Fun Presidential Facts – John Quincy Adams

Here are some quick facts, opinions, quotes and other information on President John Quincy Adams:

Personal Information on John Quincy Adams:

Sixth President (1825-1829)

Birthday: July 11, 1767 (Saturday)
Birthplace: Braintree, Massachusetts
Birthplace Website: President John Quincy Adams’ Birthplace
Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Date of Death: February 23, 1848 (Wednesday)
Place of Death: Washington DC
Place of Burial: United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts
Cause of Death: Stroke
Age: 80 years old
Length of Retirement: 6930 days
Burial website: President John Quincy Adams’ Grave

Interesting John Quincy Adams facts:

John Quincy Adams was perhaps one of the greatest diplomats and Secretary of States to ever become President. Among his many accomplishments in those roles were: he negotiated key elements of the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812 with Britain, he negotiated a good part of our Canadian border with Britain, he negotiated with Spain for the annexation of Florida, and he drafted the Monroe Doctrine.
Only two of our Presidents have married foreign born women. Our current President, Donald Trump, has been married three times. His first wife, Marie Zelnícková Zlín Trump, was born in Moravia, Czechoslovakia. Trump’s third and current wife, Melanija “Melania” Knavs “Knauss” Trump, was born in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia. The other President with a foreign born wife is John Quincy Adams. His wife, his only wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, was born in London, England.
So far in our history there have only been five years that have produced more than one President. The most Presidents born in any year is three. In 1946, Donald Trump (June 14), George W. Bush (July 6), and Bill Clinton (August 19) were born. In the four other cases two Presidents were born in the same year. John Quincy Adams (July 11) and Andrew Jackson (March 15) were both born in 1767 and they were the first sets of Presidents born in the same year. The year 1822 produced Ulysses Grant (April 27) and Rutherford Hayes (October 4). The year 1913 produced Richard Nixon (January 9) and Gerald Ford (July 14). The year 1924 produced George HW Bush (June 12) and Jimmy Carter (October 1).

My favorite John Quincy Adams Quotes:

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties and obstacles vanish.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

Idleness is sweet, and its consequences are cruel.

Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote was never lost.

Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.

John Quincy Adams blogs (click the title to go to that page):

John Quincy Adams page on Presidential Crossroads (click “John Quincy Adams” below):

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams Blogs:

Just like his Dad and the theatre fight

Serving in the House of Representatives after being President

Views on education

Monroe Doctrine

Messing up a unanimous election

Personal thoughts on John Quincy Adams:

Strengths:

Rise from nothing, Willingness to serve

Weaknesses:

Not a good persuader, Lack of boldness, Not very good at motivating friends or foes

Presidential Greatness Scale (1-poor to 5-great): 2.9

Comments:

One of the great difficulties, when our nation is deeply divided, much like it is today, is that it is very difficult to have great Presidents. Very few people have the patience, wisdom, and “know-how” to get us to work together, despite our differences. John Quincy Adams lived, and was President, during one of those times in our history. Despite all his talent as a diplomat, he was no match for the divide in our nation. He had many great ideas, like: modernizing our economy, adding education to the nation’s priority list, trying to pay off some of our national debt, limiting the political influence of party-building and politically inspired nominations, improving ties with Latin American, and advancing internal improvements. Adams started off on the wrong foot when there were cries of “corrupt bargaining” in the election of 1824. With four candidates running for President, none of these candidates received a majority of the Electoral College votes. The 12th Amendment to the Constitution states that the House of Representatives should decide who is President among the top three candidates. When Henry Clay, one of the three candidates, threw his support and ended up being Adams’ Secretary of State, Andrew Jackson and his followers were furious. In the mid-term elections, following Adams’ election, the Jackson’s forces dominated the polls and Adams had no chance with any of his ideas. Most historians place John Quincy Adams in the middle of the pack of Presidents. I would tend to agree. I think John Quincy Adams had some great ideas, but, like so many other Presidents, he just didn’t have the charisma and talent to get all the sides to work together. Unfortunately, that is one of the biggest things that separated the average Presidents from the great Presidents.

Favorite John Quincy Adams book:

John Quincy Adams, American Visionary by Fred Kaplan

Favorite John Quincy Adams story:

How he went and became a Congressman (House of Representatives) after he became President and he never thought the job was “beneath” him.

Most memorable John Quincy Adams memory:

I really haven’t done any John Quincy Adams adventures yet.

Favorite John Quincy Adams possession (see picture at the top):

The 2012 Paninil America trading card that has a picture of John Quincy Adams and it looks like he might have just swallowed a lemon