John Quincy Adams
Author: Robert V Remini
A vivid portrait of a man whose pre- and post-presidential careers overshadowed his presidency.Chosen by the House of Representatives after an inconclusive election against Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams often failed to mesh with the ethos of his era, pushing unsuccessfully for a strong, consolidated national government. Historian Robert V. Remini recounts how in the years before his presidency Adams was a shrewd, influential diplomat, and later, as a dynamic secretary of state under President James Monroe, he solidified many basic aspects of American foreign policy, including the Monroe Doctrine. Undoubtedly his greatest triumph was the negotiation of the Transcontinental Treaty, through which Spain acknowledged Florida to be part of the United States. After his term in office, he earned the nickname "Old Man Eloquent" for his passionate antislavery speeches.
Publishers Weekly
John and Abigail Adams's son was arguably the most brilliant man ever to occupy the White House. He was also probably the least temperamentally fit to do so. Nevertheless, as this straightforward biography reminds us, John Quincy Adams (1767- 1848) led one of the longest, most illustrious and most consequential public careers in the nation's history. Remini, the great modern biographer of Andrew Jackson, might seem the wrong choice to write a life of one of Jackson's most implacable enemies. But in this addition to a series on the presidents edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Remini, a National Book Award winner, paints an admiring portrait of an extraordinary man. Depicting Adams as deficient husband and father and disputably holding his famous parents largely responsible for the torments in all their children's lives, Remini concentrates on Adams's 50-year public career, much of it spent abroad. Remini is surely justified in holding Adams out as the nation's greatest secretary of state, largely responsible for what we know as the Monroe Doctrine. Although Adams as president was out of touch with most of his fellow citizens, it's likely that no one could have succeeded in the White House given the political confusion of those years. Adams's post-White House years (he was one of only two ex-presidents to return to Congress) yielded some of his life's greatest triumphs. He laid the basis for the Free Soil movement that eventually helped defeat slavery, protected the bequest that gave us the Smithsonian Institution and, as many readers will know from the film, defended the Amistad slaves. No one who reads this fine, short study will fail to place Adams in the pantheon of Great Neglected Americans-which is just what Remini hopes to achieve and does.
Publishers Weekly
John and Abigail Adams's son was arguably the most brilliant man ever to occupy the White House. He was also probably the least temperamentally fit to do so. Nevertheless, as this straightforward biography reminds us, John Quincy Adams (1767- 1848) led one of the longest, most illustrious and most consequential public careers in the nation's history. Remini, the great modern biographer of Andrew Jackson, might seem the wrong choice to write a life of one of Jackson's most implacable enemies. But in this addition to a series on the presidents edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Remini, a National Book Award winner, paints an admiring portrait of an extraordinary man. Depicting Adams as deficient husband and father and disputably holding his famous parents largely responsible for the torments in all their children's lives, Remini concentrates on Adams's 50-year public career, much of it spent abroad. Remini is surely justified in holding Adams out as the nation's greatest secretary of state, largely responsible for what we know as the Monroe Doctrine. Although Adams as president was out of touch with most of his fellow citizens, it's likely that no one could have succeeded in the White House given the political confusion of those years. Adams's post-White House years (he was one of only two ex-presidents to return to Congress) yielded some of his life's greatest triumphs. He laid the basis for the Free Soil movement that eventually helped defeat slavery, protected the bequest that gave us the Smithsonian Institution and, as many readers will know from the film, defended the Amistad slaves. No one who reads this fine, short study will fail to place Adams in the pantheon of Great Neglected Americans which is just what Remini hopes to achieve and does. (Aug. 20) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Remini, the author of many books on Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and the politics of the 1820s and 1830s, here offers a brief biography of the sixth president of the United States as part of the American Presidents series edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. John Quincy Adams's four-year presidency was the least satisfying period in a long public career. He served as diplomat and Secretary of State prior to his election and became the only former president to sit in the House of Representatives, where he remained for 17 years during the increasingly stormy sectional debate. Remini focuses on important incidents throughout Adams's life, demonstrating that he was not the failure he would have been if judged only by his presidential years. Adams has been the subject of two recent longer biographies: Paul Nagel's John Quincy Adams: A Public Life and Lynn Hudson Parsons's capable but generally overlooked John Quincy Adams. Though the book is brief, in keeping with the series, Remini still manages to stay true to his scholarly credentials while targeting a general audience. Some endnotes are included that do not interrupt the flow of each chapter. Recommended for major public or academic libraries. Charles K. Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato
Kirkus Reviews
Brief bio of one of our most capable and overlooked politicians, by the author of several well-received studies of the republic's early history (Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars, 2001, etc.). Remini (History and Humanities Emeritus/Univ. of Illinois, Chicago) lays a claim for John Quincy Adams as "arguably the greatest secretary of state to serve that office": the architect of an honorable peace in the War of 1812, the true author of what has since been known as the Monroe Doctrine, the statesman who helped formulate important international treaties and maritime laws. As president, Adams was perhaps less effective. Under his watch, federal prerogatives gave way to the demands of individual states, so that, for instance, the state of Georgia was able to take control of land owned by the Creek Indian nation and supposedly protected by treaty. This clash of state and federal power would eventually, as Adams recognized, end in civil war. In the case of the Indian nations, it opened the door to policies that successor Andrew Jackson (whom Adams detested "with a vengeance") would vigorously pursue; a regretful Adams later concluded that in his lifetime Americans did more harm to Indians than did all the European powers combined. Though often not of his own making, Adams's failures in office contributed to his defeat in the electoral campaign of 1828: "the filthiest in American history," remarks Remini. Although this capable and thoughtful author has little apparent interest in psychobiography, he turns in some juicy tidbits, among them the fact that powerful mother Abigail's opposition contributed to the end of "the only romantic and passionate love of John Quincy Adams's entire life." Likehis subject, Remini prefers the practical and even mundane, which makes this latest in the American Presidents series a less-than-thrilling read. Still, it does Adams justice and well serves to acquaint readers with a neglected leader.
Interesting textbook: Diet for Dancers or Best Gluten Free Family Cookbook
Federalist Papers
Author: Alexander Hamilton
The Federalist Papers--85 essays published in the winter of 1787-8 in the New York press--are some of the most crucial and defining documents in American political history, laying out the principles that still guide our democracy today. The three authors--Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay--were respectively the first Secretary of the Treasury, the fourth President, and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in American history. Each had played a crucial role in the events of the American Revolution, and their essays make a compelling case for a new and united nation, governed under a written Constitution that endures to this day. The Federalist Papers are an indispensable guide to the intentions of the founding fathers and a canonical text in the development of western political thought. This is the first edition to explain the many classical, mythological, and historical references in the text, and to pay full attention to the erudition of the three authors, which enabled them to place the infant American republic in a long tradition of self-governing states.
No comments:
Post a Comment