Book Synopsis

An accessible and entertaining biography of our nation's greatest public servant and original political maverick John Quincy Adams, from the bassist of the Grammy-nominated band the Avett Brothers.

During the tumultuous period between the era of the Founding Fathers and the disunion of the Civil War, John Quincy Adams was the man standing in the breach. After an unsuccessful presidential reelection campaign, he was left reckoning with his political legacy. But Adams would be dragged back into the fray in ways he never expected, pitting him against the slavocracy and Southern congressmen and solidifying him as a key ally to the antislavery cause.

America's Founding Son tells the tale of Adams's turbulent government career and his evolving views on slavery. Adams, along with lesser-known abolitionists Benjamin Lundy and Theodore Weld, found himself at the center of the coalition that leveled the first blow against slave power in the United States. The battles they fought would be foundational in the push for emancipation to follow. An entertaining deep dive into an under explored period in American history, America's Founding Son shows how John Quincy Adams and the grassroots activism of the 1830s and '40s shifted American politics forever.

Review Quotes

"A gripping narrative of the life of John Quincy Adams, the president, peacemaker, and freedom fighter who rose with the new nation, and called it to its highest principles as it was coming apart. Crawford delivers a lively, energetic, and substantive look at his extraordinary legacy, one that is, like all the best history, urgently relevant today." --Chris DeRose, New York Times bestselling author of The Fighting Bunch

"John Quincy Adams has had no shortage of biographers, but Bob Crawford's America's Founding Son presents a fresh and exciting new take on the life of one of the most remarkable Americans of his era. With his engaging and highly readable style, Crawford admirably captures the man and his times. America's Founding Son is an excellent addition to the literature on America's sixth president." --James M. Bradley, author of Martin Van Buren: America's First Politician

"To both his podcasts and his book, America's Founding Son, Bob Crawford brings a fun and engaging flare that all fellow history enthusiasts will love. Can't wait for him to take on his next subject."--Douglas Brunt, New York Times bestselling author of The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel

"Bob Crawford's America's Founding Son is a riveting account of the extraordinary life of John Quincy Adams, America's sixth president. Adams touched nearly every great issue of his time: liberty, expansion, democracy, and the fight for human freedom. His story is not just the tale of one man's life, but of the birth, contradictions, and enduring promise of the United States itself. Adams's unyielding moral vision and lifelong devotion to service and principle, often at the expense of popularity, make him a figure of uncommon integrity in American history. It's a story all the more meaningful today." --Ken Burns, award-winning filmmaker

"It's commonplace for scholars to overlook John Quincy Adams when ranking great national leaders between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Historian Bob Crawford doesn't make that mistake. His brilliantly rendered portrayal of our nation's sixth president, in America's Founding Son, presents Adams as Constitutional sage, diplomat extraordinaire, political powerhouse, and anti-slavery activist. Every page crackles with fresh insights and telling anecdotes. Highly recommended!" --Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author, and professor of history at Rice University

About the Author

Best known as the bassist for The Avett Brothers, Bob Crawford brings decades of musicality to his historical work, infusing it with rhythm, urgency, and heart. He is the host of American History Hotline on iHeartRadio and cohost of The Road to Now on SiriusXM's POTUS channel, where he engages public figures and scholars in conversations that connect the past to the present. Crawford also serves as comanaging partner of the Press On Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing pediatric cancer research. Whether on stage, on air, or on the page, Crawford invites audiences to reckon with America's unfinished story--and to find courage in those who speak truth to power.