State of the Union Addresses of John Quincy Adams

Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0
Word count
188K words
Chapters
19

Tags

English Originals Politics Historical ReappraisalState AddressDiplomatic StrategyPolitical SpeechesAmerican PoliticsPower GameCivic AwarenessWestern ThoughtIntellectual CommentaryPolicy Analysis

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.State of the Union Addresses of John Quincy Adams by John Quincy AdamsAuthor: Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848,Language: English, Class: J: Political science, Release Date: Feb 1, 2004

Editor's review

This volume collects the State of the Union addresses delivered to Congress by John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, during his term in office, and is a free public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg. These texts are not secondhand summaries written by later commentators but the formal statements of the person concerned on the national issues of the day, and can be used to observe American political discourse, policy concerns, and official rhetoric in the first half of the 19th century. For researchers, it provides citable primary material; for general readers, it is a window into how early American presidents explained their policy directions to the legislature. It is best read as a historical source rather than a popular book: first understand the year and background of each address, then pay attention to recurring themes such as foreign affairs, finance, public works, and federal authority. Because the text is in the original English and was written long ago, the sentences tend to be long and the context unfamiliar, so it is advisable to read it alongside reference works or relevant historical overviews. This book is better suited to readers with a clear research or interest goal than to casual reading for light narrative.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Read one address first and mark recurring theme words, then compare the addresses across the collection.
  2. Read alongside a chronology of early American history to clarify the domestic and international background of each address.
  3. Keep a notebook to record unfamiliar names, institutions, and policy terms, looking them up as you read.
  4. If reading only for research citations, read selected passages by theme rather than the whole collection from start to finish.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
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  18. 18
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FAQ

Was this book written by Adams himself? Yes. The book collects the texts of the State of the Union addresses submitted to Congress during John Quincy Adams's term, which are the President's own formal documents, not later rewrites or commentary. Project Gutenberg compiled and released them as a public-domain ebook, so what readers read is the original documentary content.
What level of English is needed to read this book? The original text was written in the first half of the 19th century, with long sentences and formal wording, and it involves the political institutions and policy background of the time. It is suitable for readers with college-level English reading ability who are willing to consult dictionaries and background information; if your English is weaker, it is advisable to read a relevant Chinese-language historical overview first and then compare it with the original text.
Can it be used as an introductory book to American history? It is not very suitable as an introductory book. It is primary historical material, lacking background explanation and narrative thread, and first-time readers can easily be overwhelmed by names, institutions, and dates. A better approach is to read a general introduction to early American history first, then return to this book to look up the address for a specific year, which will make understanding much smoother.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848 Author · American · 1767–1848

John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) was an American statesman and diplomat who served as the sixth President of the United States. He took part in the negotiations of the Treaty of Paris and remained active in public affairs in his later years as a member of the House of Representatives. Two of his works are held here: State of the Union Addresses of John Quincy Adams, a collection of his annual messages that sets out his governing ideas and his concern for federal affairs, and The Jubilee of the Constitution, a commemorative address that reviews the framing of the Constitution and expounds its spirit. His writing belongs to political argument and public oratory—carefully reasoned and dignified in tone, valuable both as historical testimony and as documents for the study of early American politics and constitutional thought. As public material on his life and literary background is limited, this note offers only a brief outline of his identity and the subjects of his works.