292 Political Activity and Resistance to Oppression: From the American Revolution to the Civil War
His objections, however, were not limited to the institution
of slavery in the abstract, for he included the suff ering in-
fl icted on individual slaves brought to his attention. He re-
fused to debate racial inferiority, contending that such was
irrelevant to the Declaration of Independence, natural law,
and the teachings of Christ.
Adams fi rst believed that slavery would naturally die
because of the infl uence of democracy and slavery’s evident
immorality, and therefore he reluctantly supported the
Missouri Compromise. He later concluded, however, that
compromise was impossible and wrong and viewed the
Constitution’s compromises with slavery as undemocrati-
cally favoring slaveholders and evil. He came to contend
that government had the duty to aid the cause of human
equality and therefore opposed the Atherton Resolution
that declared that Congress lacked authority to interfere
with slavery. He later foresaw that temporary disunion and
even the Civil War would be required to achieve the tri-
umph of liberty over slavery’s increasing infl uence.Adams, John Quincy
John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) was the sixth president of
the United States. Yet his greatest achievements regarding
African Americans came aft er leaving the presidency, when
he emerged as a dedicated opponent of slavery in Congress
and the Supreme Court. His goal was to limit and ultimately
end the hypocrisy, injustice, and immorality of American
slavery and thereby fulfi ll the promise of human equality in
the Declaration of Independence. He eventually admitted
to being the de facto leader of the antislavery movement in
the United States and proudly welcomed the enmity of the
southern “slavocracy.”
Adams had been a skilled lawyer, Harvard professor,
U.S. senator, ambassador to numerous nations, and secre-
tary of state. Aft er entering the White House in 1825, he
expressed his willingness to meet with any person of color,
black or Indian. Despite his diligence and experience, how-
ever, Adams failed to achieve his ambitious nationalist
agenda, for he was hindered by growing congressional par-
tisanship and sectionalism, his refusal to removed oppo-
nents from offi ce, and an austere personality in an era when
the “common touch” was of increasing political importance.
Adams’s administration was most critically wounded, how-
ever, by his failure to win a majority of the popular and
electoral votes. He achieved victory only when the selec-
tion was put in the House of Representatives. Nevertheless,
supporters of Andrew Jackson falsely alleged a “corrupt
bargain” between Adams and House Speaker Henry Clay
aft er Adams named Clay secretary of state. Hence, Jackson’s
camp commenced the ultimately successful campaign to
deny Adams reelection in 1828.
Upon leaving the presidency in 1829, a depressed
Adams returned to his home in Quincy, Massachusetts.
However, in 1830, he was thrilled and honored to learn of
his election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Although
always opposed to slavery, once in Congress, Adams’s views
evolved to a more radical position. At fi rst he denied being
an abolitionist, but later he became less inclined to object to
the characterization.
Adams said his greatest sorrow was America’s depar-
ture from its founding principles through slavery, and his
greatest hope was to witness its end. He saw slavery as caus-
ing sectionalism, corruption of the political process, and
class division between slaveholders and non-slaveholders.
John Quincy Adams was president of the United States during
1825–1829. He was best known in the African American commu-
nity for his role in arguing for the freedom of the Africans aboard
the schooner Amistad in 1841. (Library of Congress)