By the standards that historians usually use to judge presidents, John Quincy Adams was a failure. This book provides a biography of Adams that seeks to integrate the themes of his life into an understandable whole that explains both the successes and fail

By the standards that historians usually use to judge presidents, John Quincy Adams was a failure. Although better qualified for the office than any American of his generation, he served for only one term. This book presents a narrative of Adams' career that draws upon the scholarship on his life and times.