Quotes & anectdotes from the wise, the foolish, the courageous & the drunk

John Quincy Adams US President

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Jul 11, 1767
  • Died: Feb 23, 1848

John Quincy Adams was an American statesman who served as the sixth President of the United States from 1825 to 1829. He also served as a diplomat, a Senator and member of the House of Representatives. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties.

In his biography, Samuel Flagg Bemis argues that Adams was able to:

"gather together, formulate, and practice the fundamentals of American foreign-policy—self-determination, independence, noncolonization, nonintervention, nonentanglement in European politics, Freedom of the Seas, [and] freedom of commerce."

Adams was the son of former President John Adams and Abigail Adams. As a diplomat, Adams played an important role in negotiating key treaties, most notably the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. As Secretary of State, he negotiated with Britain over the United States' northern border with Canada, negotiated with Spain the annexation of Florida, and drafted the Monroe Doctrine. Historians agree he was one of the greatest diplomats and secretaries of state in American history.

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. patience

Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. freedom, being good, history & hope

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. leadership

All men profess honesty as long as they can. To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so is something worse. men

Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people. power

Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air. courage

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. being alone & politics

St. Patrick's Day March 17, 2025

There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting. 3 thoughts from John Millington Synge

3 thoughts from John Millington Synge

Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy. 28 quotes from William Butler Yeats

28 quotes from William Butler Yeats

Geographically, Ireland is a medium-sized rural island that is slowly but steadily being consumed by sheep. 27 other quotes from Dave Barry

27 other quotes from Dave Barry

We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English. 74 other views from Winston Churchill

74 other views from Winston Churchill