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Primary sourceBook1913 (covering 1779-1796)

Writings of John Quincy Adams, Vol. 1

John Quincy Adams · 1913 (covering 1779-1796)

A 1913 edition of John Quincy Adams's own letters and public papers, covering 1779-1796, edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford.

This volume collects Adams's own letters and papers, giving direct access to his thoughts in his own words.

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About this source

What it is

This is the first volume of Adams's collected writings, edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford and published in 1913, gathering his letters and public papers from 1779 to 1796.

Why it matters

Because it reprints Adams's own letters and papers, it lets readers hear his thinking directly rather than through later interpretation. The volume covers his early life, including his years of education and early diplomatic service in Europe.

Look closer

  • Why might an editor like Ford organize and publish someone's private letters decades after they were written?
  • What might change in meaning when private letters are collected and printed as a public book?
  • What can Adams's own words reveal that a later biography might not?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John Quincy Adams on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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