John Quincy Adams and the Politics of Slavery
Selections from the Diary
David Waldstreicher and Matthew Mason
Reviews and Awards
The diary should help [readers] understand [Adams's] conflicting commitment to the nation his father helped create and its Constitution, in which slavery was embedded....Adams's argument is often visible in the illuminating diary entries [the authors] provide."--Wall Street Journal
"This meticulously annotated selection from the diaries of our sixth president reads like the banner headlines of today's news reports of political intrigue, raw ambitions and the same existential crisis that divides our nation today....The diary entries have a dramatic climax to them that would be worthy of a serious film treatment by someone. In the meantime this book is a great read and an informative reality check on issues that vex us even now."--Washington Times
"The editors have shown discerning judgment in the material they have chosen for their pages. In a thoughtful and judicious introduction, they have spelled out the historiographical odyssey of the diary as well as the motivation governing Adams's own relations with slavery and the South. On the latter point they deserve special commendation in a time when many tout John Quincy as an antislavery hero with little thought to the complex road he took to reach that place."--Civil War Book Review
"Provides important insight into John Quincy Adams's views on the most divisive issue of his generation. Waldstreicher's and Mason's work should command an impressive place on the growing shelf of works exploring the life of the sixth president."--Civil War Monitor
"This book will no doubt prove to be a valuable resource for researchers in numerous academic disciplines on questions related to Adams, slavery in the United States, and 19th-century US foreign policy."--CHOICE