John Quincy Adams

Children's Literature

On July 11, 1812, John Quincy Adams wrote in his diary..."two-thirds of a long life are past, and I have done nothing to distinguish it by usefulness to my country or to mankind." How wrong he was. The eldest son of President John Adams, John Quincy was an intelligent, well educated, well traveled and extraordinarily hardworking man. He had already served his country as minister to the Netherlands, Prussia and Russia and been elected first to the Massachusetts Senate and then to the United States Senate before he wrote those words. In the years that followed he was elected president of the United States and, after losing his second bid for the presidency, elected to the United States congress where he became a "passionate spokesperson for the abolition of slavery." He died at age 80 years in the U.S. Capitol. This volume from the "Presidential Leaders" series is illustrated with black and white drawings from historical archives. At the end of the book, readers will find a timeline, source notes, a selected bibliography and a list of books and websites with further information on Adams. This is an excellent introduction to a man whose life was distinguished by its usefulness to his country and to mankind. 2005, Lerner Publications Company, Ages 9 to 13.
—Anita Barnes Lowen