The first son

He was intertwined with every famous American of his day, from Washington to Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, Jackson, Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. He was frequently front and center during the Revolutionary Era, the fractious birth of American party politics, the War of 1812, and the peak of Continental Expansion. He served as an ambassador, senator, secretary of state, and, unhappily, as president.

This deeply researched, brilliantly written volume delves into John Quincy’s intellectual pursuits and political thought; his loving, yet strained, marriage to Louisa Catherine Johnson; his troubling relationships with his three sons; and his fiery post-presidency rebirth in Congress as the chamber’s most vocal opponent of slavery.

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“This splendid biography is a genuine Life and Times story of a remarkable American who served his country for more than a half century as diplomat, senator, secretary of state, president, public intellectual, and in a unique post-presidential career as gadfly of the slave power in Congress. Randall Woods skillfully interweaves the narrative of these events with intimate accounts of Adams' personal and family life in a warmly human manner.”—James M. McPherson

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