On this episode of Our American Stories, born into the nation’s first political dynasty, John Quincy Adams spent his childhood in the shadow of revolution and his adulthood navigating diplomacy, Congress, and his presidency. But his defining stand came late in life, when he returned to the House of Representatives and refused to look away from slavery’s grip on the republic.

As the last living link to the Founding Fathers, Adams carried their language and ideals into the Supreme Court during the Amistad case, arguing for the freedom of enslaved Africans with unmatched moral force. James Traub, author of John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit, traces how the sixth president’s most enduring legacy lay in his final, unyielding defense of human dignity.

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