Before getting into the details of Adams’ address, some background on Adams and 1821 (the year he delivered the speech) is necessary. John Quincy Adams was the son of John Adams, one of the driving forces behind American independence and the nation’s second president. Young John Quincy accompanied his father on a diplomatic post in France, and later became Francis Dana’s private secretary in Russia. The young Adams also served as his father’s private secretary during the negotiations for the Treaty of Paris (1783) that ended the War of Independence. He was appointed by President George Washington as US Minister Resident in the Netherlands in 1794. He served in the same position in Prussia during his father’s presidency. President Madison named John Quincy US Minister to Russia in 1809, and he served in that position until 1814, when the Napoleonic Wars ended. He chaired the US delegation that negotiated the Treaty of Ghent that ended the War of 1812 with Great Britain, and later served as US Minister to Great Britain after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. President James Monroe appointed John Quincy as Secretary of State. In 1824, Adams won a disputed presidential election in the House of Representatives, where he defeated military hero Andrew Jackson. (Jackson would later claim that Adams won the presidency in a “corrupt bid” with Henry Clay, whom Adams appointed as Secretary of State).
Historical background for the 4th of JulyTh oration includes revolutions in South America and Central and Eastern Europe, including Greece. There is a lot of sentiment in the United States to lend support to what it sees as a democratic revolution similar to our own War of Independence. Supporters of American intervention in other countries included prominent statesmen such as Henry Clay and Daniel Webster.
John Quincy Adams had seen this before, when in the Washington administration influential figures such as Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson urged US support for revolutionary France in the war with Great Britain. Adams observed the skillful diplomacy of President Washington and Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton when declaring neutrality in the European war. Adams also agreed with President Washington’s sentiments expressed in his Farewell Address, especially Washington’s advice to avoid permanent alliances and to base American foreign policy on interests rather than sentiments.
In a short speech on July 4, 1821, Adams recognized the American example of the “inalienable natural rights of man,” the legitimate basis” of American government, and “liberty, equal justice and . . . equal rights.ā The principles of the Declaration of Independence, however, did not affect America’s relations with other powers. He went on to express what is almost a bible of foreign policy realism. America, he said,
already. . . without exception, respect the freedom of
other nations while asserting and maintaining them. He has
avoid interfering in other people’s concerns, even when
The conflict is for the principle that he clings to, as for the last vital
drops in the heart. He has seen that probably for centuries
come on, all the contests that . . . European world, will contest from
inveterate power and emerge right. Everywhere the standard of
Independence and Independence has or will be unfurled, there will be
hearts, blessings and prayers. But he didn’t go
abroad in search of monsters to destroy. He is what you want
liberty and freedom of all. He is a champion and
vindicator only from himself. He will praise the common cause
by the face of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of
his example. He also knows that once enlisting in another
their own flag, they are even a foreign flag
freedom, will involve himself beyond the power of
extrication, in all the war of interest and intrigue, individual
ambition, envy, and ambition, which considers color and usurpation
standard of independence. The basic maxim of his policy will be
insensibly change from freedom to force. He can be
world dictator. He will no longer be in power
spirit. The glory of America is not power, but freedom. March her
march of the heart. He has a spear and a shield: but the motto
on his shield are, Freedom, Independence, Peace. This is already
His declaration: this has been . . . the way
Every time the United States has deviated from this wise counsel, we have met with tragedy and usually failure. The most recent example is the intervention in the Balkans in the 1990s, and Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya (and the entire Arab Spring) in the 21St century, where we go abroad to destroy monsters and suffer from endless wars, tragedies, and failed foreign policies. We seem to have made the same mistake in Ukraine, where our (and NATO’s) intervention will not result in a Ukrainian victory but could lead to a wider and more deadly European War.
This is 4Th This July as we celebrate our independence, we should reflect not only on the Declaration of Independence but also on the wise and wise words spoken by John Quincy Adams more than 100 years ago.
Francis P Sempa is a regular contributor to RealClearDefense and writes the monthly Best Defense column. Read the latest: “The Rise and Fall of America’s Naval Dominance.”
This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and is available via RealClearWire.
