When I can’t sleep, instead of sheep, I count the presidents, making certain to remember all 45 of them.
I toss in trivia like, Lincoln was the tallest at 6’4, while James Madison, the shortest at 5’4 weighing only 100 pounds, where William Howard Taft weighed in at 300, and the only other president, besides JFK, to be buried at Arlington.
But my favorite president, next to Teddy, was our 6th…John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, our 2nd. I even have a stuffed lion named after him.
What I loved most about John Quincy was his inherent integrity, how he never backed down, especially fighting against slavery...speaking his mind and his conscience, to quote the writer/historian, David McCullough.
“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone.” JQA
I liked knowing, he was romantic as well, penning verse to his wife, Louisa, when they were often apart, laced with a touch of lust.
He was also, the only president to ever return to the House of Representatives, pairing humility with his integrity earning him the name, Old Man Eloquent.
He said, it was the happiest 17 years of his life.
In, 1848, at the age of 80, John Quincy collapsed at his desk. If you go on a tour of the United States Capitol, in Statuary Hall, a brass plate in the floor marks the spot. He was carried to the speaker’s office where he died, two days later while Henry Clay, in tears, held his hand.
He died in harness, as they said back then…with his boots on, as we say now.
Knowing our history emboldens us, making us proud to be Americans and much less fearful of the future, regardless, of who’s at the helm.
Like the great filmmaker, Ken Burns, always says…
You can’t know where you’re going, if you don’t know where you’ve been.”
John Quincy Adams… 1767-1848
JQA was the very first president to ever be photographed.
SB
I didn’t know anything about him but his parents were incredibly interesting so he had to be unique.
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He was truly unique..sui generis if you will…:)
His parents were so determined for him to be great. He was their eldest, and he did incredible things when he was so young, but was sullen and moody having missed his childhood. At 12 he was speaking French living with his father in France hanging out with Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Sounds cool on paper, but he was just a kid. Loved to read. We like that.
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There are a lot of kids who lose their childhood to working toward aspirations — theirs or their parents. Olympic partcipants come to mind.
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Never thought of that. Everything has a price tag it seems. sigh
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Nice piece of history for today!
Hal
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Well, you know how it floats my boat Hal…:)
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Integrity counts and sleeps peacefully.
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Beautifully said…JQA would no doubt agree.
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I’d have a hard time preparing to court sleep by going through the presidents. John could do it, though. I can’t remember the last time I couldn’t sleep, so I’m not going to worry about the presidential lineup. Your facts about John Quincy were most interesting.
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I love history. It fills me with such wonder and contentment.
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I’m so glad you said that. It must be what John feels. I enjoy being with people who love history. Once I told a walking friend that John was like an interactive computer screen. You touch him, and history comes out. He is my encyclopedia. When we take our morning walk, I don’t need books or Google. Everything is in his brain.
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I didn’t realize John was a history lover. Hail John! Did you know JQA was a great walker. Despite his age, insisted on walking to the Capitol every day even when his fiery opponents threatened to shoot him. My kinda man…:)
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I didn’t know that! I’ll ask John if he does.
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He also when he was president, swam in the Chesapeake…naked. That John
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Guess it’s good we didn’t have cell phones with cameras back then.
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Yes. John Quincy would have been on every front page.
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Susannah, I love when you scatter seeds of tantalizing historical insights. Makes me want to get a book on JQA, knowing that both Pookie and I will enjoy it. I never knew any of these facts about him.
You would have made a great history teacher. So many teachers never make their lessons interesting by dispersing the human interest with the facts.
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Harlow Giles Unger (2012) John Quincy Adams. Just finished it. It was such beautiful, stirring prose. He’ll make my next reading list. I’m touched you think I would have made a good teacher, you teacher you. 🙂
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Thanks for the author. I’m ordering it today!
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I couldn’t put it down. It’s packed with history. He was 12 when he sailed to France with his father. Maybe younger. And their boat almost didn’t make it. He also saw the Battle of Bunker Hill with his mom when he was just a boy. It goes on and on. You flatter me by taking my literary recommendations.
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I admire your ability to name all the presidents. I’ve tried to learn them all, but usually get bogged down in the 1800s. I’m listening to an audio-book right now about Teddy Roosevelt; it’s a fictional story about him and his son Kermit hunting a strange beast in the Amazon.
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Speaking of TR and the Amazon, have you ever read River of Doubt, by Canduce Millard? It’s great. He got very sick and wanted his son, Kermit, to leave him there to die, but he refused. Teddy lore’s the best. Can’t help but to love history…:)
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I could sit on your tour bus ALL day and learn more than I ever did in a classroom. I need to personalize people before I can care about their accomplishments. It’s much more interesting for me to know that he swam naked, which will then make me remember he was our 6th president. Well done Grasshopper, well done.
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One time he fell out of a boat that sunk with his clothes. He walked back naked. That John. He just kept his eye on the ball, well in this case two. Oops.
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Hahaha! See, you had me at balls.
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We’re like Abbot and Costello, interchangeably.
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Wow! Very interesting! I don’t know my presidents very well (if at all), but always assumed JQA was one of the unimportant ones. It seems that is not so.
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That was happens when you quietly do your job without ego. JQA was a special man much better suited for The House of Representatives than as president. He didn’t care for the limelight. Just did his work diligently. Hail John. Thanks.
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Great post! I ‘survived’ an MRI scan by listing in order all the kings and queens of England from QEII to Henry Tudor – (I get a little sketchy when it comes to the medieval period) and back up again!
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I’m in the midst of reading Antonia Fraser’s bio on Mary Queen of Scots. History is better than Xanex.
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Reading The Criminal Conversation of Mrs Norton – you do get sex and scandal in the 19c!! 🙂
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I’ll bet
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Doubt if there is another President who can measure upto him (going by your description)
Enjoyed this piece.
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He was very special. They don’t make John Quincys anymore. Thanks for reading.
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