John Quincy Adams is regarded as one of the greatest diplomats and secretaries of state in U.S. history. He shaped America's foreign policy in line with his nationalist leanings, modernized the U.S. economy, was a strong opponent of slavery, and involved himself with many international treaties.
These memoirs, distilled from a wealth of material that includes private and public papers, are edited by his son Charles Francis Adams. They provide an unrivalled window on events during the presidency, casting light on the motivation behind his actions. The complete set is now very rare and this edition, with a new introduction by a leading contemporary scholar, will be welcomed all those with an interest in U.S. political and constitutional history, U.S. foreign policy, slavery, and in John Quincy Adams and his times.
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States from March 4, 1825 to March 4, 1829. He was also an American diplomat and served in both the Senate and House of Representatives. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties.
During his term as president, however, Adams achieved little of consequence in foreign affairs. A reason for this was the opposition he faced in Congress, where his rivals prevented him from succeeding.
Among the few diplomatic achievements of his administration were treaties of reciprocity with a number of nations, including Denmark, Mexico, the Hanseatic League, the Scandinavian countries, Prussia and Austria. However, thanks to the successes of Adams' diplomacy during his previous eight years as Secretary of State, most of the foreign policy issues he would have faced had been resolved by the time he became President.
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