Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/33

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ADAMS
ADAMS
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with fists. It was an exceedingly difficult time for an American minister in England. Though there was much sympathy for the U. S. government on the part of the workmen in the manufacturing districts and of many of the liberal constituencies, especially in Scotland, on the other hand the feeling of the governing classes and of polite society in London was either actively hostile to us or coldly indifferent. Even those students of history and politics who were most friendly to us failed utterly to comprehend the true character of the sublime struggle in which we were engaged—as may be seen in reading the introduction to Mr. E. A. Freeman's elaborate “History of Federal Government, from the Formation of the Achæan League to the Disruption of the United States” (London, 1862). Difficult and embarrassing questions arose in connection with the capture of the confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell, the negligence of Lord Palmerston's government in allowing the “Alabama” and other confederate cruisers to sail from British ports to prey upon American commerce, and the ever manifest desire of Napoleon III. to persuade Great Britain to join him in an acknowledgment of the independence of the confederacy. The duties of this difficult diplomatic mission were discharged by Mr. Adams with such consummate ability as to win universal admiration. No more than his father or grandfather did he belong to the school of suave and crafty, intriguing diplomats. He pursued his ends with dogged determination and little or no attempt at concealment, while his demeanor was haughty and often defiant. His unflinching firmness bore down all opposition, and his perfect self-control made it difficult for an antagonist to gain any advantage over him. His career in England from 1861 to 1868 must be cited among the foremost triumphs of American diplomacy. In 1872 it was attempted to nominate him for the presidency of the United States, as the candidate of the liberal republicans, but Horace Greeley secured the nomination. He was elected in 1869 a member of the board of overseers of Harvard college, and was for several years president of the board. He has edited the works and memoirs of his father and grandfather, in 22 octavo volumes, and published many of his own addresses and orations.—John Quincy, lawyer, b. in Boston, 22 Sept., 1833; d. in Quincy, Mass. 14 August, 1894. He was graduated at Harvard college in 1853, and admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1855. During the civil war he was on Gov. Andrew's staff. He was elected to the legislature by the town of Quincy in 1866, but failed to secure a reëlection the following year because he had declared his approval of Andrew Johnson's policy. In 1869 and 1870 he was again a member of the legislature. In 1867 and 1871 he was democratic candidate for governor of Massachusetts, and was defeated. In 1877 he was chosen a member of the corporation of Harvard.—Charles Francis, Jr., lawyer, second son of Charles Francis Adams, b. in Boston, 27 May, 1835. He was graduated at Harvard in 1856, and admitted to the bar in 1858. He served in the army throughout the whole of the civil war, and was mustered out in July, 1865, with the brevet rank of brigadier-general of volunteers. He has since devoted his attention chiefly to railroad matters, and in 1869 was appointed a member of the board of railroad commissioners of Massachusetts. In 1871, in connection with his brother, Henry Adams, he published “Chapters of Erie and other Essays.” He has since published an instructive book on railway accidents. He was elected in 1882 a member of the board of overseers of Harvard college, and in 1884 president of the Union Pacific railway, from which he resigned in 1890.—Henry, author, third son of Charles Francis Adams, b. in Boston, 16 Feb., 1838. He was graduated at Harvard in 1858, and was his father's private secretary in London from 1861 to 1868. From 1870 till 1877 he was assistant professor of history in Harvard college, and was one of the ablest instructors the university has known during the present generation, possessing to an extraordinary degree the power of inciting his pupils to original work. He now resides in Washington, D. C. Prof. Adams has published “Essays in Anglo-Saxon Law” (Boston, 1876); “Documents relating to New England Federalism, 1800-1815” (1877); “Life of Albert Gallatin” (Philadelphia, 1879); “Writings of Albert Gallatin,” edited (3 vols., 1879); “John Randolph” (Boston, 1882); and “History of the United States, 1801-1817” (9 vols., 1889-91).—Brooks, lawyer, fourth son of Charles Francis Adams, b. in Quincy, Mass., 24 June, 1848, graduated at Harvard college in 1870, admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1873. He has published articles in the “Atlantic Monthly” and other periodicals, and is the author of “The Emancipation of Massachusetts” (Boston, 1886).

ADAMS, Charles Kendall, educator, b. in Derby, Vt., 24 Jan., 1835. When twenty years of age he moved to Iowa, and subsequently entered the university of Michigan, graduating in 1861. He became assistant professor there in 1863, and five years later was elected to the full professorship of history. In 1869 he founded the history seminary at Ann Arbor. In 1881 he became a non-resident professor of history at Cornell university, and in 1885 succeeded Andrew D. White as its president. He has published papers and pamphlets on historical and educational subjects, and is the author of “Democracy and Monarchy in France” (New York, 1874) and a “Manual of Historical Literature” (New York, 1882). He has also edited “Representative British Orations” (3 vols., New York, 1884); and “Johnson's Cyclopedia” (1895).

ADAMS, Daniel, author, b. in Townsend, Mass., 29 Sept., 1773; d. in Keene, N. H., 8 June, 1864. He was graduated at Dartmouth college in 1797, studied medicine, and settled in Leominster to practise his profession. Here he published an oration on the death of Washington, and began the preparation of his school-books, including the “Scholar's Arithmetic,” “Grammar,” and “Understanding Reading,” which were issued from his own press. In 1806 he removed to Boston and opened a select school, and also edited the “Medical and Agricultural Register.” He settled in Mount Vernon in 1813, resumed his practice, and revised his arithmetic, which was then published as “Adams's New Arithmetic.” He also edited a newspaper called “The Telescope.” In 1846 he settled in Keene, N. H., where he spent the remainder of his life. He was the author of many school-books, principally on mathematics. From 1838 till 1840 he served as a state senator, and he was for some time president of the New Hampshire Bible Society and also of the New Hampshire Medical Society.

ADAMS, Edwin, actor, b. in Medford, Mass., 3 Feb., 1834; d. in Philadelphia, 25 Oct., 1877. He made his début 39 Aug , 1853, at the National theatre in Boston, acting Stephen in “The Hunchback.” In November he appeared at the Howard athenæum as Bernardo in “Hamlet,” and thence he went to Philadelphia, where he appeared, 20 Sept., 1854, as Charles Woodley in “The Soldier's Daughter.”