13. John Adams was determined that his son would follow in his footsteps, and his obsession set John Quincy Adams on the path to greatness
Lots of historical figures were driven to greatness by pushy parents. But arguably few fathers were as demanding as John Adams. In fact, it’s fair to say that the Founding Father and second President of the United States was obsessed with his son’s fate. Nothing short of the Presidency would do. Indeed, as surviving correspondence between Adams and his son John Quincy Adams makes clear, the demanding father was only too ready to dish out harsh feedback and brutal criticism.
By the 1790s, the father had identified John Quincy as the most likely to make it to the top, and so his future became the older man’s obsession. In 1794, he wrote his son: “You come into life with advantages which will disgrace you if your success is mediocre. And if you do not rise to the head not only of your own profession, but of your country, it will be owing to your own laziness, slovenliness and obstinacy.” In later life, the older man regretted his pushiness and warned his son not to be so obsessed with his own boy’s future.