John Quincy Adams: Independent

John Quincy Adams: Independent

VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.

Today we are talking about John Quincy Adams. Does his name sound familiar? John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, was the son of John Adams, the second president.

Like his father, Quincy Adams had a sharp mind and a difficult personality. And, like his father, Quincy Adams served only one four-year term in office.

But Quincy Adams went on to have many successful years working in a different job. He is the only former president (so far) to serve in the House of Representatives.

Great expectations

The parents of John Quincy Adams, John and Abigail, were strong patriots². Theirs was one of the founding families of America.

Abigail Adams especially raised her son to serve his country. She expected him to become president. She told him that, with his good education and training, if he did not serve in a high public office it would be his own fault.

Quincy Adams did not disappoint his mother. As a child, he learned to speak at least four languages and read Greek and Latin. He also studied Shakespeare's plays.

At age 10, he traveled with his father to Europe. As a young man, he worked alongside John Adams in American diplomatic offices in Paris, Amsterdam and St. Petersburg.

Finally, Quincy Adams returned to his home in Boston in time to graduate from Harvard. He was working as a lawyer by the age of 23.

Stories confirm that Quincy Adams was a brilliant boy and young man. But he rarely compromised his ideas. His inability to work with other lawmakers and to consider public opinion were partly to blame for his difficult presidency⁴.

Poor politician. Excellent diplomat³

Quincy Adams may have been a poor politician, but he was an excellent diplomat. In the early part of his career, he served as the American ambassador to the Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Britain.

He helped lead the negotiations⁵ that ended the War of 1812.

And he served for eight years as secretary of state under James Monroe.

Some of that president's accomplishments⁷ owe a lot to Quincy Adams. He helped negotiate the purchase of Florida from Spain.

And, he was of the people responsible for the Monroe Doctrine⁸. It warned Europe not to interfere⁹ in the Western Hemisphere.

But Quincy Adams could be impatient, especially with lawmakers. Many of them, he believed, did not care much about the country and wanted to help only themselves.

Quincy Adams also avoided political battles. As secretary of state, he appointed people whom he thought were capable, even if they did not support his political party.

Similarly, when he became president, he tried to bring political opponents -- along with representatives of different parts of the country -- together in his cabinet.

His opponents, however, refused to serve.

And, although his cabinet included southerners, he did not really have the support of the South.

Presidency

Yet Quincy Adams talked about unity¹⁰ in his presidential inaugural¹¹ speech. Adams said the Constitution and the representative democracy of the United States had proved a success. The nation was free and strong and stretched across the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

He noted¹² that political divisions had eased. So now, he said, it was time for the people to settle their differences and make a truly national government.

In his first message to Congress, President Adams described his ideas.

The chief purpose of the government, he said, was to improve the lives of the people it governed. To do this, he offered a national program of building roads and canals. He also proposed a national university and a national scientific center.

Adams said Congress should not be limited to making laws only to improve the nation's economic life. He said it should make laws to improve the arts and sciences, too.

But many people of the West and South did not believe that the Constitution gave the federal government the power to do all these things. They believed these powers belonged to the states.

Their representatives in Congress rejected the president's proposals.

In addition, a new opposition¹³ party was trying to weaken support for Quincy Adams. They supported a general from Tennessee named Andrew Jackson.

Historian Harlow Giles Unger says John Quincy Adams was never able to meet the high expectations many people had for him.

"His presidency was a complete failure," Unger told VOA. "He was able to accomplish nothing."

Retirement¹⁴ ... sort of

Quincy Adams lost the presidential election of 1828 in a landslide¹⁵.

He refused to attend the inauguration¹⁶ of Andrew Jackson. He returned to his home in Quincy, Massachusetts depressed¹⁷ and worried about the country.

His wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, believed they were returning to Massachusetts to stay. She was an American, but was born in England. Her mother was British. She was, at the time, the first foreign-born first lady.

John and Louisa had four children, but their only daughter had died as a baby. Their sons were grown by the time Quincy Adams retired¹⁸ from the presidency.

Soon he became restless.

Some neighbors asked if Quincy Adams would consider representing the district as a member of the U.S. Congress. He agreed – but only if voters would let him act as he believed was right, instead of as what would be politically popular.

Apparently¹⁹ they agreed, too, because voters elected Quincy Adams to the House of Representatives nine times.

In Congress, Quincy Adams often fought for citizen's individual liberty. He strongly opposed slavery. His ideas were not widely popular at the time, especially among other lawmakers. They had created a rule that said Congress would not even consider any measures against slavery.

Yet Quincy Adams defended the rights of enslaved people -- frequently, and sometimes successfully.

He died at the age of 88, a few days after suffering a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives.

At the time, lawmakers were considering a proposal. And, as usual, John Quincy Adams was loudly voting no.

Words in This Story

patriot¹ - n. a person who loves and strongly supports or fights for his or her country

fault - n. responsibility for a problem, mistake or bad situation

disappoint - v. to make someone unhappy by not being as good as expected or by not doing something that was hoped for or expected

graduate - v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

accomplishment⁶ - n. the successful completion of something

landslide - n. an election in which the winner gets a much greater number of votes than the loser

1 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

2 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

3 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

7 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

9 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

10 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

11 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

15 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

16 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

17 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

18 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

19 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。