Adams, John Quincy

Eldest son of President John Adams and sixth president of the United States (1825–29). In his prepresidential years he was one of America's greatest diplomats (formulating, among other things, what came to be called the Monroe Doctrine); in his postpresidential years (as U.S. congressman, 1831–48) he conducted a consistent and often dramatic fight against the expansion of slavery. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America. See also Cabinet of President John Quincy Adams.)