John Quincy Adams tenure as both the Secretary of State and as President of the United States is interesting from a number of perspectives. If we are to look at his tenures from the perspective of civil liberties and visions for America, we gain an even greater insight into a man whose historical role is sometimes forgotten. To a great extent, Adams envisioned America’s role as a superpower.
No, he did not use this term and it would be well over a hundred years before America could make this claim. However, as Secretary of State, Adams aided in writing the Monroe Doctrine.This doctrine explained President James Monroe’s edict to European powers to stay out of America’ hemisphere. Such decisions would lay the foundation for the superpower status that the United States would eventually achieve. Also, as Secretary of State, Adams was a principle architect of the acquisition of Florida.
This was achieved through diplomatic initiatives with Spain. Needless to say, such an acquisition expanded America’s territorial boundaries. This expansion would remain a component of American domestic policy for decades to come.To a great extent, the acquisition of Florida and the scripting of the Monroe Doctrine still influence modern foreign policy to this day. As President, it would see that Adams main goals for the United States were rapid modernization. While the nation had survived many challenges, if it were to thrive it would need a better infrastructure.
Adams took on this challenge and pressed for the modernization of roads, buildings, educational systems, and other aspects of the infrastructure. In many ways, Adams was a champion of civil liberties.This can be seen in his modernization process of integrating the arts and sciences to a greater degree into the university system. By incorporating more and more facets from the European enlightenment into the educational system, Adams was developing a foundation of freedom of expression that would further expand into additional civil liberties.
That is to say, science and the arts promote thought. When the subject of Adams and civil liberties are discussed, it is impossible to have such a discussion without mentioning Adams anti-slavery stance.In congress, there were many rules of censorship that prevented anti-slavery discussions. Adams opposed such rules and sought to reverse them.
In time, he would win out. This would lay the foundation for the expansion of the powers of the anti-slavery movement. But, would Adams be considered weak on civil rights in any area? To an extent, the fact that he did not move forward to abolish slavery to be an anti-civil liberty stance. Then, some make credible arguments that his expansion policies at the expense of indigenous people could be another example.So, one cannot truly say that Adams was completely “on board” with civil liberties when examining his presidency in light of such actions.
Did Adams eventually solidify his dream of a modern and powerful America? Considering the fact that much of what Adams planned for (expansion, foreign policy, modernization, etc) America was carried forward by other presidents, the answer to this would have to be yes. Granted, some of this legacy is the after effect of his Secretary of State position which, in some ways, outshined his presidency.
