This broadside ode written by Charles Sprague of Boston commemorates the inauguration of John Quincy Adams as the sixth President of the United States. It entreats Adams to be the “ruler of the whole” and “Shake off the leprosy of slaves.”

JQA and the election of 1824

Prior to the ratification of the 20th amendment to the Constitution in 1933, presidential inaugurations occurred on March 4 following federal elections which took place during November and December—a single “election day” was not established until 1845. And so it was, after “two successive sleepless Nights,” that John Quincy Adams, the son of our second president, recorded in his diary the events of the 4th of March 1825:

About half past eleven O’Clock, I left my house, with an escort of several companies of militia, and a cavalcade of Citizens; accompanied in my Carriage by Samuel L. Southard Secretary of the Navy, and William Wirt, Attorney General, and followed by James Monroe, late President of the United States, in his own Carriage. We proceeded to the Capitol, and to the Senate Chamber … from the Senate chamber, accompanied by the members of that body; and by the Judges of the Supreme Court, I repaired to the Hall of the House of Representatives, and after delivering from the Speakers Chair my inaugural Address to a crowded auditory, and I pronounced from a Volume of the Laws, held up to me by John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States, the Oath faithfully to execute the Office of President of the United States, and to the best of my ability, to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States—

The election of 1824 had not been an easy one for Adams to win. According to Traub’s biography, John Quincy Adams “did not like appealing to voters, did not believe he should have to, and was not good at it.” Nineteenth century elections were very different from our own. Of the 24 states at the time, six left the choice of president up to their state legislature; in others, only adult white males could vote. Candidates did not advertise or campaign openly—much of the action went on behind the scenes, carried on by proxies. Of the candidates running in 1824—Andrew Jackson, Adams, William Crawford, and Henry Clay—none had broad appeal and no candidate won a majority of electoral college votes. As a result, the election was decided in the House of Representatives where the balloting went on until someone won 13 or more states. With the cooperation of Henry Clay, who assured Kentucky’s vote for Adams (and would be named his Secretary of State), Adams won on the first ballot.

A life of service to the country

Although, like his father, John Quincy Adams would serve only one term as President of the United States, his contributions to American history transcend this four-year span. At age 27, Washington appointed him “Minister Resident for the United States of America with their High Mightinesses the States General of the United Netherland.” He would go on to serve in diplomatic posts in Great Britain and Russia, terms in the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and eight years as James Monroe’s Secretary of State. After his failed reelection to the presidency, Adams returned to Congress in 1830 as a representative for Massachusetts, serving nine terms until his death in 1848, two days after collapsing on the floor of the House during a debate about honoring men who had served in the Mexican American War.

Who was Charles Sprague?

The author of the “Adams Ode” was Charles Sprague (1791-1875), a Boston merchant and banker who became locally well-known as “The Banker Poet.” Apprenticed to a dry-goods merchant at age 13, Sprague joined the Globe Bank in 1824, remaining there in various capacities until his retirement. Sprague published his poems in newspapers and delivered them at public events. Although his formal education ended with his apprenticeship, he was granted an honorary degree from Harvard in 1829. Sprague died in Boston and is buried at the edge of Boston Common.