John Adams II
| John Adams II | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Private Secretary to the President | |
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In office March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829 |
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| President | John Quincy Adams |
| Preceded by | Samuel L. Gouverneur |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Jackson Donelson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 4, 1803 Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Died | October 23, 1834 (aged 31) Washington, DC |
John Adams (July 4, 1803 – October 23, 1834) was the second son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams. He is usually called John Adams II to distinguish him from President John Adams, his famous grandfather.
John Adams II was born in Quincy, Massachusetts on July 4, 1803. He studied at Harvard University, but was expelled during his senior year for participating in the 1823 student rebellion to protest the curriculum and living conditions at the university. He then studied law under his father, and when John Quincy Adams became President, his son served as his private secretary. (In 1873 most of the students who took part in the 1823 incident, including John Adams II, were designated "Bachelor of Arts as of 1823" and admitted to Harvard's Roll of Graduates.)
At a White House reception during the John Quincy Adams presidency, Russell Jarvis, an anti-Adams reporter for the Washington Daily Telegraph believed that President Adams publicly insulted Mrs. Jarvis. Since the President was considered to be immune from a dueling challenge, Jarvis attempted to initiate a duel with John Adams II, who had been at the reception. Jarvis's effort to provoke an incident led to a highly publicized fistfight in the Capitol Rotunda, with Jarvis pulling the nose of and slapping Adams, and Adams refusing to retaliate. An investigating committee of the United States House of Representatives determined that Jarvis had initiated the attack, but took no other action. Louisa Adams always believed that the negative press generated by this incident, with John Adams II being accused of cowardice by newspaper editors who supported Andrew Jackson, led to Adams' early demise.
John Adams II, his older brother George and his younger brother Charles were all rivals for the same woman, their cousin Mary Catherine Hellen, who lived with the John Quincy Adams family after the death of her parents. In 1828 John married Mary Hellen at a ceremony in the White House, and both his brothers refused to attend. John Adams II and Mary Hellen were the parents of two daughters, Mary Louisa (December 2, 1828 - July 16, 1859) and Georgiana Frances (September 10, 1830 - November 20, 1839).
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