6. John Quincy Adams
The sixth president of the United States and the first of two presidents who were also the sons of presidents, John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. His birth home sits adjacent to that of his father and, built in 1663, it is the oldest birth home of an American president. On June 17, 1775, John Quincy accompanied his mother, Abigail Adams, to the top of Braintree’s Penn’s Hill, where they watched the Battle of Bunker Hill unfold. At the age of ten, John Quincy accompanied his father on the elder Adams’s diplomatic mission to Paris. In his subsequent seven years abroad, John Quincy was immersed in diplomatic circles and became well-acquainted with the most important political and cultural capitals of Europe.
-Andrew B. Leiter
I photographed both father-son presidential legacies on my trip to the Boston area. John and John Quincy Adams were born in homes just a few dozen yards apart while George H. W. was also born in Boston and his son, George W. born just down the road in New Haven, CT. The great joy of working on a photography project for me is the resulting discovery, learning, and introspection that occur. We started this project the same year my first daughter was born. She is now 8 and has two younger sisters, 6 and almost 3. From the beginning, I have come to this project not only as a photographer, but as a father. As I learned about the presidents childhoods, I was particularly attuned to the role the parents played in teaching and inspiring their children and setting the future presidents' life trajectories towards greatness. As I photograph these sites, I think about my own life, my own role as a parent, and my own kids' life trajectories.
-Matthew Albritton