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John Quincy Adams |
| published by Da Capo Press |
Raised for greatness by his parents John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams surpassed their expectations to become one of America’s greatest and most courageous leaders
In this action-filled biography, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger reveals John Quincy Adams as one of the towering figures during the nation’s formative years. Ranked first in John F. Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize winning Profiles in Courage, John Quincy Adams served America as minister to six countries, a fearless secretary of state, a fighting senator and congressman, a champion ofemancipation—and sixth president of the United States.
The only son of a Founding Father to become President, he negotiated an end to the War of 1812, engineered the annexation of Florida, and won the Supreme Court decision that freed the African captives of the Amistad and set the stage foremancipation.
A sweeping panorama of American history, John Quincy Adams follows the exciting life—and loves—of a courageous American patriot who lived more than eighty years, serving under George Washington at one end of his career and alongside Abraham Lincoln at the other end. John Quincy Adams witnessed Bunker Hill, escaped death in the French Revolution, helped write the Monroe Doctrine, fought for free speech in the Congress, and guidedthe founding of the Smithsonian Institution.
Braving the demands of his enemies for his expulsion from the House, he issued the first stirring call to end slavery in an address that infuriated fellow congressman but inspired one of them—Abraham Lincoln—to cite the words of John Quincy Adams in the Emancipation Proclamation.
Acclaim for Harlow Unger
“Unger is not only a superior story teller…[and] gifted researcher, he sweeps the reader into the story.”
—New York Journal of Books
“Unger brings to vivid life familiar historical characters.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Unger’s work is a beacon of vivid, accessible, and thought-provoking biography.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch
Harlow Giles Unger
A former Distinguished Visiting Fellow in American History at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Harlow Giles Unger is a veteran journalist, broadcaster, educator, and historian.
He is the best-selling author of more than 25 books, including a dozen biographies of the Founding Fathers—among them the award winning Lafayette; John Quincy Adams, and Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation.
Cited by a critic in the National Review as “America’s most readable historian,” Mr. Unger is a graduate of Yale University and former associate professor of English and journalism. He spent many years as a foreign correspondent and American Affairs analyst for The New York Herald Tribune Overseas News Service, The Times and The Sunday Times (London), and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Other American History Titles by Harlow Giles Unger:
• James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness;
• Lafayette;
• Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation;
• Mr. President: George Washington and the Making of the Nation’s Highest Office;
• The Unexpected George Washington: His Private Life;
• John Marshal: The Chief Justice Who Saved the Nation;
• Henry Clay, America’s Greatest Statesman; and many more.