From Today I Found Out.

This video is sponsored by the City of Quincy. To discover more about Quincy, check out the link – https://discoverquincy.com

“[T]here would not be I believe, a happier being in the United States… [c]ould I have just enough business to support my expences, so as to relieve me from the mortification of being at my time of life, a burden to my Parents…” -John Quincy Adams (December 14, 1790)

These were the words of the 23 year old John Quincy Adams, tirelessly working in a profession he seemingly didn’t particularly enjoy, but making very little headway in it and dependent upon money from his parents to live.

Four years after this, he was now a 27 year old who had not made a ton of outward progress despite an extreme amount of effort in between.

As we teased in our last video: The Secretary: Training for Greatness, this period of one of the greatest men in U.S. history’s life was filled with bouts of depression, anxiety, countless sleepless nights, and a whole lot of hopelessness. Trained from birth to become that great man, and with it drilled into him he must become so, after he graduated college, he found achieving this seemingly an impossible task no matter how hard he worked.

His aunt Elizabeth Shaw, who John Quincy would live with for a little while during one of his deepest bouts of depression shortly after graduating college, would write of this period of her nephew’s life, “Perhaps, no one, knew better than myself, the strong emotions which tore, & agitated your Mind— I could have sat by your side & counted out Tear, for Tear…”

And this was more or less the state of his life from about 20 to 27.

Needless to say, his first true steps into one of the greatest men of his era were slightly stumbling. But rather than break under the pressure, John Quincy merely bent for a time, unlike others in his family.

On that, as John Quincy Adams’ son, Charles Francis Adams, who himself led a rather distinguished life, among many other things including serving as the U.S. Minister to the UK during the American Civil War and being a key figure in keeping Europe mostly out of that war, would sum up,

“The history of my family is not a pleasant one to remember. It is one of great triumphs in the world but of deep groans within, one of extraordinary brilliancy and deep corroding mortification—The misery of children falling as much below the ordinary standard of human conduct from vicious sensual indulgence as the gratification is worth of others to rise above it. I would not have any one of my children particularly distinguished, at the price of such a penalty upon the rest. I would myself much rather remain beyond the sphere in which trial and temptation is so great.”

And, indeed at age 27 John Quincy had, as he’d briefly written many times before in moments of despair, resigned himself to give up on any notion of becoming particularly distinguished, despite continued extreme pressure from his parents, including a rather hard verbal slapping upside the head from his father, which we’ll get to in a bit. But for now, in response to that verbal head slapping, on May 26, 1794 John Quincy would write to his dear old dad, “I think I have every day less ambition than the former…. In my profession I trudge along, without eminence, and without total idleness. I see very few things in this life beyond the wants of nature, that I desire: and whether it be philosophy or insensibility, I find myself contented with my state as it is.”

Three days later, probably even before John Adams would get that response, John Quincy’s life, and much of history because of it, would change forever seemingly out of nowhere.

But in the leadup of that were the dark and hopeless years.

Now, before we dive into those years and his various personal and professional struggles and efforts throughout, because John Quincy Adams is so unheralded in modern times despite paradoxically being one of the greatest and most influential men in U.S. history, I think talking about a smattering of the truly mind boggling number of things he did, and even just experienced, in his life is in order, because it’s fascinating and incredible.

Feel free to skip to the next section on his many dark, struggling years if you don’t want your experiences and life to feel unaccomplished and generally inadequate in every possible way.

Or, maybe don’t skip ahead, because it’s downright inspirational the contrast between that almost a decade long dark period and what followed.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into it all.

Author: Daven Hiskey
Producer: Samuel Avila

0:00 Intro
5:33 The Most Valuable Public Character We Have
31:51 Determined to Be Great in Every Particular
40:18 All My Hopes of Future Happiness and Letter From My Mother
46:30 Oh! Shame, Where is Thy Blush!
50:37 His Enemies Fear Him