Description:

J. Q. Adams Lauds "intellectual improvement already burning in the bosoms of students" Just Before His Defense of Amistad

"It would indeed have been to me a delightful task to second with words of cheering and encouragement that ardent pursuit of intellectual improvement already burning in the bosoms of the Students of Rutgers College."

Former President John Quincy Adams graciously declines an invitation to speak to the Philoclean Society of Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, Autograph Letter Signed, to William H. Steele, Jacob R. Wortendyke, and Ralph Willis, November 9, 1838, Quincy, Massachusetts. 1 p., 7.75" x 9.75". Fold marks; repaired split at one fold; slight browning to edges and inside folds.

Complete Transcript
Messrs William H. Steele, J. R. Woertendyke, and R. Willis, Committee of the Philoclean Society of Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J.
Quincy 9 Novr 1838.
Gentlemen,
Your letter of the 26th ulto flattering as it is to a better feeling than pride or vanity can inspire, and appealing to motives, which no generous mind could resist, would have met with an immediately and unhesitating compliance with the invitation which it contains, had I been at liberty to consult my inclinations, or to disregard the admonition of my own age and infirmities.
A precarious and unsteady state of health, has for several years been accompanied by pulmonary weakness, and a frequently failing voice, forbidding me to contract any engagement to speak in public at any time in advance. I have accordingly been compelled to decline numerous invitations similar to that, with which I am now honoured by you; and besides the same reasons which I have assigned to others for the inability to indulge my own desire of addressing them at their request, I have the additional obligation of offering to all the same excuse of which I have already asked their acceptance.
It would indeed have been to me a delightful task to second with words of cheering and encouragement that ardent pursuit of intellectual improvement already burning in the bosoms of the Students of Rutgers College—already burning as the internal evidence of your own Letter clearly demonstrates. Congratulating you upon the Spirit with which it is animated, I cherish the hope that in a few short years our Country and her friends will have ample reason for congratulating her upon its fruits. Of which please to accept, Gentlemen, the best wishes of your friend and very humble servt
John Quincy Adams.

Historical Background
In April 1829, shortly after completing his single term as President of the United States, John Quincy Adams responded to a letter from Rev. John Gosman of the Philoclean Society at Rutgers College, accepting his appointment as an honorary member of the Society.

By 1838, former President John Quincy Adams had represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven years as a Whig in opposition to the administrations of Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. In his diary for November 9, 1838, Adams wrote that he "wrote three short and indispensable Letters"; this letter to the Philoclean Society at Rutgers was likely one of them.

The Philoclean Society at Rutgers University is one of the oldest collegiate literary societies in the United States. Founded in December 1825, its name derives from Ancient Greek and means "lover of glory." The Peithessophian Society, also founded at Rutgers in 1825, was its chief rival, and the "Philo" and "Peitho" rivalry enlivened undergraduate social life with orations, debates, and external speakers. The societies also developed lending libraries, which were built and maintained over decades. They also solicited literary, religious, scientific, and political leaders to become honorary members.

Among the speakers that the Philoclean Society attracted to give addresses were William Wirt (1830), Theodore Frelinghuysen (1832), John D. Ogilby (1833), and Joseph P. Bradley (1849). Both the Philoclean Society and the Peithessophian Society endured until 1898, when both societies closed.

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) was born in Massachusetts, the son of future President John Adams. He accompanied his father on several diplomatic missions in the 1770s and 1780s and graduated from Harvard College in 1787. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1791. Adams served successively as minister to The Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, and Britain, from 1794 to 1801 and from 1809 to 1817. He met Louisa Catherine Johnson (1775-1852), the daughter of a poor American merchant, while in Europe, and they married in 1797 in London. He began his career as a moderate Federalist but switched to the Jeffersonian Republican Party around the year 1807. He helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812, and was a brilliant Secretary of State (1817-1825), taking the lead role in formulating the Monroe Doctrine. He won the election of 1824, which was decided in the House of Representatives because no candidate won a majority in the Electoral College. Adams's "deal" with House Speaker Henry Clay, whom he named Secretary of State, helped spark the formation of an opposition party around Andrew Jackson. John Quincy Adams served one largely frustrating term as president and lost in the election of 1828 to Andrew Jackson. In the early 1830s, Adams joined the Anti-Masonic Party before becoming a member of the Whig Party. Surprising most observers, Adams stood for election to the House of Representatives in 1831 and served seventeen memorable years, becoming a bulwark for civil liberties and a voice in the emerging anti-slavery movement. He defended the Amistad slaves before the Supreme Court in 1841 and died of a stroke on the floor of the House in 1848.

William Henry Steele (1818-1905) of Newark, New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers in 1837, attended New Brunswick seminary, and became a Dutch Reformed minister. He served as a missionary to Borneo from 1842 to 1849 and was later President of the Dutch Reformed Board of Foreign Missions.

Jacob Rynier Wortendyke (1818-1868) of Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers in 1839, taught school for a decade, and became an attorney in 1853. He represented New Jersey as a Democrat in Congress from 1857 to 1859.

Ralph Willis (1815-1895) of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was born in London, England, graduated from Rutgers in 1839, attended New Brunswick seminary, and became a Dutch Reformed minister.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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