John Quincy Adams was taught at an early age by his parents to be a public servant, and indeed he was, serving as the secretary to the American envoy to Russia at age fourteen, and literally dying on the floor of the House of Representatives well into his eighties. As the eldest son of the prominent politician and U.S. president, John Adams, he grew up in a fervent political climate, accompanying his father in diplomatic missions and forging his own path in diplomacy and public administration. Besides serving for years as a diplomat, minister, and ambassador to foreign countries, Adams had a successful career on the national scene as both a U.S. senator and congressman. He is known for his systematic and consistent fight against slavery, but also for his ability to negotiate favorable treaties with the great powers of the world, such as Britain, Russia, and Prussia. Adams would go on to serve as the sixth president of the United States and finish his career in the House of Representatives. The thirty-fifth president, John F. Kennedy, wrote of his fellow Bostonian that he “held more important offices and participated in more important events than anyone in the history of our nation.”