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Andrew Jackson

2012-03-07T13:58:26Z

TheHistoryJunkie: /* Democracy */

{{President
|image=Andrew Jackson.jpg
|seq=7
|term_start=March 4, 1829
|term_end=March 4, 1837<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/7th-us-president-andrew-jackson.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic
|vp=John C. Calhoun
|vp_dates=1829-1832
|2vp=None
|2vp_dates=1832-1833
|3vp=Martin Van Buren
|3vp_dates=1833-1837
|previous=John Quincy Adams
|next=Martin van Buren
|birth_date=March 15, 1767
|birth_place=Lancaster County, South Carolina
|death_date=June 8, 1845
|death_place=Nashville, Tennessee
|spouse=Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
}}

'''Andrew Jackson''' was the 7th [[President of the United States of America]], elected as a hero after his military triumphs over the Creek Indians of the Southeast and the British at New Orleans in 1815. As President (1829-1837), he destroyed the Bank of the United States, relocated the remaining southeastern Indians, and built a new political coalition, the Democratic party. A self-made man, Indian fighter, war hero and a fighter (and duelist) who believed in action instead of words, he was the iconic Western folk hero. Nicknamed "Old Hickory" by his admirers, he typified popular democracy in the "Jacksonian Age" of the 1830s and 1840s, and became the leader of [[Jacksonian Democracy]] during the [[Second Party System]]. He was the founder of the [[Democratic Party]] and its hero because of his strong use of the federal government to bash conservatives and banks; the poor farmers and workers loved him because he embodied their hopes and fears, their passions and prejudices, their insight and ignorance, better than anyone. However liberals lost faith in Jackson when his harsh Indian policies became a negative in the 1960s. Jackson was a political enemy of the Evangelical Protestants of the day, who denounced his policies and supported the opposition [[Whig Party]].

==Career==
Born near the North/South Carolina border, Jackson studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. Jackson was the first president who was not born in [[Virginia]] or [[Massachusetts]]. He fought at an early age in the battle of Stone Ferry during the [[American Revolution]] in 1780. As a teenaged volunteer in a local militia, Jackson refused an order by a British officer to polish his boots, and the officer angrily drew his sword and slashed Jackson across his hand and head with it, and imprisoned him. For the rest of his life Jackson loathed the British.

===Tennessee Frontier===
Jackson, John Sevier, and their allies were rich frontier lawyers and businessmen who used their vast land holdings to establish themselves as a political power in Tennessee. They allied themselves with the Jeffersonian Republicans, of the "Old Republican" faction that opposed strong national government. However, [[Thomas Jefferson]] and his circle strongly disliked and distrusted Jackson.

Serving a term in the Senate, he alarmed Jefferson but otherwise made little mark.
===Soldier===
Jackson sought election as major general of the Tennessee militia partly to escape the circuit riding required while he was a superior court judge. As a military commander he proved himself a master tactician, a brilliant organizer, and effective motivator of men. He won all his major battles, including the decisive defeat of the cream of the British regular army.

[[File:Aj-map1812.jpg|thumb|350px|Jackson's campaigns]]

Jackson led two great victories in the [[War of 1812]]--the first against the Creek Indian forces that had raided, raped and killed American settlers in what is now Alabama. Indians seldom fought pitched battles; they preferred the ambush. Jackson trapped the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend in Alabama in March 1814, and killed over 800 enemy; the rest fled to Spanish Florida.

Jackson led a contingent of Tennessee and Kentucky militia who routed over 2,000 British troops in the [[Battle of New Orleans]] in Jan. 1815. The defeat ended British plans to turn the Mississippi Valley into a pro-British Indian nation. It was a great victory for Jackson and became source of enormous pride to all Americans.<ref> The battle happened after the peace treaty was signed, but before it was ratified and went into effect.</ref>

===Religion===
Jackson attended a Presbyterian church from time to time, and his wife was a devout Baptist. Jackson had little sympathy for religion in the political sphere, unlike many of his opponents (the Anti-Masons and [[Whigs]]), who were building political coalitions using religious voting blocs during the [[Second Great Awakening]]. For example,Jackson insisted that the mail be delivered on Sundays, much to the anger of the evangelicals.<ref>Adam Jortner, "Cholera, Christ, and Jackson: The Epidemic of 1832 and the Origins of Christian Politics in Antebellum America," ''Journal of the Early Republic,'' Volume 27, Number 2, Summer 2007, pp. 233-264 in [[Project MUSE]]</ref>

==Presidential campaigns==
His military success gave him tremendous popularity with the common man, and he ran for President in the [[United States presidential election, 1824|1824 Presidential Election]]. He won a plurality of the votes but no one got a majority and the election went into the House of Representatives, where they chose [[John Quincy Adams]] instead. At the next [[United States presidential election, 1828|Presidential Election in 1828]] Jackson defeated John Quincy Adams, and then Jackson won reelection in the [[United States presidential election, 1832|1832 Presidential Election]]. Jackson survived an assassination attempt in January 1835 when a deranged man fired two pistols at him at point blank range in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.<ref>[http://www.americanheritage.com/people/articles/web/20070130-richard-lawrence-andrew-jackson-assassination-warren-r-davis.shtml Trying to Assassinate President Jackson]</ref>

Although Jackson won the 1828 election against incumbent [[John Quincy Adams]] by capturing almost 56% of the popular vote, the campaign was marked by anti-Jackson rhetoric that centered on Rachel Jackson's previous marriage to Lewis Robards and the allegedly "illicit union to Jackson"--that is, bigamy. Jackson's supporters portrayed the Robards matter as a minor legal misunderstanding. Adams's supporters saw the incident as no less than long-term adultery by Andrew Jackson and portrayed Rachel Jackson as an immoral woman, implying the political dilemma that 'a vote for Jackson was a vote for sin.' The controversy paralleled a critical development in American politics. Expansion in voter participation, the growth of state political organizations, party loyalty, and the development of local campaign papers all led to the wide dissemination of scandal and fed 'the hunger of sensationalism.' To offset this, Jackson's supporters portrayed him as a brave soldier endowed with the virtues of manhood and the frontier spirit, placing him outside the usual social constraints.<ref> Norma Basch, "Marriage, Morals, and Politics in the Election of 1828." ''Journal of American History'' 1993 80(3): 890-918 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2080408 in JSTOR]</ref>

==Banks==
Jackson was firmly opposed to a [[national bank]], and fought to dismantle the Second Bank of the United States. He vetoed Congress's bill to renew its charter, and began withdrawing money from it. He issued the [[Specie Circular]] in July 1836, which required land bought from the government to be paid for in [[specie]] (actual gold or silver coins), instead of bank notes. Most historians link this to the [[Panic of 1837]], which broke out weeks after after Jackson had left office and ruined the presidency of his successor, fellow Democrat [[Martin Van Buren]].

===Indian Removal===
Jackson, with the backing of Southern politicians, sought to abrogate the standing treaties with the [[Chickasaw]], [[Cherokee]], [[Seminole]], [[Creek]], and [[Choctaw]] nations by evicting them from the land they lived on and relocating them to Indian territory (in present-day [[Oklahoma]]). The idea was roundly decried as illegal and inhumane by evangelical Protestants, who had missionaries to the tribes, and by Whigs. Advocates of forced removal, mostly Democrats from the South, called removal a 'humane' and 'compassionate' move to assist a 'dying people.' The debate surrounding removal quickly became a North-South issue with Southern politicians calling their Northern counterparts 'demagogues' who sought 'to weaken the South' by allowing Indians to remain. In 1830, the resolution was approved by Congress and, assisted by Georgia state officials, Jackson began the process of evicting Native Americans. By 1835 the Cherokee, the last remaining Indian nation in the South, had signed the removal treaty and relocated to Oklahoma.<ref>Michael Morris, "Georgia and the Conversation over Indian Removal," ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' 2007 91(4): 403-423, in [[EBSCO]]</ref>

Cave (2003) argues Jackson acted illegally in pressuring Indians to move west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 called for voluntary removal and included safeguards for Indian rights, but Jackson ignored and distorted the act to suit his purposes. The newly formed Whig Party actively opposed Jackson's policies, and congressional legislation dealing with Indian removal was hotly debated and passed only by narrow margins. Had Jackson followed the legal dictates of the 1830 act, he probably would not have achieved Indian removal, says Cave. However Remini (2001) argued that the worst Jackson could be accused of was carrying out what most southern whites wanted at the time.<ref>Robert Remini, ''Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars'' (2001)</ref>

===Democracy===
see [[Jacksonian Democracy]]

Jackson thought the voice of the people was supreme law. Although a man of powerful prejudices and passions, he identified with the voice of the people, and thought his election as president gave him the unique power to express that voice. His opponents misunderstood the voice and lacked the legitimate national base in any case. Thus Jackson denounced anyone who crossed him an enemy of the sovereign people. To fulfill this voice of the people in the political arena, he thought that the preservation of states' rights was an indispensable precondition to the achievement of people-oriented democracy. Although Jackson's record was erratic, when his presidency was done, federal authority was vastly weaker, and the states, for practical purposes, were much stronger than before, though as the Nullification crisis proved, he would not tolerate defiance.

==Retirement and death==
After honoring the precedent of [[George Washington]] to resign after serving two terms as President, Jackson then supported and advised many future candidates, most notably [[James K. Polk]].

Jackson died on June 8, 1845.

Since 1928, Jackson's picture has appeared on the United States $20 bill - somewhat ironic given that Jackson opposed paper money, wanting the country to use [[specie]] (gold and silver) instead.

==Quotes==
* Referring to the Bible: “That book, Sir, is the Rock upon which our republic rests.”
==Further reading==
===Biographies===
* Brands, H. W. ''Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times'' (2005), scholarly biography emphasizing military career [http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Jackson-His-Life-Times/dp/1400030722/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870084&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Brustein, Andrew. ''The Passions of Andrew Jackson''. (2003). [http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=180461058379340 online review by Donald B. Cole]
* Hofstadter, Richard. ''The American Political Tradition'' (1948), chapter on Jackson. [http://www.humanitiesebook.org/ online in ACLS e-books]
* James, Marquis. ''The Life of Andrew Jackson'' (1938). Combines two books: ''The Border Captain'' and ''Andrew Jackson: Portrait of a President''; Pulitzer Prize for Biography; old fashioned action-packed narrative
* Meacham, Jon. ''American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House'' (2009), [http://www.amazon.com/American-Lion-Andrew-Jackson-Notable/dp/0812973461/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870084&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Parton, James. ''Life of Andrew Jackson'' (1860). [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC01632322&id=t-rhrBzV8rEC&printsec=titlepage Volume I], [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC01632322&id=M9gNJq_KnC8C&printsec=titlepage Volume III].
* Remini, Robert V. ''The Life of Andrew Jackson''. Abridgment of Remini's 3-volume standard scholarly biography, (1998)
** ''Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 1767-1821'' (1977); ''Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832'' (1981); ''Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy, 1833-1845'' (1984)
* Wilentz, Sean. ''Andrew Jackson'' (2005) short biography, stressing Indian removal and slavery issues [http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Jackson-Sean-Wilentz/dp/0805069259/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870084&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]

==Specialized Studies==
* Doutrich, Paul E. ''Shapers of the Great Debate on Jacksonian Democracy: A Biographical Dictionary.'' (2004). 360 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Shapers-Great-Debate-Jacksonian-Democracy/dp/0313315760 online edition]
* Gammon, Samuel Rhea. ''The Presidential Campaign of 1832'' (1922) [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-presidential-campaign-of-1832-by-samuel-rhea-gammon.jsp online edition]
* Feller, Daniel. "The Bank War," in Julian E. Zelizer, ed. ''The American Congress'' (2004), pp 93-111.
* Hammond, Bray. "Jackson, Biddle, and the Bank of the United States," ''The Journal of Economic History'', Vol. 7, No. 1 (May, 1947), pp. 1-23 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-0507%28194705%297%3A1%3C1%3AJBATBO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-6 at JSTOR]
* Hammond, Bray. ''Banks and Politics in America from the Revolution to the Civil War'' (1957). Pulitzer prize winner; the standard history. Pro-Bank
* Hammond, Bray. "The Second Bank of the United States. ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,'' New Ser., Vol. 43, No. 1 (1953), pp. 80-85 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0065-9746(1953)2%3A43%3A1%3C80%3ATSBOTU%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C in JSTOR]
* Howe, Daniel Walker. ''What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848'' (2007), outstanding survey of the era by conservative historian who dislikes Jackson; Pulitzer prize. [http://www.amazon.com/What-Hath-God-Wrought-Transformation/dp/0195392434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258870831&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Latner Richard B. ''The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: White House Politics, 1820-1837'' (1979), standard survey.
* Magliocca, Gerard N. ''Andrew Jackson and the Constitution: The Rise and Fall of Generational Regimes,'' (2007); 216 pages
* Ogg, Frederic Austin ; ''The Reign of Andrew Jackson: A Chronicle of the Frontier in Politics'' 1919. [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/13009 short survey online at Gutenberg]
* Patterson, Benton Rain. ''The Generals: Andrew Jackson, Sir Edward Pakenham, and the Road to the Battle of New Orleans.'' (2005). 288 pp.
* Ratner, Lorman A. ''Andrew Jackson and His Tennessee Lieutenants: A Study in Political Culture'' (1997) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=28026037 online edition]
* Remini Robert V. ''Andrew Jackson and the Bank War: A Study in the Growth of Presidential Power'' (1967). Pro-Jackson.
* Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. ''The Age of Jackson''. (1945). Winner of the [[Pulitzer Prize for History]]. history of ideas of the era; strongly pro-Jackson, who is seen as an anti-business model for [[FDR]]
* Sellers, Charles. ''The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815-1846.'' (1991) influential liberal interpretation; anti-business; refuted by Howe (2007) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=59690282 online edition]
* Syrett, Harold C. ''Andrew Jackson: His Contribution to the American Tradition'' (1953) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=978507 online edition]

===Indian Wars and Removal===
* Buchanan, John. ''Jackson's Way: Andrew Jackson and the People of the Western Waters.'' (2001). 434 pp. [http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=183801009567545 online review]
* Cave, Alfred A. "Abuse of Power: Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act of 1830." ''Historian'' 2003 65(6): 1330-1353. Issn: 0018-2370 Fulltext: online at Swetswise, Ingenta and Ebsco
* O'Brien, Sean Michael. ''In Bitterness and in Tears: Andrew Jackson's Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles.'' (2003). 254 pp.
* Remini, Robert V.. ''The Legacy of Andrew Jackson: Essays on Democracy, Indian Removal, and Slavery'' (1988)
* Remini, Robert V. ''Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars'' (2001)
* Remini, Robert V. "Andrew Jackson Versus the Cherokee Nation." ''American History'' 2001 36(3): 48-56. Issn: 1076-8866 Fulltext: in Ebsco
* Rowland, Dunbar. ''Andrew Jackson's Campaign against the British, or, the Mississippi Territory in the War of 1812, concerning the Military Operations of the Americans, Creek Indians, British, and Spanish, 1813-1815'' (1926) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77351727 online edition]
* Satz, Ronald N. American Indian Policy in the Jacksonian Era.'' (1975)
* Wallace, Anthony F.C. ''The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians'' (1993)

===Primary sources===
* Bassett John Spencer, ed. ''Correspondence of Andrew Jackson'' Vols. 1-6. (1926).
* Smith Sam B., and Harriet Chappell Owsley, eds. ''Papers of Andrew Jackson'' . Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, Vol. 1, 1980; Moser Harold D., Sharon MacPherson, and Charles F. Bryan Jr., eds. ''The Papers of Andrew Jackson''. Vols. 2-6. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2002; the latest vol 6 goes to 1828.
* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/jackpap.htm online speeches and presidential messages]

===Historiography===
* Bugg Jr., James L. ed. ''Jacksonian Democracy: Myth or Reality?.'' (1962) debates among historians [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=875714 online edition]
* Cave, Alfred A. ''Jacksonian Democracy and the Historians,'' U, of Florida Press, 1970
* Sellers, Jr. Charles Grier. "Andrew Jackson versus the Historians," ''The Mississippi Valley Historical Review,'' Vol. 44, No. 4. (Mar., 1958), pp. 615-634. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0161-391X%28195803%2944%3A4%3C615%3AAJVTH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y in JSTOR]
* Taylor, George Rogers, ed. ''Jackson Versus Biddle: The Struggle over the Second Bank of the United States'' (1949), excerpts from primary and secondary sources [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=960190 online edition]
* Ward, John William. ''Andrew Jackson, Symbol for an Age'' (1962) how writers saw him [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98819205 online edition]

== See also ==
*[[Gallery of American Heroes]]

== References ==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Andrew}}

[[Category:War of 1812]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Florida Governors]]
[[Category:American war heroes]]
[[Category:Western United States]]
[[Category:Early National U.S.]]
[[Category:Republicanism]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:Indian Wars]]
[[category:Jacksonian Democracy]]
[[Category:Irish-Americans]]
[[Category:Democratic Governors]]

John Quincy Adams

2012-03-05T20:50:41Z

TheHistoryJunkie: /* Missouri Compromise= */

{{President
|image=John_quincy_adams.jpg
|seq=6
|term_start=March 4, 1825
|term_end=March 4, 1829<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/6th-us-president-john-quincy-adams.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic-Republican
|vp=John C. Calhoun
|previous=James Monroe
|next=Andrew Jackson
|birth_date=July 11, 1767
|birth_place=Quincy, Massachusetts
|death_date=February 23, 1848
|death_place=Washington, D.C.
|spouse=Louisa Catherine Johnson
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Unitarian]]
}}
'''John Quincy Adams''' was the 6th [[President of the United States of America]] and the son of American Founding Father [[John Adams]]. He served one term as President (1825–1829) and then returned to [[Congress]] where he spent the remainder of his political career fighting [[slavery]] as a moral evil. He was the son of President [[John Adams]] and [[Abigail Adams]]. A precocious teenager who aided his father in diplomatic missions, at 26 he was appointed minister<ref>The title "ambassador" came into use much later.</ref> to [[the Netherlands]] by President [[George Washington]], then promoted to the Berlin Legation. In 1802 Adams was elected to the US [[Senate]] and in 1808 he became the first U.S. Minister of [[Russia]]. Adams served as one of the great secretaries of state under President [[James Monroe]], arranging with [[Britain]] for the joint occupation of the [[Oregon]] Country, obtaining from [[Spain]] the cessation of the [[Florida]]s, and helping to formulate the Monroe Doctrine. He returned to Congress and became an outspoken opponent of slavery. Deeply troubled by slavery, Adams correctly predicted the dissolution of the Union on the issue, but was incorrect in predicting a series of bloody slave insurrections.

Adams presented a vision of national greatness resting on economic growth and a strong federal government, but his presidency was not a success as he lacked political adroitness, popularity or a network of supporters, and ran afoul of politicians eager to undercut him. Adams is best known as a diplomat who shaped American's foreign policy in line with his deeply conservative and ardently nationalist commitment to [[Republicanism|America's republican values]]. More recently he has been portrayed as the exemplar and moral leader in an era of modernization when new technologies and networks of infrastructure and communication brought to the people messages of religious revival, social reform, and party politics, as well as moving goods, money and people ever more rapidly and efficiently.<ref> See Howe (2007)</ref>

==Early Life==
Adams was born at Braintree, now Quincy, [[Massachusetts]], on July 11, 1767. He was the son of [[John Adams]], the second president of the United States, and [[Abigail Adams|Abigail Quincy Smith Adams]]. Abigail Adams proved to be a stern, disapproving mother while John Adams was the warmer, more loving parent. [[Alcoholism]] ruined Abigail's brothers (and later her younger son). To ensure her first-born son avoided a similar fate, she delivered a steady barrage of admonitions and criticisms to him throughout his life.<ref> When her health failed and she died in 1818, Secretary of State Adams said he was too busy to return to her bedside or attend the funeral.</ref>. His father could be harsh at times, admonishing the son: "You come into life with advantages which will disgrace you if your success is mediocre. If you do not rise to the head not only of your profession, but of your country, it will be owing to your own Laziness, Slovenliness and Obstinacy."<ref> Quoted in Paul C. Nagel, ''John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life'' (1997) p 76 </ref>

===Education===
Much of his early life was spent with his father on diplomatic missions, and he obtained his formal schooling piecemeal in [[France]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Leiden]], and [[The Hague]]. Highly precocious, at the age of 14 Adams became secretary to Francis Dana, the American minister to Russia, and in 1783 acted as secretary to his father during the peace negotiations with Britain. When his father was appointed minister to the [[Court of St James]] (Britain) in 1785, Adams returned to Massachusetts and entered [[Harvard College]], where he was graduated in 1787. Thereafter he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1790, and began practicing in [[Boston]], which bored him. He became professor of rhetoric at Harvard. In 1797 Adams married Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughter of a London-based American [[tobacco]] merchant from [[Maryland]].

===Young diplomat===
When his father was sent as minister to Europe by the Continental Congress, young John Quincy Adams went with him. He remained in Europe for the next nine years. While in France he studied at the Passy Academy. Later John Adams sent his son to Leiden University, where learned both Latin and Greek. When American diplomat, Francis Dana, looked for a interpreter to travel with him to Russia, Adams, who knew Russian, volunteered. He returned to his father in Hague, Holland. Adams assisted his father, as a secretary, while his father served as American minister to several European nations. He returned to America and attended Harvard College, graduating in 1787. He then studied law. After [[Thomas Paine]] wrote an anonymous pamphlet criticizing President [[George Washington]]'s policies, Adams wrote a series of anonymous articles called "Publicola", defending the president. They were so well done people assumed his father wrote them. He worked in law for two years until appointed by Washington as U.S. minister to Holland. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents John Quincy Adams]] by Zachary Kent, Children's Press</ref>

==Public Service==
He eventually arrived in Holland as ambassador during a time of war. The French had invaded Holland and for a time was in great danger of being exterminated. Fortunately, the French were defeated by the Dutch armies, after which he returned to America to wait for a new government to be established.

He continued his work as diplomat to Holland, until he was chosen as the minister to Portugal. But before he could leave, his father, John Adams, became President of the United States and sent his son to go as minister to Prussia, instead of Portugal. He kept the post successfully for the next four years. His father though was a very unpopular President and lost the [[United States presidential election of 1800|1800 presidential election]] to [[Thomas Jefferson]]. Because of this Adams returned home to his family with his wife and son, George.

===U.S. Politics===
Returning to the United States, Adams was defeated in 1802 for the U.S. House of Representatives, but in 1803 was elected to the U.S. Senate by the Massachusetts legislature, then controlled by the [[Federalist Party]]. Like other Federalists he attacked the Louisiana Purchase as "accomplished by a flagrant violation of the Constitution." Adams soon showed that spirit of political independence which was to characterize his entire career. Crossing party lines, he supported the impeachment of Federalist judges, and, most important, Jefferson's [[Embargo of 1807]], which was strenuously opposed by his constituents. The embargo vote alienated him completely from the Federalists, who denounced him publicly and secured his defeat in the senatorial election in June 1808. Adams then joined the [[Democratic-Republican Party]] and was now aligned with Jefferson and Madison.
==Diplomat==
In 1809 the new President, [[James Madison]] appointed Adams to be the minister to Russia. He remained there, even when [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] invaded Russia unsuccessfully. His career as a diplomat was immensely successful. Adams was one of five diplomats who negotiated the Treaty of Ghent with Britain; it ended the [[War of 1812]].

Declining an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1811, he served minister to the Court of St. James (Britain).

==Secretary of State==
Adams appointment as secretary of state under President [[James Monroe]] in 1817 was eloquent testimony to his splendid diplomatic service as well as to his knowledge of European affairs. Few secretaries of state have been more successful. During his eight years in that office Adams succeeded in settling most of the major disputes with Britain, including questions arising over the Great Lakes, Oregon, and fishing rights. He played an important part in the purchase of Florida from Spain, restraining Monroe when the President's actions in regard to Latin America might have jeopardized the purchase. He also contributed greatly to the formulation of the [[Monroe Doctrine]] in 1823 by arguing against joint action with Britain and by suggesting that part of the doctrine which points out the differences between the political systems of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. During the Monroe administration he was a constant advocate of nationalistic measures, Although he did not approve of slavery he supported the [[Missouri Compromise]] in 1820.

In 1818 he secured a postponement of the question of the ownership of the vast, unsettled Oregon region (which included modern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Idaho) by an agreement with Britain calling for a joint occupation for ten years.

===Relations with Spain===
After the Napoleonic wars Spain lost control of most of the American colonies. They revolted and declared independence. Rebels used American ports to equip privateers to attack Spanish ships, a practice defended by [[Henry Clay]], who severely criticized both Monroe and Adams for their more cautious wait-and-see policy. The Floridas, still Spanish territory but with no Spanish presence to speak of, became a refuge for runaway slaves and Indian raiders. Spain was not in charge. Monroe sent in General [[Andrew Jackson]] who pushed the Seminole Indians south, executed two British merchants who were supplying weapons, deposed one governor and named another, and left an American garrison in occupation. Jackson thought he had Washington's approval, but the orders were vague. President Monroe and all his cabinet, except Adams, believed Jackson had exceeded his instructions. Secretary of War [[John C. Calhoun]] proposed to punish Jackson. Adams argued that since Spain had proved incapable of policing her territories, the United States was obliged to act in self-defense. Adams so ably justified Jackson's conduct as to silence protests either from Spain or Britain. Congress debated the question, with Clay as the leading opponent of Jackson, but it would not disapprove of what Jackson had done.

Adams negotiated the "Transcontinental Treaty" with Spain in 1819 that turned Florida over to the U.S. and resolved border issues regarding the Louisiana Purchase. The treaty recognized Spanish control of Texas (a claim taken up by Mexico when it declared independence of Spain).

The post of Secretary of State was the normal path to the White House. After 1820 Adams, intent on winning the presidency, was less successful at the State Department. He failed to make key commercial treaties because he feared the necessary American concessions would be used to attack his candidacy. Instead the nation suffered from trade wars that could have been prevented.

==Rhetoric==
Disowned by the Federalists and not fully accepted by the [[Democratic-Republican Party|Republicans]], Adams used his Boylston Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard as a new base.<ref> He was appointed in 1805, after turning down the presidency of Harvard.</ref> Adams' devotion to classical rhetoric shaped his response to public issues. He remained inspired by classical rhetorical ideals long after the neo-classicalism and deferential politics of the founding generation had been eclipsed by the commercial ethos and mass democracy of the Jacksonian Era. Many of Adams's idiosyncratic positions were rooted in his abiding devotion to the Ciceronian ideal of the citizen-orator "speaking well" to promote the welfare of the polis.<ref> Lyon Rathbun, "The Ciceronian Rhetoric of John Quincy Adams." ''Rhetorica'' (2000) 18(2): 175-215. </ref>

Adams was influenced by the classical republican ideal of civic eloquence espoused by British philosopher [[David Hume]].<ref> See David Hume, "Of Eloquence," in ''Essays, Political and Moral'' *1742)</ref> Adams adapted these classical republican ideals of public oratory to America, viewing the multilevel political structure as ripe for "the renaissance of Demosthenic eloquence." Adams's ''Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory'' (1810) looks at the fate of ancient oratory, the necessity of liberty for it to flourish, and its importance as a unifying element for a new nation of diverse cultures and beliefs. Just as civic eloquence failed to gain popularity in Britain, in the United States interest faded in the second decade of the 18th century as the "public spheres of heated oratory" disappeared in favor of the private sphere.<ref> Adam S. Potkay, "Theorizing Civic Eloquence in the Early Republic: the Road from David Hume to John Quincy Adams." ''Early American Literature'' (1999) 34(2): 147-170. </ref>
==Politics 1820-24==
The nation became more sectionalized after the [[Panic of 1819|economic depression of 1819]] and the [[Missouri Compromise]] of 1820. This worked to Adams' advantage in the presidential election of 1824, for the old caucus system collapsed and four Republicans competed on the basis of regional strength. As the only Northeastern candidate, Adams received 84 electoral votes to 99 for Tennessee's [[Andrew Jackson]], 41 for Georgia's [[William H. Crawford]]. and 37 for Kentucky's [[Henry Clay]]. Since no candidate had a majority, the election was thrown into the House of Representatives, which chose among the top three. Clay was out, but by opposing Jackson, he secured Adams' election on the first ballot. Adams made Clay the Secretary of State, to the outrage of Jackson who said a corrupt bargain had nullified the will of the people.

==Elected President==
As the [[United States presidential election of 1824|election of 1824]] drew near people began looking for candidates. New England voters admired Adams' patriotism and political skills and it was mainly due to their support that he entered the race. The old caucus system of the [[Democratic-Republican Party]] had collapsed; indeed the entire [[First Party System]] had collapsed and the election was a free-for-all based on regional support. Adams had a strong base in New England. His opponents included [[John C. Calhoun]], [[William Crawford]], [[Henry Clay]] and the hero of New Orleans, [[Andrew Jackson]]. During the campaign Calhoun dropped out, and Crawford fell ill giving further support to the other candidates. When the election day came, Andrew Jackson won, although narrowly, the Popular and Electoral vote. However, because no candidate received a clear majority, a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives was necessary. Thanks to the support of Henry Clay, who realized he couldn't win the election, Adams held the majority of 13 states. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents John Quincy Adams]] by Zachary Kent, Children's Press</ref>

==Presidency==
Adams' singular intelligence, vast experience, unquestionable integrity, and devotion to his country should have made him a great chief executive. But like his father he lacked political sense and an ability to command public support, and his contentious spirit spelled defeat for him personally and for many of his policies. He proposed a comprehensive program of internal improvements (roads, ports and canals), the creation of a national university, and federal support for the arts and sciences. he favored a high tariff to encourage the building of factories, and restricted land sales to slow the movement west. Opposition from the states' rights faction quickly killed the proposals,

Even more serious was the attack by the followers of Jackson, who accused him of being a partner to a "corrupt bargain" to obtain Clay's support in the election and then appoint him secretary of state. Refusing to play politics, Adams did little or nothing to build up a personal following committed to his re-election. He refused to discharge federal officeholders when they actively joined the opposition, and even considered appointing Jackson to his cabinet. Losing control of Congress in the elections of 1826, he still persisted in his independent policies and thus insured his own overwhelming defeat by Jackson two years later. He was particularly embittered by the unfounded accusations of fraud and extravagance made against him during the campaign by his opponents (not to mention the false accusation that he pimped for the Czar.)

The Adams administration recorded no major legislative, diplomatic, military or administrative achievements. Congress did pass the high [[Tariff of 1828]]--the "tariff of abominations" that created a violent outcry especially in South Carolina. Jackson defeated Adams in a landslide in 1828, and created the [[Democratic Party|the modern Democratic party]] and thus inaugurating the [[Second Party System]].

One of his priorities while being the President was supporting many modernizing public projects such as military academies, universities, canals, and even an astronomical observatory. Congress always said no. Adams was President when the 50th Independence day happened, on which both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died.

==Congress again==
After being defeated by [[Andrew Jackson]] in the [[United States presidential election, 1828|1828 Presidential election]], Adams retired in Quincy, Massachusetts. However, in 1830 he ran and won a seat in the House of Representatives as a member of the [[Whig Party]]. While many speculated that Adams ran solely to earn money, this was not the case, as he had sufficient funds to last him the rest of his life. Adams probably ran for his Congressional seat for a combination of several reasons, chief among them the fact that he tried to raise his children in the same way he was raised, which is to say they spent lots of time away from home, which had a very negative impact on one of his sons, who died untimely. Adams, a former president, may have subjected himself to the humiliation of serving as a freshman Congressman as a sort of penance.
===Anti-slavery===
The "Old Man Eloquent," as he was called, won renewed respect throughout the North as an opponent of slavery. Although never an abolitionist, Adams fought the extension of slavery in the territories. The [[Missouri Compromise]] of 1820 provoked a series of intense debates on slavery between Adams and [[John C. Calhoun]] that changed them from admiring friends into bitter enemies. Both men were brilliant students of political philosophy, and both were committed to [[republicanism]]. Both recognized the necessity of reconciling republican government with the issues of slavery and race, Adams vilified the practice of slavery as inherently corrupt and un-republican and preached total abolition. Calhoun countered that the right to slavery not only should be protected from interference from the federal government but was fundamental to republican government. The national debate led both men to consider dissolution of the Union as a way of resolving the slavery issue. Their immovable stances signaled the similar uncompromising positions adopted by the North and the South in the decades to follow.<ref>Chandra Miller, "'Title Page to a Great Tragic Volume': the Impact of the Missouri Crisis on Slavery, Race, and Republicanism in the Thought of John C. Calhoun and John Quincy Adams." ''Missouri Historical Review'' (2000) 94(4): 365-388. Issn: 0026-6582 </ref>

Even more spectacular was his eight-year struggle against the Southern-inspired "gag resolutions," which sought to deny the presentation and the discussion of antislavery petitions in Congress. Repeatedly threatened by irate Southerners with disbarment from Congress, he courageously kept up the struggle and finally won the right of free petition in 1844. In a dramatic statement on the floor of the House, he protested, during a vote on the gag rule, "I hold the resolution to be a direct violation of the Constitution of the United States, the rules of this House, and the rights of my constituents." Adams was known for his sharp, insightful speeches, as well as his savage attacks of his opponents. He was referred to as "the old man" just as often as "old man eloquent." His battle against the gag rule finally bore fruit as it was eventually repealed.
====Missouri Compromise====
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 provoked a series of intense debates between Adams and [[John C. Calhoun]] that would eventually transform them from admiring friends into bitter enemies. Both men recognized the necessity of reconciling republican government and the traditional values of the American Revolution with the issues of slavery and race. Adams vilified the practice of slavery and preached total abolition, while Calhoun countered that the right to slavery not only should be protected from interference from the federal government but was fundamental to republican government. The national debate led both men to consider dissolution of the Union as a way of resolving the slavery issue. Their immovable stances signaled the similar uncompromising positions adopted by the North and the South in the decades to follow.<ref> Chandra Miller, "'Title Page to a Great Tragic Volume': the Impact of the Missouri Crisis on Slavery, Race, and Republicanism in the Thought of John C. Calhoun and John Quincy Adams." ''Missouri Historical Review'' 2000 94(4): 365-388, not online</ref>

====Amistad====
In 1839 African slaves in Cuba rebelled and seized a Spanish ship ''Amistad''. Led by Cinqué, they murdered some of their white captors and forced others to sail the ship to Africa; they sailed it instead to Connecticut, where the U.S. Navy took control. The slaves were charged with murder and with piracy; the case was complicated by salvage claims as to the ownership of the ''Amistad'' and diplomatic entanglements between the U. S. and Spain. National attention focused on the case as President [[Martin Van Buren]] wanted the slaves convicted and they were defended by Adams. Adams took the case to the Supreme Court, which held that they were free. They were returned to Africa; Christian missionaries who sponsored their return believe Cinqué became a slave trader.

====Texas====
In the debates over the annexation of Texas in the mid 1840s, he believed in a false conspiracy theory (popular among abolitionists) that annexation and the war with Mexico were plots hatched by southern slaveowners.
===Death and legacy===
He suffered a stroke on February 21, 1848 while on the House floor. He died two days later in the evening of February 23, 1848 in the capital of Washington D.C. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents John Quincy Adams]] by Zachary Kent, Children's Press</ref>

The Adams funeral was the occasion for restoring new life into a country increasingly torn by sectional strife over slavery. The 19 days from Adams's death to his interment in the family tomb was a carefully scripted political pageantry, a dramatic expansion of American efforts to memorialize fallen leaders, and revealed a widespread intention and hope to unite the country once more around shared [[republican]] goals as expressed by the Founding Fathers.

One of his three sons, [[Charles Francis Adams]] became a distinguished American diplomat.

Regarded by contemporaries as a cold, aloof, and excessively intellectual, John Quincy Adams was deficient in personal warmth, ignored the voters and his own political supporters, was contentious, and was inclined to suspect the motives of his associates. He was also possessed of a brilliant mind, enormous energy, and abiding devotion to his country. Adams could also be cheerful and engaging, and was widely regarded to be one of his era's most brilliant dinner companions.

He kept one of the most famous diaries in American history, which was edited and partially published by his son, Charles Francis Adams, in 12 volumes, 1874-1877.

==Religious Views==

<Blockquote>"The first and almost the only book deserving of universal attention is the Bible."<ref>The Rebirth of America (1986), Arthur S. DeMoss, Pg. 37</ref></blockquote>

==Miscellaneous Facts==

*"[The Declaration of Independence] That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=tkv9CjTLqhsC&pg=PA6&dq=human+government+upon+the+first+precepts+of+Christianity&ei=zpb1S4jiMIncNdmLyZwJ&cd=4#v=onepage&q=human%20government%20upon%20the%20first%20precepts%20of%20Christianity&f=false Rediscovering God in America‎ - Page 6, Newt Gingrich]</ref>

*The French aristocrat and American hero, the [[Marquis de Lafayette]], gave John Quincy Adams an alligator as a pet. Adams kept it in a bathroom in the White House.

*Adams was also responsible for the first installation in the White House of a pool table. Among his more unusual hobbies, he regularly went skinny dipping in the [[Potomac]] river. The first American female professional journalist, Anne Royall, knew of Adams' habit of taking nude swims at 5 a.m. She had frequently asked for interviews with him and been refused, so she went to the river and sat on his clothes until he answered her questions, becoming the first woman to interview a president.

*Adams was the first president to have his photo taken (April 13, 1843).<ref>http://www.classroomhelp.com/lessons/Presidents/qadams.html</ref>

*He is one of two sons of presidents to be elected to the same office; the other is [[George W. Bush]].

*He is the only ex-president to have entered the House ''after'' being President.

==External links==
* [http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/jqadams Essays by scholars and useful information from Miller Center at U. Virginia]
==Further reading==
* Bemis, Samuel Flagg. '' John Quincy Adams and the foundations of American foreign policy '' (1949), Pulitzer prize, vol 1
** Bemis, Samuel Flagg. ''John Quincy Adams and the Union'' (1956), Pulitzer prize, vol 2
* Howe, Daniel Walker. ''What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848'' (2007). 928 pp. Pulitzer-prize winning survey downplays Jackson and makes Adams the hero of the entire era [http://www.amazon.com/What-Hath-God-Wrought-Transformation/dp/0195078942/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229986467&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Mattie, Sean. "John Quincy Adams and American Conservatism," ''Modern Age'' Volume 45, Number 4; Fall 2003 [http://www.mmisi.org/ma/45_04/mattie.pdf online edition]
* Parsons, Lynn Hudson. ''John Quincy Adams.'' (1998). 284 pp. best short biography by scholar [http://books.google.com/books?id=V3HM9-uM8QcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:adams+inauthor:Parsons+inauthor:Lynn+inauthor:Hudson&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES excerpt and text search]
* Remini, Robert. ''John Quincy Adams'' (2002) short biography by leading scholar [http://www.amazon.com/John-Quincy-Adams-American-Presidents/dp/0805069399/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229976311&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]

==Advanced Bibliography==
* Bemis, Samuel Flagg. ''John Quincy Adams and the foundations of American foreign policy,'' (1950) and ''John Quincy Adams and the Union'' (1956), classic two volume scholarly biography; Pulitzer Prize
* Cunningham, Jr., Noble E. ''The Presidency of James Monroe'' (1996)
* Dangerfield, George. ''The Awakening of American Nationalism: 1815 - 1828'' (1954) [http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-American-Nationalism-1815-1828/dp/0881338230/ref=sr_1_46/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194477829&sr=8-46 excerpt and text search]
* Gaddis, John Lewis. ''Surprise, Security, and the American Experience'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Surprise-Security-Experience-Civilization-Government/dp/0674018362/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194493700&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Hargreaves, Mary W. M. ''The Presidency of John Quincy Adams'' (1985), the standard scholarly survey [http://www.amazon.com/Presidency-John-Quincy-Adams/dp/0700602720/ref=sr_1_33/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194477829&sr=8-33 excerpt and text search]
* Hecht, Marie B. ''John Quincy Adams: A Personal History of an Independent Man'' (1972), biography by scholar
* Howe, Daniel Walker. ''What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848'' (2007). 928 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/What-Hath-God-Wrought-Transformation/dp/0195078942/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229986467&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Lewis, James E., Jr. ''John Quincy Adams: Policymaker for the Union.'' (2001). 164 pp.
* Lipsky, George A. ''John Quincy Adams: His Theory and Ideas'' (1950). [http://www.questia.com/read/11883164 online edition]
* Nagel, Paul C. ''John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life.'' (1997) 444pp; emphasis on private life and psychology; ISBN 0-679-40444-9
* Mattie, Sean. "John Quincy Adams and American Conservatism." ''Modern Age'' (2003) 45(4): 305-314. Issn: 0026-7457 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Nagel, Paul C. ''John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life'' (1999), by a leading scholar [http://www.amazon.com/John-Quincy-Adams-Public-Private/dp/0674479408/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229976311&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search] Psychohistory stressed Adams fear of failure and his manic ups and depression-filled downs
* Parsons, Lynn Hudson. ''John Quincy Adams.'' (1998). 284 pp. short introduction by scholar
* Potkay, Adam S. "Theorizing Civic Eloquence in the Early Republic: the Road from David Hume to John Quincy Adams." ''Early American Literature'' (1999) 34(2): 147-170. Issn: 0012-8163 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Rathbun, Lyon. "The Ciceronian Rhetoric of John Quincy Adams." ''Rhetorica'' (2000) 18(2): 175-215. Issn: 0734-8584
* Wood, Gary V. ''Heir to the Fathers: John Quincy Adams and the Spirit of Constitutional Government'' (2004) 356pp

===Primary sources===
* Adams, John Quincy. ''Memoirs of John Quincy Adams: Comprising Portions of His Diary from 1795 to 1848'', 12 vols., edited by Charles Francis Adams (1874-77)
** vol 1 [http://books.google.com/books?id=rBi7gsXtD0AC&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:06Y9qHmlVKqA5pOWt-eX5I online edition]
** vol 2 [http://books.google.com/books?id=oGQFAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:06Y9qHmlVKqA5pOWt-eX5I online edition]
** vol 3 [http://books.google.com/books?id=s2QFAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:06Y9qHmlVKqA5pOWt-eX5I online edition]
** vol 4
** vol 5 [http://books.google.com/books?id=36DCZ38u0_0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:06Y9qHmlVKqA5pOWt-eX5I online edition]
** vol 6 [http://books.google.com/books?id=KPQrq0LBvbYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:06Y9qHmlVKqA5pOWt-eX5I online edition]
** vol 7 [http://books.google.com/books?id=w2UFAAAAQAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=inauthor:john+inauthor:quincy+inauthor:adams&num=30&as_brr=1#PPP9,M1 online edition]
** vol 8 [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZlADAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:06Y9qHmlVKqA5pOWt-eX5I online edition]
** vol 9 [http://books.google.com/books?id=MDjWk-fhJZYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:06Y9qHmlVKqA5pOWt-eX5I online edition]
** vol 10 [http://books.google.com/books?id=wQ4RL3gUcBAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:06Y9qHmlVKqA5pOWt-eX5I online edition]
** vol 11 [http://books.google.com/books?id=Df-Mso4UtAoC&printsec=titlepage&dq=inauthor:john+inauthor:quincy+inauthor:adams&num=30&as_brr=1 online edition]
** vol 12 (1844-48) [http://books.google.com/books?id=HWYFAAAAQAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=inauthor:john+inauthor:quincy+inauthor:adams&num=30&as_brr=1#PPP4,M1 online edition]

* Adams, John Quincy. ''The Writings of John Quincy Adams.'' ed. by Worthington Chauncey Ford. (1913-1917). 7 vols.
** vol 1 [http://www.questia.com/read/9372417 online edition]
** vol 2 [http://www.questia.com/read/58135394 online edition]
** vol 3 [http://www.questia.com/read/97454654 online edition]
** vol 4 [http://www.questia.com/read/9460202 online edition]
** vol 6 [http://www.questia.com/read/63734659 online edition]
** vol 7 [http://www.questia.com/read/91945773 online edition]

* Adams, John Quincy. ''Diary of John Quincy Adams [November 1779-December 1788].'' Ed. David Grayson Allen et al. (1981). 2 vols.
* Adams, John Quincy. ''The Diary of John Quincy Adams, 1794-1845: American Political, Social and Intellectual Life from Washington to Polk ," ed, by Allan Nevins, (1929), a well-chosen selection
* LaFeber, Walter, ed. ''John Quincy Adams and the American Continental Empire'' (1965), contains Adams' letters, papers, and speeches.

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, John Quincy}}
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:Slavery]]
[[category:diplomacy]]
[[category:Early National U.S.]]
[[Category:War of 1812]]
[[category:Jacksonian Democracy]]

John Adams

2012-03-05T20:38:47Z

TheHistoryJunkie: /* Legacy */

{{Officeholder
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|image=John_adams.gif
|party=[[Federalist]]
|spouse=[[Abigail Adams|Abigail Smith Adams]]
|religion=[[Unitarian]]
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|number=2nd
|terms=March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801
|vp=[[Thomas Jefferson]]
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{{Officeholder/vice president
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{{Officeholder/ambassador
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|to=the Netherlands
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'''John Adams''' (1735-1826) was an American Founding Father, diplomat, and the second [[President of the United States]] from 1797-1801. Adams was a prominent figure of the [[American Revolution]]. His numerous accomplishments include involvement in the drafting of the [[Declaration of Independence]], writing the constitution for the state of Massachusetts, serving as a diplomat to [[England]], [[France]], and the [[Netherlands]], negotiating the [[Treaty of Paris]], and serving as the first Vice President of the United States under President [[George Washington]].

In the [[United_States_presidential_election,_1796|presidential election of 1796]], Adams, on the ticket of the [[Federalist Party]], defeated the Democratic-Republican nominee [[Thomas Jefferson]] and became the second President of the United States. He broke with Hamilton and the ultra-Federalists, leaving him in a weak position as president. He lost to Jefferson in a bitter rematch in known 1800. His presidency was marked by the [[Quasi-War]] between the United States and France, the [[XYZ Affair]], the founding of the [[U.S. Navy]], the passage of [[Alien and Sedition Acts]], building a new national army, and an unexpected peace with France; as he left office he appointed numerous judges,most notably [[John Marshall]] as Chief Justice.

Adams founded one of the great families in American history, with numerous politicians, diplomats and historians. Adams reputation was long in the doldrums, since Franklin quipped in 1783: "He means well for his Country, and is always an honest Man, often a Wise One, but sometimes and in some things, absolutely out of his senses." Historians Much admire his independence, patriotism and realism, but his self-righteousness and vanity represented a critical weakness.

==Early life and political career==

John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree (now Quincy), [[Massachusetts]]. His father was also named John, his mother was Susanna Adams and one of his sons was [[John Quincy Adams]], a later president in his own right.

Adams attended [[Harvard]] and, after a stint as a schoolmaster in Worchester, Massachusetts, took up the practice of law in [[Boston]]. In 1765, Adams wrote tracts such as the Braintree Instructions, which argued against the [[British Stamp Act]]. His cousin, [[Samuel Adams]], attracted far more notice during the Stamp Act crisis, leading demonstrations and using far more colorful language (there would later be some confusion regarding John and Samuel. When John was sent to [[France]] by the [[Continental Congress]] on a diplomatic mission, the French initially thought he was the "famous Adams," that is, Samuel Adams).

In the wake of the [[Boston Massacre]] in 1770, Boston's leaders prevailed on Adams to represent the British troops. He did so, arguing that all Englishmen deserved a vigorous defense. He pleaded self defense, and won the case. He argued that Boston would be better served if many guilty persons escaped unpunished than if one innocent one suffered. It was, he maintained, of more importance to the community “that innocence should be protected, than...that guilt should be punished.”

In 1774, after the crisis brought on by the [[Boston Tea Party]] and the resulting [[Coercive Acts]], Adams became an advocate for American independence. Adams was one of Massachusetts’s representatives to the Continental Congress. He attracted the notice of other delegates at the [[Second Continental Congress]] as one of the first to argue for independence.

==Declaring Independence==
Adams served a Massachusetts delegate in both the First and the Second Continental Congresses. He was a leading advocate of declaring independence and in June 1776 was assigned, along with [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[Benjamin Franklin]], to draft a [[Declaration of Independence]]. Adams realized that Jefferson was a much more gifted writer, and the document was composed mostly by the Virginian. However, Adams did have some input, looking over drafts of the document. Jefferson later remarked that Adams was the Declaration of Independence's "pillar of support on the floor of Congress, its ablest advocate and defender." Though Adams in principle opposed the practice of [[slavery]], he remained silent when Jefferson was pressured to strike out a provision in the Declaration that condemned slavery. Indeed, he never took a major role in opposing slavery, unlike most Federalists.

==Diplomat==
Adams served the Continental Congress as a diplomat, remaining abroad for a decade, from 1778 to 1788. Originally posted to France, he served in Paris with [[Benjamin Franklin]]. Franklin felt that Adams' blunt style and lack of understanding of European diplomatic process harmed the American effort. After France, Adams was posted to the Netherlands, where he secured a large war loan to help the patriot cause. Adams chaired the American delegation that drew up the [[Treaty of Paris]] in 1783, which formally ended the [[American Revolution]].

==Vice President (1789-1797)==
In [[United States presidential election, 1789|the first Presidential election]] under the new Constitution, Adams was recalled from being ambassador to Great Britain to serve as Washington's [[Vice-President]]. The role of Vice President was not an easy one for Adams; he told Abigail, "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived". His only job was to serve as presiding officer ("president") of the Senate, in which his only duty was to cast tie-breaking votes. Even in this role, he was far out of place; he was so flustered at the Senate's first meeting that he asked their advice about whether he should sit or stand on Washington's entrance. (This was later seized upon by Democratic-Republicans eager to cast Adams as an aristocrat.) His relationship with President Washington was friendly, but Washington rarely asked him for his counsel. All of this was frustrating to Adams, who was a man of action and not shy about letting his opinions be known. Adams cast 29 tie-breaking votes, a record that still stands today.

== Presidency (1797-1801) ==
Washington's decision to retire from public life set the stage for the first partisan presidential election. [[Alexander Hamilton]] was the dominant leader of the Federalists. However he made many political enemies during his tenure as Secretary of the Treasury. The Federalists decided to run Adams as their presidential candidate and Thomas Pinckney for the office of vice-president. The Republicans of course favored Jefferson for president; they ran Aaron Burr of New York as vice-President. Adams won the mildly contested [[United States presidential election, 1796|election of 1796]], garnering 71 electoral votes to Jefferson's 68, and became president in his own right. Since electors did not indicate which office they were voting for, by coming in second to Adams, Jefferson became his vice-president. Their friendship had ended and they now struggled for control of the national agenda.

Adam's faced the challenge of having to succeed George Washington. He retained all of Washington's original cabinet members. Although some historians consider it a mistake, he believed that government officials should not be removed except for cause. Adams spent much of his term in Massachusetts, ignoring the details of patronage and communication that are essential to build a political base.
===Foreign Affairs===
Adams continued the Washington's policy of neutrality in the on going war between Britain and France, selling supplies to both sides. Federalists were pushing for a war against France and closer ties to Britian. Adams wanted peace, but was caught up in the storm of events.

The French were openly seizing American ships, leading to an undeclared war known as the [[Quasi-War]] of 1798-99. Adams sent diplomats to meet with the [[French Directory]], only to be refused an audience and commercial relations were suspended. In 1798, the French demanded American diplomats pay huge bribes in order to see the French Foreign Minister [[Talleyrand]], which the diplomats rejected. The Jeffersonian Republicans, suspicious of Adams, demanded the documentation, which Adams released using X, Y and Z as codes for the names of the French diplomats. A wave of nationalist sentiment overwhelmed the U.S. Congress approved Adams' plan to organize the navy. Adams reluctantly signed the Alien and Sedition Act as a wartime measure.

The Federalists made major gains in the 1798 election, and Congress passed a law for a much-enlarged army. Nominally it was under the control of Washington; in reality Hamilton controlled the new army, and Adams was left a byestander.

In 1799, Adams moved to end the war with France. This angered hardline Federalists such as [[Alexander Hamilton]], leading to an intraparty battle. Hamilton attacked Adams for his "ungovernable indiscretion" and "distempered jealousy". This, plus the unpopularity of the new taxes and perhaps also the Aliens and Sedition acts, weakened Adams.

===Running for reelection===
Jefferson spent much of his time as vice-president attacking Adams, even hiring journalists to write scurrilous editorials about the President. Federalists fought back by passing the [[Alien and Sedition Acts]]. The Alien Act was designed to prevent immigrants, who supported Jefferson, from gaining citizenship, and the right to vote; the Sedition Act was designed to stifle critics of Adams. However, the attempts backfired; when Congressman [[Matthew Lyons]] was prosecuted under the Sedition Act, he and the Republicans became national heroes. In the [[United States presidential election, 1800|election of 1800]], Jefferson overwhelmingly beat Adams.

While a [[lame duck]] President, Adams tried to stack the courts with [[Federalist]] judges so that his party could maintain some control of the government. One such appointment led to the landmark [[Supreme Court]] case of [[Marbury v. Madison]].

The Adamses were the first residents of the [[White House]]. They moved there in the month of November, 1800. At the White House, President John Adams was said to be the first to display [[fireworks]] there.

== Death ==
After Jefferson left office in 1809 he and Adams resumed their cordial friendship, and exchanged a series of highly insightful letters.

He died July 4, 1826 at the age of 90 in Quincy, Massachusetts only a few hours after the death of Jefferson. The day marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Only one signer of the Declaration ([[Charles Carroll of Carrollton]]) outlived him.<ref>http://www.adherents.com/people/pa/John_Adams.html</ref>.

== Legacy ==
In a October 2000 survey of 132 prominent professors of history, law, and political science, President John Adams was grouped in the "Above Average" group, ranked 13th, with a mean score of 3.36 out of 5.00. <ref>Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (New York, Wall Street Journal Book, 2004)</ref>

It was John Adams whose quote has been inscribed upon the mantle in the White House dining room:<blockquote>
'''"I Pray Heaven to Bestow the Best Blessings on this house and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. Let none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."''' <ref>[[God and the Oval Office]], by John C. McCollister, W Publishing Group, 2005.</ref></blockquote>

==Notable Quotes==

*'''“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.”'''

*John Adams also said another time "Ask me not whether I am Protestant, Calvinistic or Armenian, as far as they are Christians, I wish to be a fellow disciple with them all." <ref> [[''God and the Oval Office'']] by John C. McCollister, W Publishing Group, 2005. </ref>

*"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."<ref>John Adams, ''Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials,'' December 1770 [http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/3235.html The Quotations Page] </ref>

*"Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war." <ref> Quoted in ''Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989'' by Michael Beschloss </ref>'''

*"Power always thinks... that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws."

*"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. "

*"The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty" <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=E9TOxypjZY4C&pg=PA70&dq=The+only+maxim+of+a+free+government+ought+to+be+to+trust+no+man+living+with+power+to+endanger+the+public+liberty&ei=1AMFSq7hLZ3AzASr9dWUAw John Adams‎ - Page 70]</ref>

*"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.” -1826

==Notes==
<references/>

==References==
* Diggins, John Patrick. ''John Adams: The American Presidents Series''(2003) [http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-Presidents-Patrick-Diggins/dp/0805069372/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208831547&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]
* Ellis, Joseph J. ''Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Passionate-Sage-Character-Legacy-Adams/dp/0393311333/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208831547&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Ferling, John. ''John Adams: A Life'' (1996) [http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-Life-Ferling/dp/0805045767/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208831547&sr=1-11 excerpt and text search]
* Paul Finkelman, Paul, ed. ''Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, 1754–1829'' (2005), 1600 pp.
* Larson, Edward J. ''A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign.'' (2007). 333 pp. on 1800 [http://www.common-place.org/vol-08/no-03/reviews/opal.shtml online review]
* McCullough, David. ''John Adams'' (2001), 768pp; popular best seller and base of 2008 PBS series [http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-David-McCullough/dp/141657588X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208831385&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
==Bibliography==
* Aldridge, A. Owen. "John Adams: Pioneer American Conservative," ''Modern Age'' Volume 44, Number 3; Summer 2002 [http://www.mmisi.org/ma/44_03/aldridge.pdf online edition]
* Brown, Ralph A. ''The Presidency of John Adams.'' (1988). Political narrative.
* Chinard, Gilbert. ''Honest John Adams.'' (1933). short life
* Diggins, John Patrick. ''John Adams'' (2003) short interpretation by leading scholar [http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-Presidents-Patrick-Diggins/dp/0805069372/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193064176&sr=8-5 excerpt and text search]
* Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick, ''The Age of Federalism''. (1993), most advanced political history of 1790s [http://www.questia.com/read/59152800 online edition]
* Ellis, Joseph J. ''Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams'' (1993), interpretative essay by Pulitzer prize winning scholar. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=100942304 online edition]
* Ferling, John. ''Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800.'' (2004), narrative history of the election [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108219147 online edition]
* Ferling, John. ''John Adams: A Life.'' (1992), full scale biography
* Grant, James. ''John Adams: Party of One.''(2005), short biography
* Haraszti, Zoltan. ''John Adams and the Prophets of Progress''. (1952). Adams's political comments on numerous authors
* Kirk, Russell. "John Adams and Liberty under the Law" ch 3 of Kirk, ''The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Santayana'' (1953) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=55416563 online edition]
* Knollenberg, Bernard. ''Growth of the American Revolution: 1766-1775,''(2003). [http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/Book.php?recordID=0485 Online edition.]
* Kurtz, Stephen G. ''The Presidency of John Adams: The Collapse of Federalism, 1795-1800'' (1957). Detailed political narrative. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14355519 online edition]
* McCullough, David. ''John Adams.'' (2002). Best-selling popular biography, stressing Adams's character and his marriage with Abigail over his ideas and constitutional thoughts. Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Biography. [http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-David-McCullough/dp/0743223136/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193064176&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Miller, John C. ''The Federalist Era: 1789-1801.'' (1960). Thorough survey of politics in decade.
* Ryerson, Richard Alan, ed. ''John Adams and the Founding of the Republic'' (2001). Essays by scholars: "John Adams and the Massachusetts Provincial Elite," by William Pencak; "Before Fame: Young John Adams and Thomas Jefferson," by John Ferling; "John Adams and the 'Bolder Plan,'" by Gregg L. Lint; "In the Shadow of Washington: John Adams as Vice President," by Jack D. Warren; "The Presidential Election of 1796," by Joanne B. Freeman; "The Disenchantment of a Radical Whig: John Adams Reckons with Free Speech," by Richard D. Brown; "'Splendid Misery': Abigail Adams as First Lady," by Edith B. Gelles; "John Adams and the Science of Politics," by C. Bradley Thompson; and "Presidents as Historians: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson," by Herbert Sloan.
* Scherr, Arthur. "James Monroe and John Adams: An Unlikely 'Friendship'". ''The Historian'' 67#3 (2005) pp 405+. [http://www.questia.com/read/5019026982 online edition]
* Sharp, James. ''American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis.'' (1995), detailed political narrative of 1790s.
* Smith, Page. ''John Adams''. (1962) 2 volume; full-scale biography, winner of the Bancroft Prize
* Thompson, C. Bradley. ''John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty''. (1998). Analysis of Adams's political thought; insists Adams was the greatest political thinker among the Founding Generation and anticipated many of the ideas in ''The Federalist.''
* White, Leonard D. ''The Federalists: A Study in Administrative History'' (1956), thorough analysis of the mechanics of government in 1790s
* White, Morton. "Rights, Powers, and John Adams" in White, ''The Philosophy of the American Revolution'' (1978) pp 186+ [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=26095873 online edition]
* Wood, Gordon S. ''Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different’’ (2006)

===Primary sources===
*Adams, Charles F. ''The Works of John Adams, with Life'' (10 vols., Boston, 1850-1856) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=321010 online edition vol 1]; [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=60210473 online edition vol 2];
*Adams, Abigail, Adams, John, Shuffelton, Frank. ''The Letters of John and Abigail Adams''. ISBN 0142437115
* Butterfield, L. H. et al., eds., ''The Adams Papers'' (1961- ). Multivolume letterpress edition of all letters to and from major members of the Adams family, plus their diaries; still incomplete [http://www.masshist.org/adams_editorial/volumes_published.cfm].
* Cappon, Lester J. ed. ''The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams'' (1988).
* Carey, George W. ed. ''The Political Writings of John Adams.'' (2000). 748 pp. ISBN 9780895262929 Compilation of extracts from Adams's major political writings.
* Diggins, John P., ed. ''The Portable John Adams''. (2004)
* John A. Schutz and Douglass Adair, eds. ''Spur of Fame, The Dialogues of John Adams and Benjamin Rush, 1805–1813'' (1966) ISBN 978-0-86597-287-2
* C. Bradley Thompson, ed. ''Revolutionary Writings of John Adams,'' (2001) ISBN 978-0-86597-285-8
* John Adams, ''Novanglus; or, A History of the Dispute with America'' (1774) [http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/Book.php?recordID=0284 online version]
* Abigail Adams and John Adams. ''My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams'' edited by Joseph J. Ellis, and Margaret A. Hogan (2007)

==See also==
* [[Federalist Party]]
* [[Abigail Adams]]

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, John}}
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:Founding Fathers]]
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]
[[category:diplomacy]]
[[Category:American Revolution]]
[[Category:Republicanism]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:Early National U.S.]]

Henry VIII

2012-03-05T20:36:12Z

TheHistoryJunkie: /* Recent popular culture */

'''Henry VIII''' (b. June 28, 1491, d. January 28, 1547) was the King of [[England]] and Lord of [[Ireland]] from April 22, 1509 until his death. A larger-than-life figure and one of England's most famous monarchs, he was the second monarch of the [[Tudor Dynasty]], succeeding his father [[Henry VII]], and was one of the most powerful and formative rulers in British history. Henry was a powerfully built, athletic, attractive, domineering but charismatic man, educated and accomplished. He was the last English king to rule with absolute power. His need for a male heir to perpetuate the Tudor Dynasty led to his having six marriages.

It was under Henry's children and successors, Edward VI and Elizabeth I, that the [[English Reformation]] was fashioned as a compromise between the [[Lutheran]]s and [[Calvinist]]s on the one hand and the [[Catholic]]s on the other. Nevertheless, Henry's famous break with the Papacy facilitated later events affecting the English Church.

His public image is lustful, egotistical, deceitful, opinionated, and insecure when dealing with his wives; and his vast, wasteful luxuries and useless wars depleted the treasury.
[[File:Henry8.jpg|thumb|280px]]
== Early life==
Henry was born on the 28th June 1491, the third child and second son of [[Henry VII]] (Tudor) and Elizabeth of York. Henry, as a younger son, was not heir to the throne. His father intended him for the church, and so he received an excellent education. The death of his elder brother Arthur (1502) made him heir to the throne. His father was heir to the Lancastrian claim to the throne, and his mother was the daughter of the Yorkist King [[Edward IV]]. Henry thus symbolized in his person the union of the houses of Lancaster and York whose rivalry had caused the [[Wars of the Roses]]. Unlike his father, therefore, he could believe himself to be the unquestioned and unquestionable king of God's choice.

==Marriages==
[[File:Henry8-wives.jpg|thumb|290px]]

Henry's wives:
*[[Catherine of Aragon]]
*[[Anne Boleyn]]
*[[Jane Seymour]]
*[[Anne of Cleves]]
*[[Katherine Howard]]
*[[Catherine Parr]]

His legal children: (all of whom became monarchs in their own right)
*[[Mary I]]
*[[Elizabeth I]]
*[[Edward VI]]

===First marriage: Katherine of Aragon===
His brother Arthur in 1501 married [[Katherine of Aragon|Katherine]] (1485–1536), the daughter of [[Ferdinand and Isabella]] of Spain. After Arthur's death in 1502, when Henry was ten years old, for reasons of state it was decided to marry Henry to his brother’s widow, who was several years his senior. This raised the question of whether it was moral and legal for Henry to married his late brother’s wife?

For her part, Catherine stated and always affirmed that her marriage to Arthur had never been consummated and she was therefore able to marry Henry. Because her parents wanted the marriage, they did not want there to be any doubt and so they petitioned the Pope to grant a dispensation allowing Catherine and Henry to marry - a dispensation that was granted. These matters would be of great significance later.

== Henry’s accession to the throne ==

===Anne Boleyn===
By 1527 Henry had become deeply infatuated with [[Anne Boleyn]] (1507–1536). Anne was not content to be a mistress, which set about a chain of events that shook the nation. Henry sought papal consent to have his marriage to Katherine annulled since she had previously been married to his brother. The papacy, which was under a great deal of pressure from the Spanish not to grant the request, refused. This brought about the downfall of Cardinal Wosley in Henry's sight since he had virtually guaranteed acceptance of the annullment.

Henry then made the decision to break from the Roman Catholic Church, which he claimed had no right to interfere in the political succession of England, and which he stated was occurring since he had no male heir by Katherine. Catholic clergy then had to sign an oath to the king rather than to the Pope. Many could not sign -- and died. With Henry now head of the [[Church of England]], his divorce/annullment was granted and he married Anne in 1533. She bacame a very unpopular queen with the people who had loved Katherine.

Anne had a daughter in 1533 (the future Queen [[Elizabeth I]]) and it was a son that Henry desired to have. She became pregnant again, but her son was stillborn. In terms of shaping policy, Anne, who was strongly committed to Protestantism, was the most influential of his wives. Historians have vigorously debated explanations for the trial and execution of Anne in 1536. One school emphasizes contentious court factions in which Queen Anne was an innocent pawn. G. W. Bernard (1991) argues that she and the five men executed with her were probably guilty of incest and adultery as charged. Both points of view were also expressed by contemporary diplomats reporting from London, who may have been misled by rumors and deliberate government misinformation. Use of traditions of courtly love to explain Anne's relationship with the other accused (opening herself to slander) is speculative. Direct evidence for actual guilt is not convincing. Warnicke (1993) offers a controversial explanation: Anne gave birth to a deformed fetus in January, 1536, provoking in Henry, who learned of the miscarriage and its circumstances after some delay, both rage and fear, as well as a certainty of his consort's adultery and witchcraft, an explanation necessary not only to his psyche but to the preservation of the reputation of his kingdom and the schismatic church that he headed.<ref> G. W. Bernard, "The Fall of Anne Boleyn." ''English Historical Review'' 1991 106(420): 584-610. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/573258 in Jstor]; Retha M. Warnicke, "The Fall of Anne Boleyn Revisited." ''English Historical Review'' 1993 108(428): 653-665. Issn: 0013-8266 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/574751 in Jstor]</ref>

===Later marriages===
In 1536 the death of Katherine of Aragon freed Henry for an unquestionably lawful marriage. That same year he chose [[Jane Seymour]] (1509-1537), who died the next year of natural causes after providing him with a son, the future King [[Edward VI]]. In 1540, Cromwell's Protestant policy involved marriage to [[Anne of Cleves]] (1515–57), whom Henry disliked from the first. The marriage remained unconsummated and ended in annulment. In August 1540 Henry made a love match with [[Catherine Howard]] (1521–1542), but being far younger than him, she may not have shared a mutual attraction. She was beheaded, having been accused of adultery. Finally in 1543, he settled for a more placid consort in [[Catherine Parr]] (1512–48).

By 1540 the vigor had gone out of the reign and out of Henry. The debacle of the Cleves marriage cost Cromwell his head and Henry his leading minister. Overconfidence drew the king once more into a continental and Scottish war (1542-1546), a war that gained no glory but whose expense ruined the English economy. In 1541 Henry became king of Ireland (previously he was "Ruler of Ireland.")

==Religion==
Henry started as a staunch Catholic and wrote ''Assertio Septem Sacramentorum'', a treatise in which he defended the Church against [[Martin Luther]] and asserted the primacy of the [[Pope]]. The Pope gave Henry the title Fidei Defensor [[Defender of the Faith]], a style still used by the English monarch today.

However, Henry broke with the Pope on two issues, the divorce, and control over the Church inside England, as he declared himself head of the Church in England. Disagreement with Henry on religious issues was a political affront, and he could not tolerate it. Some wealthy or intellectual Catholics fled to France; others stayed quiet. Moderate reform took place in the 1530s because Queen Anne and top aides Thomas Cranmer and Cromwell had the king's ear and carried out attacks on the old religion. Queen Anne patronized and promoted clergy and bishops of a reforming turn of mind; Cromwell (1485?–1540), the Earl of Essex, was a convinced reformer and in effect the ruthless and unpopular prime minister from 1532 until he fell from favour and was beheaded in 1540. Cranmer (1489–1556) was archbishop of Canterbury after 1533. <ref> After Henry's death Cranmer wrote much of the first ''Book of Common Prayer'' (1549, revised 1552), the centerpiece of the Anglican Church.</ref> Henry persecuted of those who still held to Papal Supremacy, and encouraged Protestant ideas to flourish. Protestantism was officially established during the reign of Henry’s son, [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]].

==Power and authority==
Henry was the main founder of the Royal Navy; he expanded it from 5 to 53 ships.

Financially, the reign was a near-disaster. After inheriting a prosperous economy, augmented by seizures of church lands heavy spending and high taxes damaged the economy.

From 1514 to 1529 [[Thomas Wolsey]] (1473–1530), a Catholic cardinal, served as lord chancellor and practically controlled domestic and foreign policy for the young king. He negotiated the truce with France that was signaled by the dramatic display of amity on the Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520). He switched England back and forth as an ally of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Wolsey centralized the national government and extended the jurisdiction of the conciliar courts, particularly the Star Chamber. His use of forced loans to pay for foreign wars angered the rich, who were annoyed as well by his enormous wealth and ostentatious living. Wolsey disappointed the king when he failed to secure a quick divorce from Queen Katherine. The treasury was empty after years of extravagance; the peers and people were dissatisfied and Henry needed an entirely new approach; Wolsey had to be replaced. After 16 years at the top he lost power in 1529 and in 1530 was arrested on false charges of treason and died in custody. Henry then took full control of his government, although at court numerous complex factions continued to try to ruin and destroy each other.

Elton (1962) argues there was a major Tudor revolution in government. While crediting Henry with intelligence and shrewdness, Elton finds that much of the positive action, especially the break with Rome, was the work of Thomas Cromwell and not the king. Elton sees Henry as competent, but too lazy to take direct control of affairs for any extended period; that is, the king was an opportunist who relied on others for most of his ideas and to do most of the work. Henry's marital adventures are part of Elron's chain of evidence; a man who marries six wives, Elton notes, is not someone who fully controls his own fate. Elton shows that Thomas Cromwell had conceived of a commonwealth of England that included popular participation through Parliament and that this was generally expressed in the preambles to legislation. Parliamentary consent did not mean that the king had yielded any of his authority; Henry VIII was a paternalistic ruler who did not hesitate to use his power. Popular "consent" was a means to augment rather than limit royal power.<ref> G. R. Elton, ''The Tudor Revolution in Government: Administrative Changes in the Reign of Henry VIII'' (1962) [http://www.questia.com/read/2993196?title=The%20Tudor%20Revolution%20in%20Government%3a%20Administrative%20Changes%20in%20the%20Reign%20of%20Henry%20VIII online edition]; Elton, ''Reform and Reformation: England, 1509-1558'' (1977) is sharply hostile toward the king--an "ego-centric monstrosity," whose reign "owed its successes and virtues to better and greater men about him; most of its horrors and failures sprang more directly from himself." p. 43</ref>

==Reformation==
Henry never formally repudiated the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, but he declared himself supreme head of the church in England. This, combined with subsequent actions, eventually resulted in a separated church, the [[Anglican Church|Church of England]]. The pope behaved more as an Italian prince involved in secular affairs, which often obscured his religious role. The Church treated England as a minor stepchild, allowing it one cardinal out of fifty, and no possibility of becoming pope. For reasons of state it was increasingly intolerable that major decisions in England were settled by Italians. The divorce issue exemplified the problem but was not itself the cause of the problem. As long as Cardinal Wolsey dominated the government the widespread sentiment for reform could go nowhere.<ref> A. F. Pollard, ''Henry VIII'' (1905) provides the classic statement of the Henrician position, esp. pp 230-38, noting that Spain and France stayed loyal because they controlled the papacy.</ref>

Henry's reformation of the English church involved more complex motives and methods than his desire for a new wife and an heir. Henry asserted that his first marriage had never been valid, but the divorce issue was only one factor in Henry's desire to reform the church. In 1536-37, he instituted a number of statutes-the act of appeal, the act of succession, the act of supremacy and others-that dealt with the relationship between the king and the pope and the structure of the Church of England. During these years, Henry also suppressed monasteries and pilgrimage shrines in his attempt to reform the church. The kins was always the dominant force in the making of religious policy; his policy, which he pursued skilfully and consistently, is best characterized as a search for the middle way.<ref> G. W. Bernard, ''The King's Reformation: Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church'' (2005)</ref>

Questions over what was the true faith were resolved with the adoption of the orthodox "Act of Six Articles" (1539) and a careful holding of the balance between extreme factions after 1540. Even so the era saw movement away from religious orthodoxy, the more so as the pillars of the old beliefs, especially Thomas More and John Fisher, had been unable to accept the change and had been executed in 1535 for siding with the pope against the king.

Critical for the Henrician reformation was the new political theology of obedience to the prince that was enthusiastically adopted by the Church of England in the 1530s. It reflected was [[Martin Luther]]'s new interpretation of the fourth commandment and was mediated to an English audience by [[William Tyndale]]. The founding of royal authority on the Ten Commandments, and thus on the word of God, was a particularly attractive feature of this doctrine, which became a defining feature of Henrician religion. Rival tendencies within the Church of England sought to exploit it in the pursuit of their particular agendas. Reformers strove to preserve its connections with the broader framework of Lutheran theology, with the emphasis on faith alone and the word of God, while conservatives emphasized good works, ceremonies, and charity. The Reformers linked royal supremacy and the word of God in order to persuade Henry to publish the "Great Bible," an English translation that was a formidable prop for his new-found dignity.<ref> Richard Rex, "The Crisis of Obedience: God's Word and Henry's Reformation." ''Historical Journal'' 1996 39(4): 863-894. Issn: 0018-246x [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2639860 in Jstor]</ref>

===Dissolving the monasteries===
England was covered with many medieval monastaries that owned large tracts of land worked by tenants. As a religious institution they were almost defunct and had become handicaps to the economy. Henry dissolved them (1536-1540) and transfered of a fifth of the England's landed wealth to new hands. The program was designed primarily to create a landed gentry beholden to the crown, which would use the lands much more efficiently.

Henry made radical changes in traditional religious practices. He ordered the clergy to preach against superstitious images, relics, miracles, and pilgrimages, and to remove most candles. The catechism of 1545, called the ''King's Primer,'' left out the saints. Latin rituals gave way to English. Shrines to saints were destroyed—including the popular one of St Thomas at Canterbury; relics were ridiculed as worthless old bones.

The reforms alienated pious folk who believed in the old rituals depended on the monasteries for religious devotions and helped provoke the great northern rising of 1536-1537, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. It was the only real threat to Henry's security on the throne in all his reign. Some 30,000 rebels in nine groups were led by the charismatic Robert Aske, together with most of the northern nobility. Aske went to London to negotiate terms; once there he was arrested, charged with treason and executed. About 200 rebels were executed and the disturbances ended.<ref> M. L. Bush, "The Tudor Polity and the Pilgrimage of Grace." ''Historical Research'' 2007 80(207): 47-72. Issn: 0950-3471 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]; Geoffrey Moorhouse, ''The Pilgrimage of Grace: The Rebellion That Shook Henry VIII's Throne'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Pilgrimage-Grace-Rebellion-Shook-Throne/dp/1842126660/ref=pd_ts_b_33?ie=UTF8&s=books excerpt and text search]</ref> Elsewhere the changes were accepted and welcomed, as those who clung to Catholic rites kept quiet or moved in secrecy; they would reemerge in the reign (1553-58) of Henry's daughter Mary.

==Public image and memory==
Henry worked hard to present an image of unchallengeable authority and irresistible power. He executed at will, beheading more English notables than any monarch before or since. The roll of heads included two wives, one cardinal, twenty peers, four leading public servants, and six of the king's close attendants and friends, not to mention various heads of monasteries. In addition Cardinal Wolsey died in prison.

A big, strong man (over six foot tall and broad in proportion)<ref>People were smaller in those days. A comparable man today would be a star athlete at 6'5" and 250 pounds.</ref>, he excelled at jousting and hunting. More than pastimes, they were political devices that served multiple goals, from enhancing his athletic royal image to impressing foreign emissaries and rulers, to conveying Henry's ability to suppress any rebellion. Thus he arranged a jousting tournament at Greenwich in 1517, where he wore gilded armour, gilded horse trappings, and outfits of velvet, satin and cloth of gold dripping with pearls and jewels. It suitably impressed foreign ambassadors, one of whom wrote home that, "The wealth and civilisation of the world are here, and those who call the English barbarians appear to me to render themselves such." Henry finally retired from the lists in 1536 after a heavy fall from his horse left him unconscious for two hours, but he continued to sponsor two lavish tournaments a year.<ref>Steven Gunn, "Tournaments and early Tudor chivalry," ''History Today,'' (June 1991), Vol. 41, #6 in [[Academic Search Premier]]; James Williams, "Hunting and the Royal Image of Henry VIII" ''Sport in History'' 2005 25(1): 41-59. Issn: 1746-0263 </ref> He then started adding weight and lost that trim athletic look that had made him so handsome; Henry's courtiers began dressing in heavily padded clothes to emulate--and flatter--their increasingly stout monarch.

Henry loved palaces; he began with a dozen and died with fifty-five, in which he hung 2,000 tapestries.<ref>Simon Thurley, "Palaces for a nouveau riche king." ''History Today,'' (June 1991), Vol. 41, #6 in [[Academic Search Premier]]</ref> He took pride in showing off his collection of weapons, which included exotic archery equipment, 2,250 pieces of land ordnance and 6,500 handguns.<ref> Jonathan Davies, "'We Do Fynde in Our Countre Great Lack of Bowes and Arrows': Tudor Military Archery and the Inventory of King Henry VIII," ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research'' 2005 83(333): 11-29. Issn: 0037-9700 </ref>

Henry was an intellectual; the first well-educated English king, he was thoroughly at home in his well-stocked library; he personally annotated many books and wrote and published his own book.

To promote the public support for the reformation of the church, Henry had numerous pamphlets and lectures prepared. For example, Richard Sampson's ''Oratio'' (1534) was a legalistic argument for absolute obedience to the temporal power as vested in divine law and Christian love ("obey my commandments"). Sampson cited historical precedents (now known to be spurious) to support his claim that the English church had always been independent from Rome.<ref>Andrew A. Chibi, "Richard Sampson, His Oratio, and Henry VIII's Royal Supremacy." ''Journal of Church and State'' 1997 39(3): 543-560. Issn: 0021-969x Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>

At the popular level theater and minstrel troupes funded by the crown traveled around the land to promote the new religious practices and ridicule the old. In the polemical plays they presented, the pope and Catholic priests and monks were mocked as foreign devils, while the glorious king was hailed as a brave and heroic defender of the true faith.<ref> See Thomas Betteridge, "The Henrician Reformation and Mid-Tudor Culture." ''Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies'' 2005 35(1): 91-109. Issn: 1082-9636 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]. Original documents are collected by the [http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/index.html Centre for Research in Early English Drama at Victoria University, Toronto]</ref>

Around 1613 [[William Shakespeare]] wrote a favorable play about the king, "The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth."

===Recent popular culture===
[[File:Henry8-laughton.jpg|thumb|270px]] Henry VIII is the most famous of all English kings, and has been portrayed n many ways. Charles Laughton's Oscar-winning Henry in "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (directed by Alexander Korda 1933) portrayed the macho, totally self-regarding, totally self-absorbed Henry; it created the popular notion that the Tudors had weak table manners. Laughton shows a lustful monarch, a cock among a bevy of sweet chicks, each with eyes on the royal bed; a man who sees women as objects.<ref> See Greg Walker, ''The Private Life of Henry VIII: A British Film Guide'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1860649092 excerpt and text search]; also [http://www.amazon.com/Private-Life-Henry-VIII/dp/B000085EF9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1211114013&sr=1-1 DVD]</ref> The same theme appears in the 1994 comedy "Carry On Henry."<ref> see [http://www.amazon.com/Carry-Henry-Sid-James/dp/B000QWGWE0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1211113897&sr=8-5 DVD]</ref> Television's "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" (1970) was more accurate Keith Michell's performance was deeper than Laughton's, but as the title shows, the focus was once again on Henry the married man.

A recent UK-Ireland cable TV program co-production, ''The Tudors'', shows an accurate portrayal of Henry VIII's (played by Irish actor [[Jonathan Rhys-Myers]]) reign.

==Further reading==
* Gardner, James. "Henry VIII" in ''Cambridge Modern History'' vol 2 (1903), a brief political history [http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/cmh/cmh213.html online edition]
* Ives, E. W. "Henry VIII (1491–1547)", in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004), online at [[OUP]], a good starting point
* Graves, Michael. ''Henry VIII'' (2003) 217pp, topical coverage
* Lindsey, Karen. ''Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation of the Wives of Henry VIII'' (1995) [http://www.questia.com/read/6981860?title=Divorced%2c%20Beheaded%2c%20Survived%3a%20A%20Feminist%20Reinterpretation%20of%20the%20Wives%20of%20Henry%20VIII online edition]
* Pollard, A.F. ''Henry VIII'' (1905) 470 pp; the first modern biography, accurate and still valuable [http://books.google.com/books?id=q0cDAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:henry+intitle:viii+inauthor:pollard&lr=&as_brr=0 online edition]
* Scarisbrick, J. J. ''Henry VIII'' (1968) 592pp, a favourable scholarly biography; his Henry was "a formidable, captivating man who wore regality with a splendid conviction. But easily and unpredictably his great charm could turn into anger and shouting.... He was high-strung and unstable; hypochondriac and possessed of a strong streak of cruelty."
* Smith, Lacey Baldwin. ''Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty'' (1971), a leading scholar writes the psycho-history of an egotistical border-line neurotic given to great fits of temper and deep and dangerous suspicions, with a mechanical and conventional, but deeply-held piety, and no better than a mediocre intellect to hold these contradictory forces in harness. [http://www.questia.com/read/85955084?title=Henry%20VIII%3a%20The%20Mask%20of%20Royalty online edition]
* Weir, Alison. ''Henry VIII, King and Court'' (2001). 640pp a flattering portrait [http://www.amazon.com/Henry-VIII-King-His-Court/dp/034543708X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211115337&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]

==See also==
* [[Elizabeth I (England)]]
==Bibliography==
===Biographical===
* Erickson, Carolly. ''Mistress Anne: The Exceptional Life of Anne Boleyn.'' (1984) 464 pp. popular biography
* Cressy, David. "Spectacle and Power: Apollo and Solomon at the Court of Henry VIII." ''History Today'' 1982 32(oct): 16-22. Issn: 0018-2753 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]] Traces the transition of Henry from Renaissance monarch (the youthful Apollo) to Reformation patriarch (the aging Solomon) using the graphics and visual images displayed in his court, festivals, and kingdom.
* Gardner, James. "Henry VIII" in ''Cambridge Modern History'' vol 2 (1903), a brief political history [http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/cmh/cmh213.html online edition]
* Graves, Michael. ''Henry VIII'' (2003) 217pp, topical coverage
* Ives, E. W. "Henry VIII (1491–1547)", in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004), online at [[OUP]], a good starting point
* Pollard, A.F. ''Henry VIII'' (1905) 470 pp; the first modern biography, accurate and still valuable value[http://books.google.com/books?id=q0cDAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:henry+intitle:viii+inauthor:pollard&lr=&as_brr=0 online edition]
* Rex, Richard. ''Henry VIII and the English Reformation.'' (1993). 205 pp.
* Ridley, Jasper. ''Henry VIII.'' (1985). 473 pp. popular biography
* Scarisbrick, J. J. ''Henry VIII'' (1968) 592pp, a favourable scholarly biography; his Henry was "a formidable, captivating man who wore regality with a splendid conviction. But easily and unpredictably his great charm could turn into anger and shouting.... He was high-strung and unstable; hypochondriac and possessed of a strong streak of cruelty."
* Smith, Lacey Baldwin. ''Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty'' (1971), a leading scholar writes the psycho-history of an egotistical border-line neurotic given to great fits of temper and deep and dangerous suspicions, with a mechanical and conventional, but deeply-held piety, and no better than a mediocre intellect to hold these contradictory forces in harness. [http://www.questia.com/read/85955084?title=Henry%20VIII%3a%20The%20Mask%20of%20Royalty online edition]
* Starkey, David. ''Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Six-Wives-Queens-Henry-VIII/dp/069401043X/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211115162&sr=1-9 excerpt and text search]
* Starkey, David. ''The Reign of Henry VIII: Personalities and Politics'' (1986). 174pp
* Starkey, David, and Susan Doran. ''Henry VIII: Man and Monarch'' (2009) 288pp
* Weir, Alison. ''Henry VIII, King and Court'' (2001). 640pp a flattering portrait [http://www.amazon.com/Henry-VIII-King-His-Court/dp/034543708X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211115337&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Weir, Alison. ''The Children of Henry VIII.'' (1996). 400 pp.

===Scholarly studies===
* Bernard, G. W. ''The King's Reformation: Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church.'' (2005). 712 pp. [http://books.google.com/books?id=p2MOt53sCCgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:King%27s+intitle:Reformation+inauthor:bernard&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=WTvpwPbd8txXGzbj0RP3pA9Qut8 excerpts and text search]
* Bernard, G. W. "The Making of Religious Policy, 1533-1546: Henry VIII and the Search for the Middle Way." ''Historical Journal'' 1998 41(2): 321-349. Issn: 0018-246x Fulltext: [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2640109 in Jstor]
* Bernard, G. W. ''War, Taxation, and Rebellion in Early Tudor England: Henry VIII, Wolsey, and the Amicable Grant of 1525.'' (1986). 164 pp
* Elton, G. R. ''The Tudor Revolution in Government: Administrative Changes in the Reign of Henry VIII'' (1953; revised 1962), major interpretation [http://www.questia.com/read/2993196?title=The%20Tudor%20Revolution%20in%20Government%3a%20Administrative%20Changes%20in%20the%20Reign%20of%20Henry%20VIII online edition]
** Coleman, Christoper, and David Starkey, eds. ''Revolution Reassessed: Revision in the History of Tudor Government and Administration'' (1986), evaluates Elton thesis
* Elton, G. R. ''Reform and Reformation: England, 1509-1558'' (1977), hostile to Henry
* Fielder, Martha Anne. "Iconographic Themes in Portraits of Henry VIII." PhD dissertation Texas Christian U. 1985. 232 pp. DAI 1985 46(6): 1424-A. DA8517256 Fulltext: [[ProQuest Dissertations & Theses]]
* Fox, Alistair, and John Guy, eds. ''Reassessing the Henrician Age: Humanism, Politics and Reform 1500-1550'' (1986), 242pp; advanced essays by scholars
* Head, David M. "Henry VIII's Scottish Policy: a Reassessment." ''Scottish Historical Review'' 1982 61(1): 1-24. Issn: 0036-9241 Argues that if Henry intended to take over Scotland then his 1542 victory at Solway Moss was the opportune moment, for the French were unable to intervene, the Scottish nobility was in disarray, and the infant Mary was in line for Scotland's throne. Instead, Henry adopted a policy similar to that in Ireland, since he could not afford outright conquest or the luxury of diplomacy.
* Loades, David. ''Henry VIII: Court, Church and Conflict'' (2007) 248pp; by a leading scholar [http://www.amazon.com/Henry-VIII-Court-Church-Conflict/dp/1903365996/ref=pd_ts_b_10?ie=UTF8&s=books excerpt and text search]
* MacCulloch, Diarmaid, ed. ''The Reign of Henry VIII: Politics, Policy, and Piety.'' (1995). 313 pp. essays by scholars
* Mackie, J. D. ''The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'' (1952), a political survey of the era [http://www.questia.com/read/8546253?title=The%20Earlier%20Tudors%2c%201485-1558 online edition]
* Lindsey, Karen. ''Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation of the Wives of Henry VIII'' (1995) [http://www.questia.com/read/6981860?title=Divorced%2c%20Beheaded%2c%20Survived%3a%20A%20Feminist%20Reinterpretation%20of%20the%20Wives%20of%20Henry%20VIII online edition]
* Slavin, Arthur J., ed. ''Henry VIII and the English Reformation'' (1968), readings by historians. [http://www.questia.com/read/97615501?title=Henry%20VIII%20and%20the%20English%20Reformation online edition]
* Smith, H. Maynard. ''Henry VIII and the Reformation'' (1948) [http://www.questia.com/read/8851653?title=Henry%20VIII%20and%20the%20Reformation online edition]
* Walker, Greg. ''Writing under Tyranny: English Literature and the Henrician Reformation.'' (2005). 556 pp.

===Historiography and memory===
* Head, David M. "'If a Lion Knew His Own Strength': the Image of Henry VIII and His Historians." ''International Social Science Review'' 1997 72(3-4): 94-109. Issn: 0278-2308 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Hoak, Dale. "Politics, Religion and the English Reformation, 1533-1547: Some Problems and Issues." ''History Compass'' 2005 3 (Britain and Ireland): 7 pp Issn: 1478-0542 Fulltext: [[Blackwell Synergy]]
* Ives, Eric. "Will the Real Henry VIII Please Stand Up?" ''History Today'' 2006 56(2): 28-36. Issn: 0018-2753 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
===Primary sources===
* Williams, C. M. A. H. ''English Historical Documents, 1485-1558'' (1996) [http://www.questia.com/read/104189416?title=English%20Historical%20Documents%2c%201485-1558 online sources]
==External links==
* [http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tudoressay.htm articles by experts]
====notes====
<references/>

{{Nb_english_monarchs}}
[[Category:Anglicans]]
[[Category:English History]]
[[Category:Renaissance]]
[[Category:Reformation]]
[[category:Religion and Politics]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 8}}