US Legation London – signed by C. F. Adams

US Legation London Adams

This passport is very rare to find as it has Charles Francis Adams signature. The document is one piece, of course, only my scanner is too small to do a full scan.

Charles Francis Adams US Legation London Adams

was the son of President John Quincy Adams and grandson of President John Adams, of whom he wrote a major biography. Adams served in the Massachusetts State Senate, before running unsuccessfully as vice-presidential candidate for the Free Soil Party in the election of 1848. US Legation London Adams

During the Civil War, Adams served as the United States Minister to the United Kingdom under Abraham Lincoln, where he played a key role in keeping Britain neutral while southern agents were trying to achieve official recognition of the Confederacy. That meant conducting dialogue with both sides and monitoring the British connection in the supply of commerce raiders.

United States House of Representatives

As a Republican, Adams was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1858, where he chaired the Committee on Manufactures. He was re-elected in 1860, but resigned to become U.S. minister (ambassador) to the Court of St James’s (Britain), a post previously held by his father and grandfather, from 1861 to 1868 (awesome!).

He became an overseer of Harvard University, and built Adams National Historical Park, a library in honor of his father in Quincy, Massachusetts. US Legation London Adams