But his father's business was growing so much that he needed additional help. John Quincy took the job and managed the business while his father was away, which was often due to his role as vice president under George Washington. This allowed him to focus less on his law career, and more on writing his own political ideas. .
President George Washington sought after someone to represent the American interests in Holland. Adams had been there and spoke many European languages. At the age of twenty-seven, he was appointed Minister Resident to the Hague, the capital of Holland. During his stay in the Netherlands, he became engaged to Louisa Catherine Johnson, the daughter of the American minister to Britain. With Adams traveling often, the wedding was delayed time and time again. Adams was reassigned as the U.S. Minister to Berlin when his father was elected president. John Quincy and Louisa were married on July 26, 1797. .
Adams would return to Massachusetts to resume his political career. He was a member of the governing body of the state, the General Court. In 1803, he was elected senator, representing the Federalist Party. After losing his bid for re-election to the Senate, he joined the Republican Party, and became a professor at Harvard. After Thomas Jefferson's two terms as president, James Madison took over and sent Adams to Russia, and later to London. He continued to work his way up when James Monroe became president and appointed John Quincy as secretary of state. He helped to write the Monroe Doctrine, and arranged for the United States to acquire Florida from Spain. .
In the election of 1824, the Republicans had four strong candidates, including Adams, against the famous general of the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson. Jackson won the popular vote, but no one won the majority of electoral votes. It was up to the House of Representatives to choose the president from among the top three contenders, and Henry Clay used his influence in the house to elect John Quincy Adams as the sixth president of the United States.