John Quincy Adams: Address to Constituents at Braintree

The career of John Quincy Adams had three distinct phases: diplomat, president, and congressman; the documents that best reveal his thinking and accomplishments are different for each time period. His actions as a congressman are best revealed through his debates in congress and his appeals to his constituents. His Address to Constituents at Braintree was delivered to soon-to-be former constituents of his district in 1849, a signficant portion of which had been affected by congressional reapportionment. In his address, Adams launches into an attack on slavery and claims that representation in Congress is being “wheedled into the support”of Slave Power and the southern states. He further denounces President John Tyler, himself a slaveholder, for supporting and preserving the system.