Mr. Adams's Last Crusade: John Quincy Adams's Extraordinary Post-Presidential Life in Congress - Hardcover

Wheelan, Joseph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786720123 ISBN 13: 9780786720125

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2008

Synopsis

Following his single term as President of the United States (1825–1829), John Quincy Adams, embittered by his loss to Andrew Jackson, boycotted his successor's inauguration, just as his father John Adams had done (the only two presidents ever to do so). Rather than retire, the sixty-two-year-old former president, U.S. senator, secretary of state, and Harvard professor was elected by his Massachusetts friends and neighbors to the House of Representatives to throw off the "incubus of Jacksonianism." It was the opening chapter in what was arguably the most remarkable post-presidency in American history.

In this engaging biography, historian Joseph Wheelan describes Adams's battles against the House Gag Rule that banished abolition petitions; the removal of Eastern Indian tribes; and the annexation of slave-holding Texas, while recounting his efforts to establish the Smithsonian Institution. As a "man of the whole country," Adams was not bound by political party, yet was reelected to the House eight times before collapsing at his "post of duty" on February 21, 1848, and then dying in the House Speaker's office. His funeral evoked the greatest public outpouring since Benjamin Franklin's death.

Mr. Adams's Last Crusade will enlighten and delight anyone interested in American history.

About this title

About the Author:

Joseph Wheelan, a former Associated Press reporter and editor, is the author of Invading Mexico: America's Continental Dream and the Mexican War, 1846–1848, Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror, 1801- 1805, and Jefferson's Vendetta: The Pursuit of Aaron Burr and the Judiciary. He lives in Cary, North Carolina.

Review:

"A convincing brief for reconsidering this prescient, fearless public figure." -- Kirkus, December 1, 2007

"Wheelan has written a solid and entertaining account of Adams's 17-year congressional career" -- Boston Globe, February 24, 2008

"[Wheelan] artfully interprets the life of this conscience-bound President as one ironically to be fulfilled by his congressional career" -- Library Journal, January 15th, 2008

About this edition

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0786720123
• ISBN 13: 9780786720125
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 309