Table Of ContentHeir to the Fathers
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Heir to the Fathers
John Quincy Adams and the Spirit of
Constitutional Government
Gary V. Wood
LEXINGTON BOOKS
Lanham Boulder New York Toronto Oxford
To my parents
Esther J. Wood
and
Virchel E. Wood
LEXINGTON BOOKS
Published in the United States of America
by Lexington Books
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Copyright 02004 by Lexington Books
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wood, Gary V.
Heir to the Fathers :John Quincy Adam and the spirit of constitutional
government / Gary V. Wood.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-7391-0601-5 (cloth :alk. paper)
1. Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848-Political and social views. 2.
Adams, John Quincy, 1967-1848--Quotations. 3. United States-Politics
and government-1815-1861.4. Constitutional history-United States.
5. Amistad (Schooner) 6. Slave insurrections-United States. 7.
Presidents-United States-Biography. I. Title.
E377.W66 2003
320.5'0926~22
2003015800
Printed in the United States of America
@Ttvl The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO 239.48-1992.
m
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Chapter I Introduction 1
Chapter I1 Adams, the Constitution, and the Contemporary
Scholarly Debate 11
Chapter 111 John Quincy Adams, the Founders, and Slavery 25
Chapter IV Jubilee of the Constitution 77
Chapter V The Africans of the Amistad 147
Chapter VI The Amistad Case 179
Chapter VII The Legacy of John Quincy Adams 209
Bibliography 235
Index 245
About the Author 25 1
V
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Acknowledgments
I could not have written this volume without the insights and contributions
of many colleagues and friends. This book grew out of my doctoral disserta-
tion at Claremont Graduate University, and I would like to take this oppor-
tunity to express my gratitude to the members of my dissertation committee:
Harry V. Jaffa, Harry Neumann, Jean Schroedel, and Joseph Bessette. Each
offered valuable suggestions that improved this work. Special thanks is owed
to Harry V. Jaffa, who first encouraged me to study the subject of this book.
His works provided the foundation upon which this project hopes to build.
Two of my colleagues at the California State University, San
Bernardino, took time from their own work to read parts of mine. I am
deeply grateful to Edward J. Erler, who first inspired my interest in politi-
cal philosophy and whose editing skills and suggestions greatly improved
the manuscript. Special thanks to Scot Zentner, who read and edited var-
ious drafts of the manuscript and provided illuminating insights. I would
also like to thank Brian Janiskee and Mark Clark for their encouragement
and support.
I am grateful to Daniel C. Palm of Azusa Pacific University, who read the
entire manuscript and provided valuable editorial advice. I would like to
thank all those at Lexington Books who made this project possible. Special
mention must go to my production editor, Hedi Hong. Robert Carley, Serena
L. Krombach, and Paul Mufarrij also provided valuable assistance in the
preparation of the manuscript.
vii
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viii Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all the members of my family for their support and
encouragement. I am especially indebted to my mother for giving so gener-
ously of her time in so many ways that it is impossible for me to fully express
my thanks. I must express gratitude to my father for his generosity, his guid-
ance, and his dedication to academic excellence. Thanks are owed to my sis-
ter Tamarin for her editing, typing, and computer skills. I would like to ex-
tend my appreciation to my sisters Laurel and Victoria and my brother,
Darrell, for making sure I took breaks from my studies to help balance my life.
I also wish to thank MariAnne Van Eerden, who read and commented on
portions of this work. Her patience, support, and understanding were indis-
pensable to the book’s completion.
C H A P T E R I
Introduction
And of these laws it must be noted that while they aim, as laws else-
where, at the common weal, their guiding principle is far other than that
which most nations follow.
Xenophon‘
In a moving eulogy to John Quincy Adams, William H. Seward praised the
American statesman for a lifetime spent in the service of his nation. In re-
flecting on that public service, Seward remarked that Adam could have
echoed Cicero by stating, “I have rendered to my country all the great ser-
vices which she was willing to receive at my hands, and I have never har-
bored a thought concerning her that was not divine.”z Adams’s remarkable
life was indeed devoted to the service of his nation. His public life began in
1781, when at the age of fifteen, he assisted Francis Dana on the first Amer-
ican mission to Russia. It ended sixty-seven years later when he collapsed on
the floor of the House of Representatives. Adams received no less than five
diplomatic appointments. He served in the Netherlands, Great Britain, Prus-
sia, Russia, and again Great Britain. He was elected to the U.S. Senate,
where his independence antagonized political friends and foes alike. His
tenure as secretary of state cemented his place as one of America’s greatest
diplomats. He was the sixth president of the United States. Adams was also
nominated for the position of associate justice of the Supreme Court. Al-
though his nomination was unanimously ratified by the Senate, Adams de-
clined the honor. He twice argued cases before the Supreme Court. During
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Description:In Heir to the Fathers, author Gary V. Wood examines the ideas that guided John Quincy Adams throughout his political career. For Wood, it is Adams' understanding of The Constitution of the United States that foregrounds a crucial link between the principles laid-forth in The Declaration of Independ
