John Quincy Adams

February 10, 2014
Widely considered the nation’s greatest secretary of state and its most experienced diplomat, Adams was a member of the House and Senate, President for one term, and one of only two chief executives to return to Congress (the other being Andrew Johnson). Kaplan—an experienced biographer of Carlyle, Dickens, Vidal, Twain, and Lincoln—follows a long line of Adams biographers trying to capture this complex, difficult, multifaceted figure , and he does well enough: while there’s not much new here, Kaplan, unlike most previous Adams biographers, devotes much attention to the man’s private life and interests, especially to his poetry, which Adams wrote all his life and to which Kaplan brings unique attention. But what makes Adams of major historical importance remains his unprecedented experience as an American in Europe, his co-authorship of the Monroe Doctrine, and his brilliant late-life battle in the House against slavery. A full-life biography such as this should give those achievements full prominence, something that is lacking here. That said, Kaplan’s work is an estimable study of a significant American life and very much up to the level of his earlier books.

March 15, 2014

Kaplan (Distinguished Professor Emeritus, English, Queens Coll. & CUNY Graduate Ctr.; Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer) reconsiders John Quincy Adams (JQA), secretary of state, academic, attorney (e.g., the Amistad case), one-term president (1825-29), and later an outspoken member of Congress. Using Adams's voluminous diary, correspondence, and writings (including poetry), Kaplan contends that JQA should be remembered for the totality of his life and that he possibly influenced several succeeding presidents. According to Kaplan, JQA anticipated: the abolition of slavery; a national transportation infrastructure; government-funded science; land-grant colleges; U.S. involvement with Latin America; a Panama canal; and an active postpresidency. Multilingual and well informed, he supported both increased individual liberty and the economically stimulative role of the national government. Kaplan relays a great deal about Adams's relationships with his political opponents; his parents, Abigail and John; his wife, Louisa; and his often troubled children, although perhaps too much about their and others' illnesses. VERDICT Aiming to be comprehensive, Kaplan reveals details that scholars will appreciate but that may turn away general readers who might find the briefer, arguably sprightlier, biographies by Robert Remini or Paul Nagel more appealing. However, academics will savor Kaplan's methodical and meticulous study. [See Prepub Alert, 11/3/13.]--Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC

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