John Quincy Adams (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Paul C. Nagel
- First Published: 1997
- Type of Work: Biography
- Time of Work: 1767-1848
- Setting: Boston, Cambridge, Braintree, and Quincy, Massachusetts; Berlin; St. Petersburg; London; and Washington, D.C.
- Principal Characters: John Adams, Abigail Smith Adams, John Quincy Adams, Louisa Catherine Adams, Thomas Boylston Adams, Henry Clay, James Monroe
- Genres: Nonfiction, Biography
- Subjects: Civil rights, Politics, Abolitionists, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves, American Revolution, Eighteenth century, Politicians, Presidents
- Locales: Boston, MA, Washington, D.C., London, England, Berlin, Germany, Cambridge, MA, St. Petersburg, Russia, Quincy, MA, Braintree, MA
An anecdote that Paul C. Nagel recounts from John Quincy Adams’s unsuccessful presidential term exemplifies a number of the conflicts in Adams’s complex and frequently perverse personality. At a groundbreaking ceremony for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Adams, unable at first to wedge his shovel into the ground, removed his coat and then accomplished his ceremonial feat to an outburst of cheers from the crowd. He realized that the simple act of shedding his coat registered more powerfully with Americana than did the rhetorical flourishes of his carefully prepared speeches or, for...
[The entire page is 2004 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
