John Quincy Adams was born July 11, 1767 in Braintree, Massachusetts. He was the son of John Adams, the second president of the United States and served in the Continental Congress to help plan the Declaration of Independence. His mother was Abigail Adams, the first lady. John Quincy Adams was the eldest son of President John Adams and the sixth president of the United States. In his pre-presidential years, Adams was one of America's greatest diplomats. As a child, John Quincy Adams observed the birth of the nation firsthand. He watched the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 with his mother from the family farm. When John Quincy was ten years old, his father was sent to Europe as a special emissary of the American Revolutionary government, and John Quincy accompanied him. He was a student at Leiden University for about a year due to his excellence in French. He accompanied the diplomat Francis Dana to Russia, serving as his secretary and translator in 1781. John Quincy returned to Paris in 1783 to serve as his father's secretary through the compromise of the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War. In 1785 he returned home to complete his studies at Harvard College. He graduated two years later. “During this period, John Quincy began keeping a diary, and kept it from 1779 to 1848, shortly before his death.” BookWhen he was admitted to the bar in 1790, Adams practiced law in Boston. As tensions between Britain and France increased, he supported President George Washington's neutrality policy of 1793. George Washington's neutrality policy was designed to keep America out of further wars. President Washington appreciated the young Adams' support so much that he made him his minister to Holland, with...... half of the document ...... ohn Quincy Adams has had one of the most politically active post-presidencies of all the United States President. Two years after his defeat, Adams ran for Congress from his home district in Massachusetts. “He accepted the nomination on two conditions: that he would never solicit their votes and that he would always follow his conscience.” He served nine consecutive terms in the House of Representatives, earning the nickname “Old Eloquent” because of his extraordinary anti-slavery speeches. He was instrumental in ending the "gag rule" that prohibited debate on slavery in the House of Representatives and also continued to advocate for domestic improvements for the country. Historically, Adams has won more acclaim for his long career in Congress than for his presidency. He suffered a stroke on the floor of the House on 21 February 1848 and died two days later..