JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
1825- 1829
Arizona Timeline
1820' s - Trappers, fur traders, and explorers were making expeditions along the Colorado River.
1826 – The first recorded contact in the area was the Jedediah Strong Smith party. Trappers who came down the Virgin River, along the Colorado and
into the area of the Mohave. There was little or no conflict between the indians and this party.
1826/ 27 – Ewing Young party of trappers left a bloody trail of conflicts with the indians along their route.
John Quincy Adams was born in
1767 in Quincy, Massachusetts.
He was an outstanding scholar,
and graduated from Harvard in
1787. While practicing law in
Boston he grew interested in
public affairs, which led to his
years as a diplomat He is known
for his remarkable service as
Secretary of State. After leaving
the White House he served in the
House of Representatives. Adams
died in 1848.
Louisa Johnson Adams was
born in 1775. She was an
educated and well- traveled
woman who lamented that she
could have nothing to do with
affairs of state. She was always
seen in the latest fashions. She
had three sons, and also cared for
the three orphaned children of her
sister. Louisa died in 1852.
President John Quincy Adams was the first of our presidents who was the son of a former president, and was the first president to be photographed.
Prior to his election as president, he served in the Massachusetts Legislature and the U. S. Senate. He declined an appointment to the U. S. Supreme Court.
At the end of the War of 1812 he was commissioned to write the peace treaty. As Secretary of State he secured Florida from Spain, maintained peace with
Great Britain regarding the U. S.- Canadian boundary, recognized new South American republics, and worked out the principles stated by President
Monroe in the Monroe Doctrine. Adams saw public office as a public trust. Like his father, he was not re- elected after his four- year term. After leaving
the presidency he served 17 years in the House of Representatives, fighting for the abolition of slavery and strongly opposing the Mexican War. While
serving in the House he was stricken with apoplexy and died in 1848.
While John Quincy Adams was serving as Secretary of State, Louisa found herself embroiled in disagreement among Cabinet wives regarding their social
obligations. Although it was finally agreed that Cabinet wives need not call on the wives of legislators new to Washington, as the wife of a man
ambitious to become president, Louisa was expected to make the visits and sometimes visited as many as 25 households in one day.
Mohave Museum - U.S. Presidents and the History of Arizona
