A biography of John Adams; read about his life and accomplishments.
Most former Presidents retire from public life and never again run for political office. They generally write books and give speeches for large sums of money. But this was not so with our sixth President John Quincy Adams.
In most history classes in America John Quincy Adams is known as being one the greatest people to ever serve as Secretary of Sate. Along with this he is also known as the one who became President through a corrupt bargain with Henry Clay. In the Election of 1824 this was how the Electoral vote were distributed among the four candidates;
Andrew Jackson-99
John Quincy Adams-84
William Crawford-41
Henry Clay-37
Under twelfth amendment if no candidate gets a fifty- percent majority the election goes to the House of Representatives for a vote. Also Clay was out of the race and gave his support to Adams. In return Adams appointed Clay Secretary of State. Jackson and his supporters accused both of them of making a corrupt bargain; this scandal haunted Adams though out his Presidency. And resulted in his defeat for reelection for the Presidency, losing to Jackson. For years this is how John Quincy Adams was remembered in history. But in recent years this has changed. When the movie Amistad came out many people discovered that Adams became a U.S. Congressman and a defender of Civil Rights.
The Amistad was a Cuban schooner that contained several African captives. The captives overtook the ship, but later the U.S. captured the schooner and held the Africans for trail. In 1939 John Quincy Adams, now known as "Old Man Eloquent," became the defendants attorney. The Amistad Case made it to the Supreme Court in 1841, and John Adams gave his famous speech in defense of the African captives. The Court ruled in his favor and many of the captives were able to return home.
In Adams years as Congressman (1830-1848), for the Plymouth district in Massachusetts, he battled the supporters of slavery. This is evident in his opposition of the annexation of Texas as a slave state. And repelling a gag order prohibiting slavery issues in Congress. He also made a speech in defense of patriotic women by using biblical examples of Easter and Deborah and their willingness to stand up for their nation and its people.
From now on when you here critics say Adams was a corrupt President, just remember in later years he became one of the strongest fighters of Constitutional rights.
