31John Quincy Adams to John Adams, 28 March 1801 (Adams Papers)
It is my intention during the short time that I expect to remain here, to send you from time to time such new publications in the french language, as may fall in my way, and appear to promise entertainment or matter of interesting meditation for you. With this design I purpose to combine another, which I am at least desirous to render of some utility to my Country— The translation from Juvenal...
32To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 4 July 1806 (Adams Papers)
I enclose you a letter, which I received last Monday, and by which you will learn the distressing misfortune which has befallen me—I have not communicated it to you before, from the wish that it might not come to the knowledge of my brother’s wife, at a moment when it might too much affect her—I have another letter from Washington, one day later than the one enclosed; my wife was then as well...
33To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 30 November 1807 (Adams Papers)
I received a few days since your very kind letter which I am ashamed of answering by a few lines; but by some accident I have fallen from a state of almost total idleness into an overwhelming flood of business, which leaves me scarcely a quarter of an hour of the day or of the Night—I sent you last week a copy of a volume in the form of a bill which I reported upon the Aggression business and...
34John Quincy Adams to John Adams, 20 March 1804 (Adams Papers)
A letter is now reading from Captain Bainbridge, with an account of the loss of the frigate Philadelphia, wreck’d on rocks on the coast of Tripoli—the last week in October— They were in pursuit of a Tripolitan Cruizer, and struck on rocks, not laid down in any Chart they had on board — Captain Bainbridge and 307 men, are prisoners in Tripoli.— I have already seen an account of this misfortune...
35To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 5 January 1805 (Adams Papers)
I have now two letters from you, and one from my mother, which ought to be answered more particularly, than my time will admit—The business of the Session has been delayed, untill such an accumulation has taken place, as will very much hurry the close of our Time—And although I might perhaps without injury to the public, suffer the business to be done without taking much trouble about it...
36John Quincy Adams to John Adams, 18 April 1801 (Adams Papers)
I enclose herewith the second number of my Gazette, which completes the Journal for the month of March. By the last post I sent to Hamburg a letter for my mother with the information, that on the 12 th: inst r: my wife was delivered of a son. But she was then extremely ill, & I wrote under the impression of great alarm on her account. She has since very much recovered, & as I am assured quite...
37To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 19 November 1804 (Adams Papers)
I have received your kind favour of the 6th: instt: and shall be careful to enclose the more important documents which may be printed from Time to Time— I hope my dear Mother has ere this entirely recovered from her illness. I had a letter from Mr: Shaw, one day later than your’s, in which he gives me a yet more flattering hope of her being on the recovery. Although the more my brother’s...
38To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 27 December 1807 (Adams Papers)
Your favour of the 14th: instt: came to my hands just at a moment to renew and to strengthen impressions which had been weighing heavily upon my mind for near a month—The general questions relative to the powers and the process of expulsion under our Constitution had been forced upon me by the situation in which I was placed as Chairman of the Committee on the present Inquiry—My own...
39John Quincy Adams to John Adams, 1 May 1801 (Adams Papers)
I have received, and communicated to this Government, my recall from the mission here— I shall hasten my departure as much as possible; but the situation of my wife who is still confined to her bed, renders it uncertain when she will be able to travel at-all, and yet more when to undertake the voyage. If a favourable opportunity from Hamburg for Boston occurs I shall give it the preference—...
40To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 8 March 1805 (Adams Papers)
During the last days of the Session of Congress which has just expired, I found it impossible to continue the correspondence which I had previously maintained even so far as to enclose from day to day the public documents as they were printed—From 10 O’Clock in the morning untill 7 in the Evening the Senate was constantly in Session, with the interval of only half an hour each day for a slight...
41To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 27 January 1808 (Adams Papers)
I have already written you a very long letter in answer to your favour of the 8th: instt:—and after writing it, upon reading it over concluded the best disposition I could make of it would be to burn it—Accordingly the flames have consumed it, and I must begin again. Your answers and observations upon my inquiries respecting the impressment of our seamen by the British are of the highest...
42John Quincy Adams to John Adams, 16 May 1801 (Adams Papers)
M r: Welsh proposes to return home by the way of Amsterdam, and will be the bearer of this letter— With it, I enclose the 4 th: number of the Gazette, and copies of former letters to yourself and to my dear mother. I wish I could promise myself a more speedy departure than that which I anticipated in my last Letter to you; but we can no longer form a hope of my wife’s immediate recovery— There...
43To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 14 March 1805 (Adams Papers)
In my last Letter I observed to you, that the form of putting the final question on the Articles of Impeachment against Judge Chase, was varied from that which had been adopted in the case of Mr: Pickering, and made conformable to the English Precedents—To shew you how essentially this variation of form was connected with a most essential important question as to the nature of Impeachment...
44To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 11 December 1804 (Adams Papers)
I received together last Evening your two favours of 30th: ulto: and 2d: instt: for which I most sincerely return you my thanks.—In the dreary path which I am now compell’d to tread, it is cheering to the Spirits, and gives the most pleasing consolation to have occasionally the benefit of your correspondence.—What the issue of the election in Massachusetts, will be on the harmony of the ruling...
45To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 28 March 1806 (Adams Papers)
I have two letters from you which ought to have been answered some time since, but I have only one apology for the delay, which I have so often mentioned that I am almost ashamed to repeat it. I have no time for writing except when the Senate is in Session, and when such business is before them, as I can suffer to proceed without paying much attention to it.—We have now come to sit on...
46To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 24 December 1804 (Adams Papers)
When I expressed a wish in writing to my brother, that you should purposely dismiss some part of that attention to the present course of public affairs, which I thought contributed much to make your hours unpleasant, I was not aware that your expectations of change in the politics of a considerable portion of the States, more favourable to the real interests, and morals of the Country, were so...
47To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 14 January 1806 (Adams Papers)
I received some days since your kind favour containing the account of your occupations and amusements; and I have this day that of my brother dated at the close of the last and commencement of the present year—I have occasionally forwarded such public documents to you, as I supposed would be worthy of your perusal, together with the Journals of the two Houses—That of the Senate will I hope...
48To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 3 November 1804 (Adams Papers)
I wrote you a few lines from New-York, enclosing a copy of Commodore Morris’s Defence, for Mr: Shaw—The day after which I left that City and came on multum jactatus mare et terris—to Philadelphia in the Land Stage, and thence to Baltimore by the way of Newcastle and Frenchtown; chiefly by water—a mode of conveyance to me much more agreeable than that of a Stage Coach over the chaotic roads on...
49John Quincy Adams to John Adams, 15 March 1804 (Adams Papers)
You will see by the folio sheet I inclose to you, that the House of Representatives have not yet done with the Government of Louisiana.— The fourth Section is the only one in which there seems much difficulty to the Legislators of the day— Many attempts were made to vary that here, and they are renewed in the House— They sport with Louisiana, as a Cat sports with a mouse— But to help our...
50John Quincy Adams to John Adams, 4 September 1801 (Adams Papers)
After a passage of 58 days from Hamburg we have this day landed here, where we purpose to stay five or six days— My wife will then go to spend a few weeks with her parents at Washington, and I shall hasten towards Quincy where I hope within three weeks to present myself before you— Her health though yet very infirm is better than we could have expected, and your little Grandson is as hearty as...
51To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 24 January 1805 (Adams Papers)
You will find, in the multitude of public documents, which I constantly transmit to you, the only apology I have to offer, for the irregularity which has crept upon the returns to your most valuable letters—Though I find it utterly impossible even to read all these papers, yet I feel it an indispensible duty to peruse with attention the greater part of them, and some of them require even a...
52To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 11 February 1806 (Adams Papers)
Since the date of your favour of the 29th: ulto: you have doubtless received many additional documents confirming your opinion of the system of policy prevalent here in relation to our foreign affairs—Unqualified submission to France, and unqualified defiance of Great Britain, are indeed the two pillars upon which our measures are to rest—And numerous as the proofs are which you will have of...
53John Quincy Adams to John Adams, 25 April 1801 (Adams Papers)
As I am informed there is a vessel soon to sail from Amsterdam for Boston, I now forward to M r. Bourne to go by her, this letter enclosing copies of my numbers 2 and 3. upon the Etat de la France &c. The book itself will go with the copy of my first letter concerning it, from Hamburg— Hauterive has generally been given out as its author; but Talleyrand himself is now understood to have had...
54To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 6 December 1805 (Adams Papers)
I enclosed under a blank cover to you a copy of the President’s Message, on the day when it was delivered, and having now to enclose a letter from my wife to my Mother, and a bill which has already pass’d both houses of Congress I cannot forbear writing a line with it, to recall myself to your kind remembrance. You will perceive that the message is in a style and tone which have not been...
55To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, November 1804 (Adams Papers)
I have been happy to receive your obliging favour of the 14th: instt: and am much obliged to you for your opinions respecting the points of maritime Law, which require our attention at this Time—A coincidence of your opinion with that of the President of the United States, would be more than enough to stagger me in any point upon which I should have formed a different one—It makes me therefore...
56To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 18 June 1807 (Adams Papers)
The Fire and Marine Insurance Office are now repaying the third part of their capital, to which they were authorized by an Act of the Legislature; and issuing new Certificates to the Stockholders—The old Certificates must therefore be returned into the Office—I will thank you to send me, by the earliest opportunity, your Certificate for the forty shares, which stand in my name, but of which...
57To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 27 January 1807 (Adams Papers)
I received nearly ten days since your very kind letter, which has hitherto remained unanswered owing to the very sudden transition we made, from almost total idleness, to an excessive press of business—This transition was introduced by a question upon the building of a bridge , which has already made five days of debate, and upon which the question is not yet finally taken—Besides this Mr:...
58John Quincy Adams to Louisa Catherine Adams, 9 June 1804 (Adams Papers)
I have now received your favour of the 29 th: of last month, enclosing a letter from your Mamma, for M r: Murdoch, which I shall take care to forward, by the first vessel that will go from Boston to England.— You had been so long without an attack of the spasms, that I had flattered my self, they had taken their final leave— I grieve to hear of their return— Perhaps it may only be in...
59John Quincy Adams to Louisa Catherine Adams, 23 June 1804 (Adams Papers)
The Sun is just making his appearance for the first time these five days, during which we have had a cold North-East Storm, and almost continual rains— In the midst of this gloom, which has confined us closely to the house, I received your letter of the 10 th: with the account of our dear child’s illness— It has distress’d me much; and though I hope it is only the previous indisposition to the...
60John Quincy Adams to Louisa Catherine Adams, 1 July 1804 (Adams Papers)
On Thursday, I went into Boston, for the first time this month past, and there received at once your two letters of 14 th: and 20 th: of June. They alleviated in part, and only in part the heavy anxiety which has weighed on my Spirits for the health of the dear child— I hope the fine weather has return’d with you, so that you have been able to give him the benefit of the air and exercise— I...