous trips, after graduating from Harvard College, Adams, at the request of his parents, began to study as a lawyer with one of the leading lawyers in Massachusetts and then opened an initially little-known office in Boston. He first became known to the general public for his journalistic participation in the dispute between Edmond Burke and Thomas Paine. Paine responded to the criticism (1790) with a letter (1791), which, at the initiative of Thomas Jefferson, was immediately published in America. In response to this, Adams published his own in the newspaper from June 8 to July 27, 1791, which were very quickly published not only in other cities in the United States, but also in England, Scotland and Ireland. Perhaps an even greater sensation was caused two years later by Adams's article on American attitudes towards revolutionary France and especially towards the appearance of the French ambassador Genet in America.

Adams's essays were consistent in their basic tendency with the positions of George Washington and the Federalist Party and testified to the political ambitions of the young lawyer. Somewhat later, he accepted George Washington's offer to represent the United States as envoy to the Netherlands. On May 30, 1794, the Senate confirmed the president's appointment. This position began the career of John Quincy Adams, which made him perhaps the most significant and most successful foreign policymaker of the 19th century. On the eventful path until 1824, when he was elected president, three main ones stand out: the conclusion of peace in Ghent, which ended the Anglo-American War in 1814, the Transcontinental Treaty with Spain in 1819 and the so-called one proclaimed in 1823.

Among the American envoys, which included Albert Gallatin, Henry Clay, James A. Beyard and Jonathan Russell, John Quincy Adams had the most diplomatic experience. Therefore, he was given the leadership of the commission, which in 1814 was supposed to make peace in Ghent. During months of negotiations with the three-member British delegation, the center of gravity shifted in favor of the politically more experienced Gallatin. The English Foreign Minister Castlereagh proposed peace negotiations on the condition that the principles of state law or law would not be violated. Then, during the negotiations, the British delegation touched upon, however, two areas of problems that departed from the principle of reciprocity and affected the provisions of the Paris Peace of 1783. The British demanded, firstly, the inclusion of Indians allied with England in the treaty and a clear establishment of boundaries between the United States and the land of friendly tribes (as well as a decisive revision of the borders with Canada) - secondly. They said they considered the fishing rights guaranteed in British waters in the 1783 treaty invalid.

The American delegation quickly split into two groups. While everyone turned against the redrawing of the western boundary in favor of Canada, Clay and Russell were particularly opposed to any attempt to grant the British navigation rights on the Mississippi. Adams favored a hard-line position on the fisheries issue, while Gallatin, as the elder statesman, acted rather as a balancer and sometimes tried to smooth out and soften Adams's overly harsh reactions and language. In the negotiations, insertions by both sides repeating old legal positions ultimately did not affect the treaty itself, unless one takes into account the fact that the more or less categorical refusal of the Americans to include the Indian problem in the treaty or the revision of boundaries prompted the British cabinet to gradually move away from these demands. The treaty, which provided for the appointment of border commissions along with the restoration of the state before the outbreak of war, was signed on December 24, 1814 and promulgated by the president on February 18, 1815. Adams, even before ratification, was appointed American envoy to the English court. In the next two years, before returning to America and being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, he tried, not without success, to normalize the strained relations between the former metropolis and the United States. Personal knowledge of the leading politicians of what was then the strongest and richest country in Europe formed an important prerequisite for the success of Adams's foreign policy activities over the next eight years.

Both events, so important for the foreign policy of James Monroe's presidency, the conclusion of the Transcontinental Treaty between Spain and the United States and the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine, presupposed a clear assessment of the British position. Both were Adams' creations; but both were made possible only by the close cooperation between President Monroe and Adams. It's surprising that it was so confidential. After all, at least in the early years of the 19th century, both were not only rivals, but also represented completely different views on the foreign policy of the United States. Monroe defended the benevolent neutrality of the United States towards revolutionary France; John Quincy Adams, an influential interpreter of Burke in America, like his father, was more sympathetic to the British position. They were united by a moderate but clearly expressed national concept of American foreign policy.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adame proceeded in all central problems from the issues arising from the implementation of the peace treaty of 1783, which he participated in the negotiations as secretary of his father, and the peace treaty of 1814. This also concerned the question of fishing rights, when Monroe, who was not prepared to risk a conflict with England over it, forced Adams, against his own and his father's will, to compromise. The same thing happened with the question of the borders between the United States and Canada to the Pacific Ocean. What was left open in 1783 was not settled in the peace treaty of 1814 on the orders of Monroe, then Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The problematic region, especially the possession of the Columbia River Valley, meanwhile became the subject of bitter rivalry between the British Northeast Company and John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Trading Company. In the War of 1812, British troops occupied an American stronghold. In 1817, Monroe, citing the peace treaty of Ghent, ordered it to be reoccupied. At the negotiations held in London, the American side insisted, on Adams' instructions, on extending the US-Canadian border along 49 degrees latitude to the Pacific Ocean. Since the British did not want to agree to this, the treaty of 1818 contained only a provision in paragraph 3 that opened the disputed area to both nations for ten years. Likewise, other open issues between England and the United States were resolved or postponed in the spirit of a new willingness to compromise. Arbitration was agreed upon on the important southern issue of compensation for deported slaves. No solution was found regarding reciprocity in American-British trade and the conflict over the forced acquisition of former British sailors from American merchant ships, despite the convergence of points of view. Nevertheless, the conclusion of the treaty in 1818 marked the next step towards improving Anglo-American relations. At the same time, the behavior of the American side demonstrated a form of cooperation between the President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs: he decided issues that were important to Monroe himself, and Adams obeyed these decisions, without allowing hostility towards Monroe. In all other matters, Monroe gave his Foreign Minister complete freedom. The treaty was thus a compromise in a double sense: first between both states, then between Monroe and Adams.

The agreement created an important prerequisite for a successful outcome of the ongoing negotiations that Adams conducted in Washington with the Spanish ambassador. They concerned two complexes: the problem of West Florida, which the United States sought to acquire, and the western border with the Spanish colonies, disputed since the time of the Louisiana Purchase. The starting point was a resolution of the American Congress of January 15, 1811, which in principle rejected the transfer of Spanish or former Spanish colonies immediately bordering the United States into the possession of other European powers, which simultaneously gave the United States the right to prudently occupy such areas until the issue of ownership was finally settled in a treaty. Another attempt in 1815 was unsuccessful: Spain insisted on a border along the Mississippi, in which case the United States would lose most of the areas acquired in 1803, and refused to cede East and West Florida. This was the state of the negotiations when Adams took over the negotiations with Spain. Within a short period of time, the Florida issue received additional explosive force as a result of Andrew Jackson's seizure of East Florida, indicating the urgency of a broad settlement between Spain and the United States.

In negotiations over the western border, Monroe was more willing to make concessions than Adams. Since the spring of 1818 at the latest, the Foreign Secretary had been trying to convince not only the Spanish ambassador, Luis de Onís de Gonzales, but also Monroe, that the border should run from the furthest point in the south through the Rocky Mountains westward to the Pacific Ocean. In long and difficult negotiations, Adams was able to achieve his goal because the position of the Spanish government in Europe gradually worsened, and Spain was unable to persuade the Holy Alliance to transatlantic intervention. Finally, Adams and Onis converged on the border along the Arkansas River to the Rocky Mountains, from where it would pass along latitude 42 degrees to the Pacific Ocean. The treaty, which was not much inferior in significance to the acquisition of Louisiana, transferred to the United States, in addition, both Floridas for $5 million. Treaties with England and Spain provided the United States with a corridor between 42 and 49 degrees of latitude all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

One of the main problems of negotiations with Spain was the issue of US diplomatic recognition of former Spanish colonies in Latin America. Adams, Monroe and Clay did not want to give in in any way to Spain's demand that such recognition be abandoned, although Adams was more reserved than Clay about when this recognition should occur. Monroe was again concerned about the position of the Holy Alliance powers and feared that recognition would provoke their intervention. In the summer of 1823, thanks to two new directions of development, the whole complex of issues resurfaced. The British Foreign Secretary proposed a general Anglo-American statement on the question of the former Spanish colonies, while Russia made it known in Washington that it was in principle opposed to the recognition of rebellious colonies with republican constitutions, but at the same time announced that it intended to use its legal claims to the north-west coast America for the purpose of building settlements there. The English proposal split the cabinet. Monroe and Calhoun were in favor, but Crawford and Adams were against the proposal. Finally, Adams proposed a dual strategy as a way out: a friendly refusal to England and an open explanation of the principles of American foreign policy in Monroe's message to Congress. This explanation could be based on the resolution of October 15, 1811, as well as on Washington's farewell message. The fundamental clarification of American statements led to the connection of Latin American issues with the American attitude towards European states and their role in America. This connection, as Adams's diary entry for November 21, 1823, shows, was largely the achievement of the Foreign Secretary. According to it, he wanted to show that the United States government refused to impose its political system on other powers or interfere in European affairs; on the contrary, it expects and hopes that the Europeans will renounce the spread of their principles into the American hemisphere or the forcible subordination to their will of any part of that continent. These principles, formulated here by Adams, were included in the President's message, which he presented to Congress on December 2, 1823, and which later, under the title, radically determined American foreign policy to the present day, although with some modifications.

The upcoming presidential elections next year have overshadowed the discussion of the reaction to the British and Russian initiatives. With the exception of the administratively completely inexperienced, but covered in the glory of military victory, Andrew Jackson, all other presidential candidates, along with Adams, Calhoun, Crauford and Clay, sat either in the cabinet or in Congress. Southern William Crawford, Monroe's treasury secretary, devoted himself to maintaining the nation's economic structure and, like Clay and Adams, to expanding the transportation system; John Calhoun of South Carolina emerged at this time, in the context of the extremely controversial issue of tariffs, into an energetic defender of the economic interests of the south, while Henry Clay, as Speaker of the House of Delegates, not only vigorously defended the interests of the western section in expanding the national transportation system, but also as the supporter was developing a continent-wide program, indebted to the legacy of the American Revolution. Adams himself shared the views of Crauford and Clay on the necessity and constitutionality of federal measures to create infrastructure (internal improvements), was close, although with some skepticism, to Clay’s “American System”, but, however, associated this with a policy of clear dissociation from Europe and a policy of emphasizing national foreign trade interests, directed especially against England. On the issue of duties, which, along with the issue of internal improvement, caused the greatest controversy between sections, Adams adhered to a rather neutral course in the election campaign, but could not, as in some other issues, avoid the reproach of , which unilaterally patronizes the interests of manufactures in New England. In general, Adams’s manners, expressions and behavior already revealed him as a native of this northern region.

Since Andrew Jackson received the most votes on Election Day, December 1, 1824, but none of the candidates received the required majority of popular votes, the decision was left to the House of Representatives. On February 9, 1825, she elected not Jackson as president, but John Quincy Adams, who was second in the electoral college. After Adams appointed Henry Clay as the new Foreign Secretary in his cabinet, Jackson and his supporters reproached Adams for making a secret agreement with Clay before the House vote that Clay's voters would vote for Adams, for which he will invite Clay to his office. In research, this reproach is still the subject of different opinions. Two circumstances should be taken into account: on the one hand, even before the election the gap between Clay and Jackson was obvious, on the other hand, Clay, like some others, doubted that Crauford, who entered the fight as the official candidate of the Republican Party, would be able to move away from severe blow that befell him in the summer of 1823, and will be able to act as president. For Clay, therefore, Jackson and Crawford did not constitute an alternative to Adams. No doubt there were some conversations between Adams and Clay before the vote. But the subject of their conversation was not important to most of their contemporaries. The sight and word of a military hero about a “sale deal” was enough for them to sentence Adams. This corruption charge weighed on his presidency from the very beginning.

Straightforwardness, personal coldness, scrupulous restraint in party-political issues and the inability to create his own political retinue and strengthen his political supporters by acceptable and usual methods of patronage at that time, in short: unswerving adherence to the principle of absolute political independence, which already at the beginning of the century gave rise to Adams’ deep the distrust of both Federalists and Republicans determined his presidential style of government and thereby simultaneously destroyed any prospect of a second election. Despite this, some, albeit rather immature, political actions, especially regarding the composition of his cabinet, make it clear that he planned to offer Jackson the post of Secretary of War, but decided against it when he realized that Jackson would take the offer as an insult. He offered Crauford the Treasury, but he refused, after which Adams decided to give the position to the American minister in London, Richard Rush, who, having been in Europe since 1817, had no support in America. Thus, the attempt to tie both of the most dangerous political rivals to the presidency failed. This situation was worsened by the fact that Adams left John McLean as postmaster general and thereby gave this follower of Calhoun, and then Jackson, extremely wide opportunities for patronage. Supporters of Crawford, Jackson, and Calhoun soon united in Congress in opposition to Adams' policies and prevented any of the President's vast plans from being carried out. In elections early in the third year of Adams's presidency, his opponents in both houses of Congress achieved majorities.

Adams's inauguration speech on March 4, 1825, expresses a high sense of the duties of the President, a conviction that he should serve the common good of all Americans, and that his highest purpose should be to promote the advancement of education and science. Basically, it was about raising a more virtuous and better educated republican and about creating the preconditions for economic progress by supporting internal improvements. He called for the unity of the nation, emphasized the contribution of both major parties, which in fact no longer existed, to the well-being of the country and expressed regret over the emerging conflicts in the sections. In addition, he demanded that the United States take an active role in the first conference of all the independent states of the continent in Panama. His proposals met with fierce resistance in Congress because they were based on a broad interpretation of federal powers in the Constitution.

Already when John Quincy Adams took office, his presidency was burdened with heavy mortgages. Others were added to them: an attempt to acquire equal access to the British Caribbean islands for American shipping failed due to resistance from London and even led to the closure of the West Indies ports to American ships in 1826. American inflexibility was to blame for the cessation of further negotiations. Adams had no choice in March 1827 but to retaliate by closing American ports to British shipping. The West Indian trade was able to normalize only in 1830. On the domestic political issue of protectionism, Adams, as before in the election struggle, tried to be extremely restrained due to complications in the sections, but due to the limitation of the law of 1824, public discussion was inevitable. Issued after the unusually bitter controversy of 1828, the Tariff of Aversion, with its high duties on English woolen goods, was disapproved of by Adams in his last message to Congress. But he could not repel the reproach that he was also to blame for the publication of this Tariff. Representatives of the southern states especially interpreted protectionism as a flagrant violation of the federal constitution and as an unconstitutional federal interference with the rights of individual states, which serious efforts were made to resist in South Carolina, John Calhoun's state.

During Adams's entire tenure as President, he was never able to define the topics of political debate outside and within Congress and thus give structure and direction to the discussion. This would require a more active and politicized understanding of the responsibilities of the presidency than Adams possessed. It is therefore not surprising that in 1828 Adams had virtually no prospects for re-election. Jackson and his supporters, beginning in 1826, systematically organized not only opposition to Adams, but also the election of Jackson as the new president. Adams's supporters began to create organizations in the states too late. Jackson won the election with 56% of the popular vote and 178 to 83 electoral college votes.

Other presidents who were not re-elected have since retired from active politics, John Adams being the best example. His son was a surprising exception. After a brief respite, Adams returned in early December 1831 as MP for Plymouth, where he served until his death on 21 February 1848. He died in Congress during the debate on the Mexican-American War, which Adams as energetically rejected as he strongly supported attempts to limit or completely abolish slavery, and successfully fought all the tactical tricks of the representatives of the southern states who opposed it.

In retrospect, Adams remains an astonishing statesman whose political significance rests not on his presidency but on the foreign policy successes before him, in the House of Representatives, and after him. As Foreign Secretary, Adams had outstanding qualities: cool reason, sober weighing of interests, deep knowledge, intellectual independence, which, however, did not make him popular as president. Quite the contrary, they alienated him from the politicians of his time and, in conjunction with his understanding of the duties of the president, made him more of a preacher than a real leader of the nation. Loyalty to principles, courage and impartiality, which grew out of distrust of political groups and parties, gave Adams, as a politician before and after the presidency, the high authority that he rightfully enjoys to this day.

Adams John Quincy

When interpreting a birth horoscope, the best method is to begin the analysis with its general features, moving on from these to the details. This is the usual plan of progression - from a general analysis of the horoscope and its structure, to a description of various character traits.

The twelve zodiac signs are grouped based on common characteristics. The first way is to unite according to their nature, their basis. Such a combination is called grouping by elements. There are four elements - Fire, Earth, Air, Water.

The distribution of planets in the horoscope by elements is determined by basis of personality its owner and in this case it is...

Elements

Expressed element of earth . Like most Earth signs, you are efficient, concrete and not overly emotional. You judge a tree by its fruit. Your ideas may change, your words may disappear, but your actions and their consequences are visible and remain. Try to express your sensitivity, even if it shows your vulnerability. Emotions, energy and communication cannot be neglected; a particular action is meaningless unless it is aligned with your heart, your intellect, or your passion.

The twelve zodiac signs are also divided into three groups of qualities from four signs. Each group contains signs that have certain common qualities. Each group has its own way of expressing itself in life. Cardinal signs carry out the transition from one to another; overcoming, conquest, and elimination are associated with them. Fixed signs carry out embodiment, concentration, appropriation. Mutable signs prepare the transition to something else and carry out adaptation, change, assumption.

The distribution of planets in a horoscope by quality determines way of expressing personality its owner, and in this case it is...

Qualities

Mutable (changeable) quality most emphasized in your natal chart, indicating an emerging symbol that tends to be curious and thirsty for new experiences and development. You are a lively and flexible person who prefers to respond quickly to circumstances. But do not confuse mobility with atomization and agitation; this is the danger of such a configuration. Personal defense doesn't matter as long as you don't get bored. You optimize and change your plans, things and surroundings in a fast way.

Your planetary (synthetic) sign - Virgo

You are conservative, nervous and worried, prone to some formalism in everyday life, which can create monotony and lead to stagnation. If the earth is stronger than the mutability, you can succeed professionally, be a stable and consistent person. If this is not the case, forces that can lead to worries and difficulties in making decisions may prevail.

John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States. Structure (components) of energy

Main characteristics

Motivation: self-foundation, will, source of motivation, center

Sun in Cancer
You are truly devoted to home and family, hardworking, caring and dreamy. Although you are quiet and studious, it is very important to you to know what others think of you. You want to be needed by others, and through truly caring for people you can overcome your natural shyness. You love to cook, host and collect. If the need arises, you can intrigue to achieve a goal, and this goal is emotional security. You should always have a quiet place where you can get away from others, since you react too strongly to outside influences.

Emotions: sensitivity, receptivity, impressionability

John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the USA

Moon in Capricorn
You are emotional and overly sensitive, but at the same time, critical of others. However, if you are interested in something, you show great understanding and energy. You are shy and unsure of your own worth. You have many subconscious fears or imaginary dangers. You try to justify your existence by emphasizing your own dignity and showing ambition to achieve success. Therefore you are not truly compassionate. Your mind reacts quickly to sensory perceptions, but its reaction is often angry and unfriendly. At work, you are diligent and diligent, and, thanks to your endurance and constancy, you can take on great responsibility and achieve a high position in the service. You are careful when it comes to money, reasonable and practical. Develop kindness and tenderness, giving people everything good, without expecting or demanding anything in return, you will get more joy and pleasure than if you make strict rules and demands.

Intelligence: mind, reason, mind, speech, communication

John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the USA

Mercury in Leo
You tend to be dramatic and always involve your heart when thinking about something. You are a dreamer and an idealist, and your connections are usually romantic. You are full of dignity, inner refinement and always strive to create a good impression of yourself. Wanting to be seen as an authority, you are a problem solver, but sometimes neglect the details. You are ambitious and good at completing tasks.

Harmony: measure, conjugation, sympathy, coherence, values

John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the USA

John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767 in Quincy, Massachusetts, USA. He grew up in the family of one of the “founding fathers” of the United States, John Adams. In 1787, the young man graduated from Harvard Law School and followed in his father's footsteps, devoting most of his life to the diplomatic service. Adams began his public activities at the age of 11; he twice accompanied his father during his diplomatic missions to Europe, serving as a secretary.

In 1794, under the first US President George Washington, he was sent as ambassador to the Netherlands. While his father was in power, John Quincy became ambassador to Prussia, a position he held from 1797 to 1801.

In 1803, he was elected to the US Senate, and in 1809, during the administration of Thomas Jefferson, he again went to Europe, becoming the first US ambassador to Russia in history.

From here, in 1814, Adams moved to Great Britain, where he took part in the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. Adams returned to America in 1817, becoming Secretary of State in the administration of President James Monroe. In this post, he launched a struggle for North America, for which historians called him “the father of American expansion.”

Adams did everything in his power to ensure that expansion did not take centuries, but much less time. He was responsible for the convention with England for the joint occupation of Oregon in 1818 and the treaty with Spain that established the United States as a transcontinental power and established the southern border of the Oregon Territory in 1819. Also as Secretary of State, Adams became the author of the "principle of non-colonization" - an important part of the Monroe Doctrine.

In 1824, he took the White House, becoming the sixth president of the United States and the first president in American history to be elected by the House of Representatives. Adams' reign was marked by various difficulties. For example, maritime trade with the West Indies was interrupted at this time. Adams was accused of violating the Constitution, in particular, of federal interference in the affairs of individual states. There were other nuances due to which Adams had virtually no prospects for re-election in 1828.

After losing the 1828 election, Adams retired to his estate, but soon returned to power, becoming a member of the House of Representatives in 1831. He is the only American president to be elected to Congress after his presidential term ended. In Congress, Adams became an ardent fighter against slavery and the policy of “southern expansionism,” and opposed the removal of Indians and the invasion of Mexico.

John Quincy Adams died on February 28, 1848 in Washington. A few days earlier, while giving a speech to Congress, he became so agitated that he had a stroke. A few days later, the talented but already middle-aged politician passed away.

John Quincy Adams was born in 1767 in the family of one of the “founding fathers” of the United States, the future second president of the country, John Adams. John graduated from Harvard Law School in 1787, but most of his life was spent in the diplomatic service.

Under the first US President George Washington, Adams served as envoy to the Netherlands (1794); During his father's time in power he was envoy to Prussia (1797-1801). In 1803, Adams was elected to the US Senate. In 1809 he returned him to Europe, appointing him the first envoy to Russia in US history (1809-1814). From Russia he returned as envoy to Great Britain (1814-1817). As an envoy, Adams took part in the preparation and signing of the War of 1812-1814, but began the Oregon Question.

In 1817, John Quincy Adams returned to his homeland and became Secretary of State in the Administration. As Secretary of State, Adams launched a struggle for the North American continent. Historians deservedly call him the “father of American expansion.”

In November 1819, Secretary of State Adams made his policy statement: “Until the United States is identified in the European mind with North America as a geographical reality, any effort on our part to dissuade the world from our ambitious designs will only convince everyone that we are hypocrites. concealing their true purposes... Since we became an independent people, it has been as much a law of nature that this [the continent of North America] has become our claim, as that the Mississippi flows into the sea. Spain has possessions to the south, and England to the north of our borders. It would be incredible if centuries passed without them being annexed by us... It would be unnatural and absurd if such scattered territories, the owners of which are overseas at a distance of 15 hundred miles and which are burdensome and worthless to them, would exist constantly, in contact with a great, powerful, enterprising and rapidly growing nation."

Adams did everything in his power to ensure that expansion did not take centuries, but much less time. He was responsible for the convention with England for the joint occupation of Oregon (1818) and the treaty with Spain that established the United States as a transcontinental power and established the southern border of the Oregon Territory (1819). Secretary of State Adams is also considered the author of the "principle of non-colonization", an integral part of the famous Monroe Doctrine (1823).

In 1824, Adams was a presidential candidate. When neither he nor , failed to win a majority in the Electoral College, the choice of president was entrusted to the House of Representatives of the US Congress. Unexpectedly, Clay's supporters supported Adams, and he became the country's sixth president. In gratitude for his support, Clay was appointed Secretary of State, prompting accusations of corruption.

Adams's inauguration speech on March 4, 1825, expresses a high sense of the duties of the President, a conviction that he should serve the common good of all Americans, and that his highest purpose should be to promote the advancement of education and science. Basically, it was about raising a more virtuous and better educated republican and about creating the preconditions for economic progress by promoting internal improvements. He called for the unity of the nation, emphasized the contribution of both major parties, which in fact no longer existed, to the well-being of the country and expressed regret over the emerging conflicts in the sections. In addition, he demanded that the United States take an active role in the first conference of all the independent states of the continent in Panama. His proposals faced fierce resistance in Congress because they were based on the Constitution's broad interpretation of federal powers.

Already when John Quincy Adams took office, his presidency was burdened with heavy mortgages. Others were added to them: an attempt to acquire equal access to the British Caribbean islands for American shipping failed due to resistance from London and even led to the closure of the West Indies ports to American ships in 1826. American inflexibility was to blame for the cessation of further negotiations. Adams had no choice in March 1827 but to retaliate by closing American ports to British ships. The West Indian trade was able to normalize only in 1830. On the domestic political issue of protectionism, Adams, as before in the election struggle, tried to be extremely restrained due to complications in the sections, but due to the limitation of the law of 1824, public discussion was inevitable. Issued after the unusually bitter controversy of 1828, the Tariff of Aversion, with its high duties on English woolen goods, was disapproved of by Adams in his last message to Congress. But he could not repel the reproach that he was also to blame for the publication of this Tariff. Representatives of the southern states especially interpreted protectionism as a flagrant violation of the federal constitution and as an unconstitutional federal interference with the rights of the individual states, which South Carolina, a state, made serious efforts to resist.

After Jackson won the 1828 election, Adams retired to his estate, but soon returned to power, becoming a member of the House of Representatives in 1831. (John Quincy Adams is the only American president to be elected to Congress after end of his presidential term.) In Congress, Adams becomes an ardent fighter against the policy of “southern expansionism.” He opposed any laws that encouraged the continuation of slavery; against "Indian Removal" and (1846-1848).

On February 21, 1848, through Adams' efforts, a bill to reward generals who participated in the Mexican War was defeated. Adams and his associate George Giddings said they were not going to "thank the killers." The speech that Adams read that day caused him such excitement that the heart of the talented but elderly politician could not stand it - he suffered a blow. Two days later, without regaining consciousness, the “father of American expansion” died.

Quotes:

Boorstin D. The Americans. The National Experience. NY, 1965. b. 271.; History of Russian America: in 3 vols. M., 1999. T. 3. P. 192.
Potokova N.V. The capture of Texas and the war with Mexico // American expansionism. New time M., 1985. P. 118.