Nation Builder: John Quincy Adams and the Grand Strategy of the Republic

421 Pages·2014·2.17 MB·English

by  Charles N. Edel

N AT I O N B U I L D E R

N A T I O N B U I L D E R
John Quincy Adams
and the Grand Strategy of the Republic
C H A R L E S N . E D E L
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, En gland
2014
Copyright © 2014 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
all rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First printing
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
is available from the library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-674-36808-8
For Kira
and my parents

C O N T E N T S
Introduction 1
1. The Fires of Honorable Ambition:
The Education of John Quincy Adams 13
2. Clans and Tribes at Eternal War:
Eu ro pe an Diplomacy and American Politics 55
3. In Search of Monsters to Destroy:
The Extent and Limits of American Power 107
4. The Spirit of Improvement:
Economic and Moral Development 185
5. A Stain upon the Character of the Nation:
The Fight against Slavery 249
6. The Infl uence of Our Example:
The Legacy of John Quincy Adams 290
Notes 307
Ac know ledg ments 383
Index 387
Illustrations follow Chapter 3

N AT I O N B U I L D E R