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

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Harvard University Press, Oct 6, 2014 - Biography & Autobiography - 392 pages

“America goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy”—John Quincy Adams’s famous words are often quoted to justify noninterference in other nations’ affairs. Yet when he spoke them, Adams was not advocating neutrality or passivity but rather outlining a national policy that balanced democratic idealism with a pragmatic understanding of the young republic’s capabilities and limitations. America’s rise from a confederation of revolutionary colonies to a world power is often treated as inevitable, but Charles N. Edel’s provocative biography of Adams argues that he served as the central architect of a grand strategy that shaped America’s rise. Adams’s particular combination of ideas and policies made him a critical link between the founding generation and the Civil War–era nation of Lincoln.

Examining Adams’s service as senator, diplomat, secretary of state, president, and congressman, Edel’s study of this extraordinary figure reveals a brilliant but stubborn man who was both visionary prophet and hard-nosed politician. Adams’s ambitions on behalf of America’s interests, combined with a shrewd understanding of how to counter the threats arrayed against them, allowed him to craft a multitiered policy to insulate the nation from European quarrels, expand U.S. territory, harness natural resources, develop domestic infrastructure, education, and commerce, and transform the United States into a model of progress and liberty respected throughout the world.

While Adams did not live to see all of his strategy fulfilled, his vision shaped the nation’s agenda for decades afterward and continues to resonate as America pursues its place in the twenty-first-century world.

 

Contents

Introduction
1
The Education of John Quincy Adams
13
European Diplomacy and American Politics
55
The Extent and Limits of American Power
107
Economic and Moral Development
185
The Fight against Slavery
249
The Legacy of John Quincy Adams
290
Notes
307
Acknowledgments
383
Index
387
Copyright

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Nation Builder: John Quincy Adams and the Grand Strategy of the Republic
Charles N. Edel
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About the author (2014)

Charles N. Edel is Assistant Professor of Strategy and Policy at the U.S. Naval War College.

Bibliographic information

TitleNation Builder: John Quincy Adams and the Grand Strategy of the Republic
AuthorCharles N. Edel
Editionillustrated
PublisherHarvard University Press, 2014
ISBN0674368088, 9780674368088
Length392 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Biography & Autobiography / Presidents & Heads of State
History / General
History / United States / 19th Century
History / United States / Colonial Period (1600-1775)
Political Science / American Government / General
Political Science / International Relations / General
  
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