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Louisa Adams Facts & Worksheets

Louisa Catherine Adams was the United States’ First Lady from 1825 to 1829. She was born in London and was the first First Lady born outside the United States.

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Louisa Catherine Adams was the United States’ First Lady from 1825 to 1829. She was born in London and was the first First Lady born outside the United States.

See the fact file below for more information on the Louisa Adams or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Louisa Adams worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE

  • Louisa Catherine Johnson was born to Joshua Johnson, an American businessman from Maryland, and Katherine Nuth Johnson, an Englishwoman, on February 12, 1775. Louisa became the First Lady to have been raised abroad.
  • Her parents moved to Nantes, France when she was three years old, where she obtained her early education, and became fluent in French.
  • In 1783, Louisa’s family returned to London, and she was briefly enrolled at boarding school.
  • After losses incurred by her father’s company, Louisa and her sisters were forced to withdraw from school, thus terminating their formal education. However, a governess tutored them at school, which made Louisa an avid reader.

MARRIAGE

  • Joshua Johnson often entertained fellow Americans at his London home, and it was there in 1795 that Louisa met John Quincy Adams, a 28-year-old newly appointed American ambassador to the Netherlands.
  • They decided to marry after the next few months, though neither set of parents approved their match.
  • The family circumstances had changed for both the groom and bride by the time the wedding took place in London on July 26, 1797, because John Adams (John Quincy’s father) became the president of the United States and Louisa’s father suffered financial ruin.
  • John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams had three sons and one daughter. George Washington Adams (1801-1829), John Adams II (1803-1834), Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886), and Louisa Catherine Adams (1811-1812).
  • Throughout her life, Louisa brooded that her husband had never earned the dowry he had expected. She lamented this in an unpublished autobiography she wrote for her children, saying that she had “connected herself with a ruined house”.
  • After President Adams named John Quincy as Minister in Prussia, the Adamses moved to Berlin, where Louisa continued to be a popular hostess despite her frequent illness.
  • In 1800, after John Adams lost his bid for reelection, the Adamses returned to the United States, and Louisa met her husband’s family for the first time.
  • It wasn’t a fun experience for her, and she later wrote that she couldn’t have been more surprised if she had walked “onto Noah’s Ark”.
  • Although she was never on the best terms with her mother-in-law, Abigail Adams, Louisa became her father-in-law’s instant and lasting favorite.

FIRST LADY AND THE LATER YEARS

  • In 1817, President James Monroe named John Quincy as the Secretary of State, and he began his long pursuit for the presidency, an endeavor in which Louisa played a significant part.
  • Louisa made many social calls, throwing extravagant parties and hosting hundreds of guests at their home.
  • “It is understood,” she wrote in her diary, “that a man who is ambitious to become President of the United States must make his wife visit the Ladies of the members of Congress first. Otherwise he is absolutely inefficient to hold such a high office”.
  • Louisa resented these visits despite her determination, which she claimed would make her “crazy”. Her social success may well have helped her husband win the bitter election of 1824.
  • Louisa Adams, as first lady, set new precedents and chose not to follow the trend established by her politically active mother-in-law. Mrs. Abigail Adams reportedly complained bitterly about being watched for some hint at any public event as to how her husband was feeling about any important matter.
  • While she was among the first women to attend congressional hearings, she did not attempt to play a part in decision-making. “I have nothing to do with the disposal of affairs and have never but once been consulted,” she wrote.
  • John Quincy lost the presidential election of 1828 to Andrew Jackson in 1828, but was elected to Congress two years later. He and Louisa resumed living on F Street in Washington, DC.
  • The Adamses’ two elder sons died, one apparently by suicide just after his parents left the White House, and the other five years later, from alcoholism.
  • Initially, Louisa resented her husband’s decision to return to public service after the presidency but eventually came to admire his bravery during the 16 years he served at Congress.
  • After the death of her husband in 1848, Louisa went on living in Washington, where she died in 1852.

HER DEATH

  • Congress adjourned for her funeral in an unparalleled show of reverence for a former first lady, so that representatives could pay their respects.
  • She was buried at First Church in Quincy, Massachusetts, next to her husband and his parents.

Louisa Adams Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Louisa Adams across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Louisa Adams worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Louisa Catherine Adams who was the United States’ First Lady from 1825 to 1829. She was born in London and was the first First Lady born outside the United States.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Louisa Adams Facts
  • History Timeline
  • More of Louisa
  • Best Traits
  • Truth or Lies?
  • Praise & Criticism
  • Given Words
  • Comic Strip
  • Women Pix
  • Outsider’s Perspective
  • Great Contributions

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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