Away in maine as i read and write. I dont have the opportunity to political in current and military things. But i have written biographies about Thomas Carlyle and Charles Dickens and henry james and mark twain. Somehow i got directed more towards some history and the interconnection between literature and politics in recent years. The figure that brought me there was our wonderful 16th president , Abraham Lincoln. My most recent book prior to John Quincy Adams american was lincoln, the biography of a writer. Me that lincoln was not only an extra ordinary politician and a deeply humane and beautiful man, he also was a great writer in his own way and contributed very importantly to american literature. That book focused on the development of literary genius. Lincoln brought me to John Quincy Adams because on various levels, items kept coming to my in terms of lincoln as a political philosopher, lincoln as a man reacting to contemporary issues, and lincoln as a writer. Suddenly it occurred to me, what am i going to do next . Should i do a biography of John Quincy Adams . Only a madman will do this. , but itme six years also provided me with the pleasure of being here tonight with this distinguished moderator. Thank you, fred. Adams andout quincy lincoln, one of the Amazing Things about John Quincy Adams is he knew George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. This biography gives us a full orchard of the public and private John Quincy Adams. I want to read something that John Quincy Adams wrote. He said, we are sent into this world for some end. It is our duty to discover what when we oncend discover it, to pursue it with unconquerable perseverance. You would think that John Quincy Adams said that at the end of his life. He wrote that when he was 11 years old. What kind of a child are we talking about here . When i was 11 years old i was writing other kinds of sayings. I deeply identify with that expression of dedication of John Quincy Adams. I gradually over a lifetime became just obsessed with accomplishing something. I really have the sense that at 11 years of age, john quincy heir to a certain kind of modern new england with a mission that was inseparable from society, family, place he lived, community, etc. That hehis strong sense was someone i could identify with. He came from a political and literary background. I come from a very different world, jewish world, secondgeneration immigrants. These were people of the book. Adams is very much from the family,s was his entire his father john adams and his mother abigail they were also people of the book. Was an obsession in the adams family. Couldere just they just as much and well write as breathe. There were many ups and downs in his career. He inherited from his parents a sense of his potential. He embraced it. He went through many difficulties, both professional ,nd personal, or and in the end when the presence of Abraham Lincoln, the one Term Congress the one Term Congressman from 48, hes on february 18 collapsed on the floor of the house of representatives and of 80. The age who this is the last of earth. I am content. One of the great advantages of this new england england family was the richness of sources. His diary, which he kept from around the age of 13 to the very end of his life. One of the stunning moments here is towards the ends of his life, he writes an entry that he labels, posthumously more. Memoir. Scholar, you make a lot of that diary not just as a record, but the importance of it for adams trying to come to terms with his own identity in some ways. What is it about that diary and what is the larger argument here about the role that diary keeping cap keeping meant for adams life . He kept that diary most days of his life, with certain interruptions, but they were not lengthy. As he came into his adulthood diarys maturity, the which he defined as a record of and as a statement and as an am here, intimate companion for his feelings, his thoughts, his ideas, his intellectual musings, his religious concerns, the ups and downs of his daily life and so on, all that was for John Quincy Adams probably the most continuous daily immersed months selfexpression , and selfexploration. He was a very good writer. Not a great writer. A very good writer. As an immensely educated man, i would argue that he was the most educated of all our president s, even more so than Thomas Jefferson. Lets say for those of us who are jeffersonians, he was a close second. It became a living, organic, ongoing expression of everything that was important to him. It was also what he called when he advocated to his sons that they also keep diaries. It was also a way of holding himself up to an ethical so that hef standard could say i have behaved well today or i have not behaved well. Im feeling good about what i did. Im not feeling good, and why. Document,xtraordinary among other reasons for historians especially, is because here is a man who is actively engaged in the diplomatic and political a 60 to 70of almost year period. In early adulthood, George Washington appoints him , toster, same as ambassador the netherlands. Then he gets appointed to other but he startssts, with George Washington writing , dois father, john adams not think that i am appointing because to this office of some favoritism. No, on the contrary, i have the strong belief that he will turn out historically to be an ornament to american diplomacy. At the end of john quincys with Abraham Lincoln there and being appointed an honorary pallbearer for his funeral. Thate could probably argue he invents american diplomacy, that he is the greatest american diplomat of all time. Just to read some of his appointments with which people may not be familiar, he was minister to berlin, and mr. To prussia, the first United States minister to russia, and of course, secretary of state. That thele would argue munro doctrine should probably be called the adams doctrine. Hise were to assess importance in American History just for his to romantic Service Diplomatic service, what judgment would you render about what ways he contributed to ideas of american diplomacy . My judgment is the greatest american secretary of state, but im partial. In the early years of the republic, he represented the and thenates in europe from 1817 to march 1825. Some of the major negotiations and advances of american president s as this fledgling negligible from its position in World Affairs to 1830s, a major power. Be afterower it was to the civil war, but a major power. One of the great accomplishments as secretary of state, the greatest accomplishment is the treaty, which brought us florida and which extended the western boundary of the United States, which was hazy and undefined after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Nobody knew where the purchase ended. Different powers have different positions. Adams and the adams onus treaty, 1819 to 1821, obtained more territory for the United States than anyone other than Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase here it a diplomatic achievement of John Quincy Adams was most proud of and said was his crowning achievement was the ghent peace 1814, whichcember and almostnnecessary fruitless war of 1812, even though we in the United States did not learn about the war being over until january 1815, after the battle of new orleans, fought after the peace treaty had been signed, had been fought. The war is said, over. Even the fastest ship we have cannot get to new orleans in time to stop our British Forces from badly beating these americans. The battle was fought. If that battle had not been fought, who would have heard of venture jackson . Andrew jackson . For all of his Great Success as a diplomat, the general assessment is his presidency was hampered from the start. Here is a biography of one of our president s, and i think you can go about 40 pages through his presidency. Presidency,bout his what hampers it, and do you have any kind of an assessment over whether some accomplishments during his presidency [indiscernible] to the first part of your question, the presidency was hampered by the fact that he was the second president to be elected by the house of representatives. Each state gets only one vote, not five. The first president to be elected by the house of representatives was Thomas Jefferson. However, there were special circumstances there. He was clearly the victim of ehrenberg. In John Quincy Adams case, obtained the majority of votes in the house of representatives, Andrew Jackson had obtained more popular votes and more Electoral College votes. Thehat circumstance, jackson people were furious. They were particularly furious at henry clay as well as at hads, because henry clay turned over his house of representatives affiliates, if you will, three states that would do whatever henry clay wanted. Henry clay hated jackson. Jefferson waske on the record on this, all three andrewe men thought jackson was totally unqualified to be president of the United States by temperament and by experience. So, [indiscernible] thereafter the jackson forces decided they would do Everything Possible to make sure the John Quincy Adams accomplished nothing as president. That can happen. [laughter] however, there were some accomplishments. But there are a lot of interesting things that happened too. Things is john as president , appointing a delegation to a south americancentral american conference to be held in panama, at which the black republic of haiti was to be represented. An extraordinary series of conflicts between the slave forces of the south and the house of representatives in , and all those in another camp, if you will. John quincy adams was looking forward to this panamerican unity. Because of haiti being a black republic, that conference was undermined if not destroyed. Is John Quincy Adams presidency is not what on he accomplished, but what he expressed in his inaugural address and annual messages to theress, and in terms of way in which he was able to articulate a view of americas that from my point of view and i think for many of us today was the right direction for america and the direction in which we eventually came. The subtitle of your biography is american visionary. What is that vision . Visionelements of that an america which is a country unified by a federal solidaritywhich has and power to bring out the best in all the states in the country under federal leadership that inl bind the nation together which there will be a progressive balance between the powers of the state and the powers of the federal government , pointing towards a nation that is unified by public projects, by infrastructure, by roads and highways, by canals that are dredged, in h in a nation ,nified by a common currency but especially by a Banking Structure that would be national and modern, that would divide credit for businesses, that would allow a way in which the country could finance its self that would be constructive and move towards the future. Addition, he put tremendous emphasis on technology and science. He wanted federal funds to be used for that. He put tremendous emphasis on technology. He himself was an amateur astronomer test, but when John Quincy Adams was an amateur or anything, he knew that subject inside and out. Died, he before he actually traveled to cincinnati, ohio when he was ill to provide the inaugural address at the opening of the cincinnati astronomical observatory. This is a man with a vision for the future. Who said,o a man looking back at jefferson and jackson and particularly at , thatrn restrictionists the constitution of the United States is a living, growing, organic documents. Whenst remain true to it it is explicit about what it tells us, but there is broad room for interpretation to make it suitable for the modern world. It is a classic vision of American Society and growth that will morph into the republican vision that lincoln and others will pick up. Here is a man, greatest diplomat of his age, was also a senator, president of the United States. He is 64 years old. Time to pack it in for most people. Instead what we get is perhaps the greatest last act in public life. Why does he agree to go to congress in the first place . Then we will talk about what he accomplishes in congress. Diplomat president and then congressman, notorious congressman, the bestknown congressman in the country. Why does he do it . His whole family is against it very his sons are against it. Wife, the wonderful and talented Louisa Catherine a wonderful marriage, tortured and difficult, happy and wonderful, long, but the entire family against this. By hisng the invitation local constituency in the sachusetts state restrict district [indiscernible] that he would become their candidate on what was emerging as the whig ticket. Andill leave that out of it just say we would like you to represent us. Adams lived all his life by the maxim that i will never ask to be nominated for anything. I will never ask for anybodys vote. I am not a soundbite man. Asked. Serve if i will never say no if asked, and i think i can do the job. Yes, so he represented the massachusetts district from 42 until through 18 his death in 1848. Gradually he became the most notorious, the most caustic, the most volatile, the most eloquent exponent. Rule. Cus was on the gag the country was ruled by the slave of percy slaveocracy, as it began to be called. They got more electoral votes and so forth. They dominated the house and senate. The institute is something called the gag rule. You can talk about anything you want. Everyone has a right to present a petition to congress. Except on one subject, slavery. Is a moment where antislavery agitation in particular in the north is rising and peeking from 1831 on. Hes in his position at the perfect moment, and he becomes radicalized. They have always worried privately that slavery will be the rock on which the union will founder. There was worry. They are not publicly outspoken about it. And then there are other issues. In 1819, 18 20, 1821, in the , will theympromise be slave states, will they be free states John Quincy Adams becomes more occupied, preoccupied, but still mostly privately with the slavery question, and begins to really express himself strongly about it in his diary and privately to people. It is not until he gets into congress that he becomes publicly vocal about it. Initially being very concerned that he will never get reelected to congress if he makes such a stink about all of this. They felipe south alone if we possibly can. He begins to get into big fights in congress. E has other support the abolitionist forces in the country become very powerful and dominant. Frederick douglass and so many others become major voices. ,here is John Quincy Adams really aging and wizened and tired. He could always get up the energy. Old man, sinking in his seat in the house. When they call on him, he jumps. Him, hey dont call on jumps up and says are you trying to gag me . Until 1844 that finally as certain kinds of Political Forces changed in the country and some of the battles between north and south changed the John Quincy Adams and his colleagues were successful, triumphant, and the gag rule which had become a continuing rule was finally withdrawn forever. It had been on a continuing resolution, so they did not have to vote on it. You tell wonderful stories of adams. The idea that the right to petition should be denied, and the things that he did if im not mistaken, they try to censor him spurs him for speaking out of turn. He held the floor for five consecutive days. They gave him the platform they hoped to prevent them from having in the first place. He was a magnificent tactician. He was a magnificent tactician. He was very clever. He was a great public performer. Put on lots of performances, the point of which was to antagonize the southern members of the house so that they would lose their temper, and they were not magnificent tacticians. They gave him two opportunities because they try to censor him twice. It was very painful to him, even though he [indiscernible] it. He could get the floor of the house and keep it as long as he could stand. And of course, get a but a publicist he getting a lot of publicity for his position. Kind of extraordinary ,ombination of human qualities remarkable and admirable. This is a man who loves solitude. To read. Man who loves he studies languages. He knows greek, latin, french, german, italian. He studies spanish. He learns some russian. He learned some russian when he is in russia. He studies astronomy. He becomes a horticulturist. Him, allgoes out to the dead plants that failed on him. Thereen at the same time, he is in public with this tremendous passion for expressing himself. Is so fascinating. To go back into the diaries, he writes in the diary that he suffers from