by James Traub
452Key was unsympathetic: Ibid., October 23, 1837.
452The regular session of Congress resumed: Miller, Arguing About Slavery, 279–280.
453Slave-state members caucused: Giddings, History of the Rebellion: Its Authors and Causes (New York: Follet, Foster, 1864), 116–118.
453as one historian of the period notes: Miller, Arguing About Slavery, 281.
453“I hold the resolution to be: Congressional Globe Debates and Proceedings, 25th Congress, 2nd Session, December 21, 1837.
453Millard Fillmore of New Hampshire: Diaries, December 25, 1837.
454“great wall of China: Ibid., February 14, 1838.
454“the discussion of slavery can: Reprinted in James Basker, American Antislavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation (New York: Library of America, 2012).
454After smashing Birney’s printer: Benjamin Lundy, The Life, Travels and Opinions of Benjamin Lundy (Philadelphia: W. D. Parrish, 1847), 297–299.
454He had corresponded with Adams: JQA to Elijah P. Lovejoy, April 15, 1837.
454Adams delivered a furious address: Congressional Globe Debates and Proceedings, 25th Congress, 2nd Session, December 12, 1837.
454Abolitionists needed protection: Merton Lynn Dillon, Benjamin Lundy and the Struggle for Negro Freedom (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1966), 253–254.
455“I am not disheartened: Lundy, Life, Travels and Opinions, 303.
455“The eyes of millions: Lundy to JQA, May 5, 1838.
456Adams rose to ask: Congressional Debates and Proceedings, 25th Congress, 2nd Session, December 28, 1837.
457The speech, published in book form: Speech of John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, upon the Right of Men and Women to Petition, on the Freedom of Speech and Debate . . . (Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1838).
458“sick at heart, exhausted: Diaries, July 7, 1838.
459James Smithson had left $500,000: Smithson’s story, and Adams’ role in his bequest, is recounted in Nina Burleigh, The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America’s Greatest Museum, the Smithsonian (New York: William Morrow, 2003).
460“annual course of lectures: Diaries, June 24, 1838.
460He was besotted with the glory of the heavens: Ibid., October 1 and November 6 and 8, 1838.
460Adams wrote two long letters: JQA to John Forsyth, October 8 and 11, 1838.
461“I am not willing to die: Lydia Marie Child to JQA, August 15, 1838.
461he was plainly touched: Diaries, October 1, 1838.
461there was not the least danger: Ibid., September 4, 1838.
461Adams was deeply struck: Ibid., November 18, 1838.
CHAPTER 34: THE CAPTIVES ARE FREE! (1838–1841)
462the letters began arriving in spates: Adams kept all these letters, and they survive, in chronological order, in the microfilm edition of his correspondence.
463“harassed day and night by terrors: Louisa Catherine Adams (hereafter LCA) to Charles Francis Adams (hereafter CFA), February 10, 1839, in Adams Papers Microfilm (APM), Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston. All letters cited in this chapter are from APM unless otherwise indicated.
463The Speaker called louder: George Washington Julian, The Life of Joshua Giddings (Chicago: A. C. McClung, 1892), 51.
464He introduced what he claimed: The Diaries of John Quincy Adams (hereafter Diaries), February 14, 1838, Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, http://www.masshist.org/jqadiaries/php.
464“The same moral thunderbolt: “To the Citizens of the United States, Whose Petitions, Memorials, and Remonstrances Have Been Intrusted to Me,” reprinted in the National Intelligencer, April 23, 1839.
464“I can,” he wrote, “lend my hand: National Intelligencer, May 28, 1839.
465he had introduced a constitutional amendment: Congressional Globe Debates and Proceedings, 25th Congress, 3rd Session, January 22, 1839.
465In an open letter in July: John Quincy Adams (hereafter JQA) to the Reverend Joshua Leavitt and H. B. Stanton, Esq., of the Committee of Arrangements of the American Anti-Slavery Society, July 11, 1839.
465Adams’ letters delivered a deathblow to the AASS: Gilbert Barnes, The Antislavery Impulse, 1830–44 (Gloucester, MA: Smith, 1957), 165.
465One of them, Gerrit Smith: Gerrit Smith to JQA, July 16, 1839.
466“vindicated their own right: Samuel Flagg Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956), 394.
467the full story of the Amistad: The background of the Amistad case is extensively recounted in US v. The Amistad (40 U.S. 518), available at http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=40&page=518, and in Marcus Rediker, The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom (New York: Viking, 2012).
468Cinqué was one of America’s first black heroes: Howard Jones, Mutiny on the “Amistad” (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), 41.
469A federal magistrate, Andrew Judson, had already ruled: The lower court proceedings are recorded in The African Captives: Trial of the Prisoners of the Amistad on the Writ of Habeas Corpus . . . (New York: American Anti-Slavery Society, 1839).
469What, Loring asked: Ellis Gray Loring to JQA, September 23, 1839.
470“The time has not yet: Diaries, September 26, 1839.
470“could I indulge for a moment: JQA to Loring, October 3, 1839.
470“were not slaves: JQA to Loring, November 19, 1839.
470“The value of this confidence,”: Simon Jocelyn, Joshua Leavitt, and Lewis Tappan to JQA, April 15, 1841.
471“whom we create, whom we employ: Congressional Globe Debates and Proceedings, 26th Congress, 1st Session, December 6, 1839.
471Adams presided over stormy debates: Diaries, December 6 to 17, 1839.
472“natives of Africa: The African Captives.
472He also introduced a resolution: Diaries, May 25, 1840.
473On October 27, Adams received: Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union, 399.
473“It is a case of life and death: Diaries, October 27, 1840.
474“very indifferently.”: Ibid., November 17, 1840.
474Gilpin said that President Van Buren: Ibid., December 11, 1840.
474Now Key told Adams: Ibid., January 14, 1841.
474On a visit to the Court clerk: Ibid., January 9, 1841.
475“Some people say Mendi people: Kale to JQA, January 4, 1841.
475He wrote to Baldwin: JQA to Roger Sherman Baldwin, January 25, 1841.
475Adams grew ever more nervous: Diaries, January 30 to February 9, 1841.
476It was not for federal authorities: US v. The Amistad.
476“one of the most complete: Jones, Mutiny on the “Amistad.”
476Adams rose to speak: Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union, 405.
477“the constant and perpetual will: Argument of John Quincy Adams, Before the Supreme Court of the United States: In the Case of United States, Appellants, vs. Cinque, and Others . . . (New York: S. W. Benedict, 1841).
480Adams was deeply moved: Diaries, March 4, 1841.
480“There does not seem to us: US v. Amistad.
480“The captives are free!”: JQA to Tappan, March 9, 1841.
480“the people of colour: People of Color to JQA, March 30, 1841.
480“some of us may have at times: John Greenleaf Whittier to JQA, February 10, 1841.
481He sent to Tappan: JQA to Tappan, March 18, 1841.
481He complained to Joshua Leavitt: JQA to Leavitt et al., April 3, 1841.
481He asked Secretary of State Daniel Webster: Diaries, March 18 and 27, 1841.
481“It must,” he wrote: Diary of Charles Francis Adams, October 27, 1840, Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.
481“It is a great relief to me: CFA to JQA, March 16, 1841.
482“an experiment so afflictive: JQA to CFA, April 14, 1841.
CHAPTER 35: THE ACUTEST ENEMY OF SOUTHERN SLAVERY THAT EVER EXIST
ED (1841–1842)
483“If he is not found time-serving: The Diaries of John Quincy Adams (hereafter Diaries), December 4, 1840, Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, http://www.masshist.org/jqadiaries/php.
483“Come when you please: Louisa Catherine Adams (hereafter LCA) to Charles Francis Adams, March 12, 1841, in Adams Papers Microfilm (APM), Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston. All letters cited in this chapter are from APM unless otherwise indicated.
484“a political sectarian: Diaries, April 4, 1841.
484Tyler thought of himself: See Gary May, John Tyler (New York: Henry Holt, 2008).
484“the idea that a nation destined: John Quincy Adams (hereafter JQA) to Henry Clay, September 20, 1842.
485“among the heinous sins: Diaries, June 30, 1841.
485“How bitterly sick I am: Judith S. Graham, Beth Luey, Margaret Hogan, and James C. Taylor, eds., Diary and Autobiographical Writings of Louisa Catherine Adams (Boston: Belknap, 2013), vol. 2, 693.
485“Every flower bears: Ibid., vol. 2, 729.
486“tincture our manners: Ibid., vol. 2, 727.
486“He is the only one of my children: Ibid., vol. 2, 745.
486“Is it Mr. Theodore D. Weld?,”: Gilbert Hobbs Barnes, ed., Letters of Theodore Dwight Weld, Angela Grimke Weld and Sarah Grimke, 1822–44, vol. 2 (New York: Da Capo, 1970), January 2, 1842.
486“living in a plain house: Ibid.
486“We will prove that slaves: Theodore Dwight Weld, American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011).
487the forces of abolitionism had begun to organize: William Lee Miller, Arguing About Slavery: John Quincy Adams and the Great Battle in the United States Congress (New York: Vintage Books, 1995), 405.
487he presented a petition: Congressional Globe Debates and Proceedings, 26th Congress, 2nd Session, January 21, 1842.
487“A perfect uproar: Barnes, ed., Letters of Weld, January 21, 1842.
488whether Adams really had pushed the slaveholders: In History of the Rebellion: Its Authors and Causes (New York: Follet, Foster, 1864), Joshua Giddings offers a vivid account of the action on the floor and the tactics of the Adams team. In Arguing About Slavery: John Quincy Adams and the Great Battle in the United States Congress (New York: Vintage Books, 1995), William Lee Miller also provides rich detail.
489“a dissolution of the Union: Congressional Globe Debates and Proceedings, 26th Congress, 2nd Session, January 23, 1842. Subsequent speeches on the censure motion are also drawn from this source.
491“a calm fearlessness and majesty: Barnes, ed., Letters of Weld, January 22, 1842.
492“as fresh and elastic: Ibid., January 30, 1842.
493“I came home barely able: Diaries, February 5, 1842.
493“I would rather die: Giddings, History of the Rebellion, 167n.
493“acutest, the astutest, the archest enemy: Samuel Flagg Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956), 436–437.
494“the first victory over the slaveholders: Barnes, ed., Letters of Weld, February 7, 1842.
494The following day, the censure: Miller, Arguing About Slavery, 452.
494“I can find no language: Diaries, March 22, 1842.
495“We seek, with searching: JQA to Joshua Giddings, June 17, 1844.
495“I could not hesitate: Diaries, September 2, 1842.
CHAPTER 36: THE SOBER SECOND THOUGHT OF THE PEOPLE (1842–1845)
496In the ensuing furor: Gary May, John Tyler (New York: Henry Holt, 2008), 68–74.
497The committee issued a report: Samuel Flagg Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956), 441–442.
497In September 1842, Adams delivered a speech: Address of John Quincy Adams to His Constituents of the Twelfth Congressional District, at Braintree, September 17, 1842 (Boston: J. H. Eastburn, 1842).
498In April 1842 Henry Wise: Congressional Globe Debates and Proceedings, 26th Congress, 2nd Session, April 15, 1842.
498“I was going off: The Diaries of John Quincy Adams (hereafter Diaries), February 15, 1843, Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, http://www.masshist.org/jqadiaries/php.
499“my jealousies of: John Quincy Adams (hereafter JQA) to Robert Rush, December 20, 1842, in Adams Papers Microfilm (APM), Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston. All letters cited in this chapter are from APM unless otherwise indicated.
499“The annexation of Texas: Diaries, June 10, 1844.
500in March, Adams and a dozen: Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union, 463.
500he began to pay daily visits: Diaries, March 29 to April 7, 1843.
500In a startlingly intemperate letter: Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union, 471.
500“deliverance . . . by the special interposition: Diaries, June 10, 1844.
501It was true, he said: Congressional Globe Debates and Proceedings, 28th Congress, 2nd Session, January 24, 1845.
502In October 1842, he delivered an address: John Quincy Adams, The Social Contract (Providence, RI: Knowles and Vose, 1842).
502Niagara Falls thrilled him: Diaries, July 6 to August 3, 1843.
503“Among the women,” he wrote: Ibid., November 2, 1843.
503Adams was escorted: Described in the Daily Chronicle of Cincinnati, November 10, 1843.
504Adams delivered his oration: An Oration Delivered Before the Cincinnati Astronomical Society (Cincinnati: Shepard, 1843).
504“He was never a popular: Weekly Herald (Cincinnati), November 15–22, 1843.
504“Somewhat of the respect: Daily Advocate and Advertiser (Pittsburgh), November 18, 1843.
505Adams received a delegation: Weekly Herald, November 15–22.
505“disposed to manifest towards me: Daily Atlas (Cincinnati), November 14, 1843.
CHAPTER 37: LET JUSTICE BE DONE THOUGH THE HEAVENS FALL (1843–1845)
506“had become nervous: Joshua Giddings, History of the Rebellion: Its Authors and Causes (New York: Follet, Foster, 1864), 216.
506The Whig caucus was thus smaller: William Lee Miller, Arguing About Slavery: John Quincy Adams and the Great Battle in the United States Congress (New York: Vintage Books, 1995), 471.
507“henceforth, and forever, he ceased: Ibid., 472.
507Adams himself had initiated: The Diaries of John Quincy Adams (hereafter Diaries), December 21, 1843, Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, http://www.masshist.org/jqadiaries/php.
508“Though it cost the blood: Miller, Arguing About Slavery, 469.
508“A sensation of horror: Giddings, History of the Rebellion, 218.
508The report was a battering ram: Minority Report on the Resolution of the Legislature of Massachusetts of March 23, 1844 (Washington, DC, 1844).
508“that fatal drop of Prussic: John Quincy Adams (hereafter JQA) to William Seward, May 10, 1844, in Adams Papers Microfilm (APM), Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.
509In late March, he received: Diaries, March 26, 1844.
509The gag rule, at long last, had fallen: Miller, Arguing About Slavery, 476–477.
509“Blessed, forever blessed: Diaries, December 3, 1844.
510On July 11, Adams’ seventy-seventh birthday: Ibid., July 11, 1844.
510He went on his annual fishing trip: Ibid., September 10, 1844.
510“I must sleep in armor: Ibid., October 12, 1844.
510“Young men of Boston: Samuel Flagg Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956), 474.
511“the re-occupation of Oregon: Robert Merry, A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009), 95.
511The Constitution is a menstruous: Diaries, February 19, 1845.
512“clear and unquestionable” title: Merry, A Country of Vast Designs, 171.
512On February 9, 1845, Adams rose: Congressional Globe Debates and Proceedings, 28th Congress,
2nd Session, February 9, 1845.
513“philosophically speaking,”: Diaries, March 25, 1846.
513In July 1845, Adams: Ibid., July 8–26, 1846.
514“so little estimated by the world: Ibid., August 19, 1846.
514“I have surrendered: Ibid., September 21, 1846.
CHAPTER 38: THE END OF EARTH (1845–1848)
515Henry Adams recalls an incident: Henry Adams, Education of Henry Adams (London: Oxford University Press, 1999), 16–17.
516“a little more remote: Ibid., 19.
516Yes, said her punctilious grandfather: John Quincy Adams (hereafter JQA) to Louisa Catherine Adams (hereafter LCA), January 18, 1845, in Adams Papers Microfilm (APM), Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston. All letters cited in this chapter are from APM unless otherwise indicated.
516“grave, sober, formal: Martin Duberman, Charles Francis Adams, 1807–1886 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1961).
516“introspective and morbid”: Charles Francis Adams Jr., Charles Francis Adams, by His Son, Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1900), 46.
516He was a Whig: See Duberman, Charles Francis Adams.
516“to open my mind to you”: JQA to Charles Francis Adams (hereafter CFA), April 15, 1844.
517“Friend! After a war of words: JQA to Charles Brown, March 3, 1843.
517But how can such a kiss avail: JQA to (no name given), March 19, 1846.
517In the spring of 1845: The Diaries of John Quincy Adams (hereafter Diaries), April 11–16, 1845, Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, http://www.masshist.org/jqadiaries/php.
518in early May 1846, Adams went: Ibid., May 18, 1846.
519In the course of the debate: Congressional Globe Debates and Proceedings, 29th Congress, 1st Session, April 28, 1846.
519“There has perhaps not been another: Diaries, October 31, 1846.
520“It is a question,” he said: Samuel Flagg Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956), 526.
521“He said that his diary: Diary of CFA, January 19, 1847.
521“I should be the one: LCA to Mary Hellen Adams, January 1, 1847.
522“strengthen him to obedience: Judith S. Graham, Beth Luey, Margaret Hogan, and James C. Taylor, eds., Diary and Autobiographical Writings of Louisa Catherine Adams (Boston: Belknap, 2013), 762–763.