John Quincy Adams - Interesting Tidbits

J.Q. Adams through the years

While reading David McCullough’s John Adams, I learned some interesting tidbits about his son and our 6th President John Quincy Adams. While McCullough’s book focuses on John Adams, his son is quite interesting as well so in continuation with yesterday’s theme of interesting facts, here are some on John Quincy:

• John Quincy Adams was the only son of a President to be President until George W. Bush was elected in 2000.

• He travelled to France with his father when he was 11 years old during the American Revolution while his father served as a diplomat and developed a love of theater.

• He was a diplomat under Washington then his father, J. Adams, and served in Russia, Prussia, Holland, Sweden, France, and Great Britain.

• He was elected as the Senator from Massachusetts and served in that position for eight years. Prior to his election in 1824 as President, he served as Secretary of State under James Monroe.

• He was the second president chosen by the House of Representative due to an Electoral College tie with Andrew Jackson.

• He served twenty years as a representative from Massachusetts in the House of Representatives and died at his desk on the House floor.

• Like his father he had an unremarkable presidency though like his father he was quite a remarkable man.

• He voted against annexation of Texas and appeared before the Supreme Court in the Amistad case.

• Like his father he was moody, humorless, and temperamental but kept extensive diaries which help us understand his life.

• His wife was the first foreign born First Lady and the only one until Melania Trump. He would have four children with her. Their only daughter died as an infant. It appears they did not have the happiest of marriages.

• He was not a good dresser and was the first President to wear full length pants. He installed the first billiards table in the White House at his own personal expense.

To learn more about President J.Q. Adams, I will be reading his diaries which were given to me by my daughter for Christmas as well as finding other books to read about this very accomplished man.

For more information about John Quincy Adams please visit the Adams National Historical Site as well as the Massachusetts Historical Society