The Lost Founding Father: John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics

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By William J. Cooper ’62

Published Dec. 14, 2017

John Quincy Adams has been relegated to the sidelines of our history books, remembered for an ineffective presidency during troubled times, but William J. Cooper ’62 uses this biography to argue otherwise. The Lost Founding Father (Liveright) highlights how Adams was the only political mind in his generation to have such close links to the founding fathers, and details his heroic advocacy of abolition after his lackluster presidency.

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PAW’s December 2025 cover, with a photo of Michael Park ’98.
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Judge Michael Park ’98; shifts in DEI initiatives; a night at the new art museum.