“The Native American Negro”: When John Quincy Adams Shattered the Southern Lie
- Ishmael Bey
- Jul 21
- 10 min read
“What is the temper of feeling between the component parts of your own Southern population... what between them all and the Native American Negro of African origin, whom they are holding in cruel bondage?”
— John Quincy Adams, U.S. House of Representatives, May 25, 1836
“ What is the temper of feeling between the component parts of your own Southern population, between your Anglo-Saxon, Norman French, and Moorish Spanish inhabitants of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri? "
“ What is the temper of feeling between the component parts of your own Southern population, between your Anglo-Saxon, Norman French, and Moorish Spanish inhabitants of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri? between them all and the Indian savage, the original possessor of the land from which you are I scourging him already back to the foot of the Rocky Mountains! What between them all and the Native American negro of African origin, whom they are holding in cruel bondage? ” ~
President John Quincy Adams House of Representatives: On the State of the Nation Delivered May 25th 1836
In a single sentence poetic, piercing, and prophetic former President and then-Congressman John Quincy Adams did what few men of his time dared: he exposed the racial contradictions and the Southern hypocrisy that formed the backbone of American expansion and slavery.
While many today see Adams as a stoic figure in early American politics, this 1836 speech reveals another side, a moral firebrand willing to cut through the euphemisms of empire, slavery, and settler nationalism. And more than that, he made an explicit connection that is often erased: the link between enslaved Africans, Indigenous land theft, and the mixed-race people who bore the weight of both legacies.
A Southern Society Built on Ethnic Complexity and Denial
Adams begins by surveying the multi-ethnic foundation of the Deep South:
“...between your Anglo-Saxon, Norman French, and Moorish Spanish inhabitants of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri...”
This was no accidental list.
The Anglo-Saxons were the English-descended Protestant ruling class.
The Norman French referred to the French Creole elites of Louisiana, often Catholic, often slave owning, and culturally distinct.
The Moorish Spanish perhaps most provocatively pointed to Spanish-descended groups with possible African or Muslim ancestry, a not-so-subtle reminder of the complex bloodlines running through Gulf Coast society.
This was Adams telling the South: You aren’t racially pure. You’re a volatile mix, pretending to be one thing while built on many.
Indian Removal & the Hypocrisy of “Civilization”
He then turned his attention to the brutal dispossession of Native people:
“...the Indian savage, the original possessor of the land from which you are scourging him, already back to the foot of the Rocky Mountains!”
This wasn’t just criticism, it was outrage. He called out the Trail of Tears, already underway, not as policy but as a crime against humanity. Adams saw what was happening: the U.S. government was removing entire nations Muscogee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Seminole not because they were “uncivilized,” but because they sat on land that white settlers wanted.
And what’s worse? Many of these “Indians” had already adopted European customs, language, and even slavery to appease white power structures and it still wasn’t enough.
The “Native American Negro” A Forgotten Identity
Then came the line that has been sanitized and lost to time:
“What between them all and the Native American Negro of African origin, whom they are holding in cruel bondage?”
Here Adams drops a truth bomb that historians today still struggle to confront.
Who is this “Native American Negro of African origin”?
Was he speaking of enslaved Africans born in America, and therefore “native”?
Or did he mean Black people with Native ancestry, misclassified and enslaved as simply “Negro”?
Could he have been referencing the Black Indians of Louisiana and the Southeast, whose families had lived on the land for centuries, some free, some enslaved, and all marginalized?
Most likely, Adams meant all of the above. Because the system didn’t care about accuracy. It cared about control.
“What is the temper of feeling between the component parts of your own Southern population... what between them all and the Native American Negro of African origin, whom they are holding in cruel bondage?” — John Quincy Adams, U.S. House of Representatives, May 25, 1836
That quote is from a powerful moment in John Quincy Adams’ speech delivered on May 25, 1836, during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives. In it, Adams confronted the moral contradictions of American society—particularly the hypocrisy of Southern states that claimed unity while perpetuating the enslavement of Moors and the displacement of Native peoples.
The speech was part of a broader debate over appropriations for victims of Indigenous American conflicts in Georgia and Alabama. Adams supported the aid but condemned the cruel and dishonest treatment of Indigenous communities by those same states2. He also used the occasion to challenge the gag rule, which suppressed anti-slavery petitions in Congress, asking pointedly, “Am I gagged or am I not?”.
His rhetorical question about the “temper of feeling” wasn’t just philosophical—it was a direct indictment of the fractured and unjust social order in the South. He was calling out the deep divisions and moral failures of a society built on bondage and dispossession.
If you’re exploring themes of justice, identity, or historical reckoning, Adams’ words offer a compelling lens. Want to dig deeper into how this speech influenced abolitionist movements or how it might echo in your own storytelling?
Speech of John Quincy Adams on the joint resolutions for distributing rations to the distressed fugitives from Indian hostilities in the states of Alabama and Georgia, 1836 May 25
“Am I gagged or am I not?”
Representative John Quincy Adams responding to the gag rule in the House of Representatives, May 25, 1836
John Quincy Adams
Misclassification Was Not a Mistake It Was a Method
Adams’ words expose a strategy we now know all too well: erase identity to justify domination.
Call the Indian a “savage” so you can take his land.
Call the Black Indigenous man a “Negro” so you can place him in chains.
Ignore the French, Spanish, and Moorish bloodlines running through Southern society — unless it serves the cause of white supremacy.
And above all, pretend these groups are separate, so no one sees the interwoven legacy of colonialism and resistance.
That’s why Adams’ phrase “Native American Negro of African origin” still shakes the foundation of American racial categories. It’s a direct challenge to the neat boxes of Black, White, Native, and “Other.”
A Warning Still Unheeded
John Quincy Adams wasn’t just making a rhetorical point. He was issuing a warning to America:
That a society built on lies about race, history, and land cannot stand forever. That you cannot enslave one group, remove another, and silence the rest without one day facing the truth. And that freedom, if it is to mean anything, must start by acknowledging those who were robbed of it — and robbed of their names, nations, and identities.
Sources:
John Quincy Adams, Speech before the U.S. House of Representatives, May 25, 1836, Congressional Globe
David Waldstreicher, John Quincy Adams and the Politics of Slavery
Claudio Saunt, Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory
John Quincy Adams: The Statesman Who Turned Abolitionist Warrior
After his presidency (1825–1829), John Quincy Adams reentered public life as a U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts. Unlike many of his contemporaries who faded from public influence, Adams became more radical in his elder years particularly on the issue of slavery.
He used the House floor to relentlessly attack slavery, the gag rule, Indian removal, and racial injustice and his voice reached into the courts and into some of the most high-profile slavery cases of the 19th century.
Adams and the Amistad Case (1841)
What Happened:
In 1839, 53 Mende Africans from present-day Sierra Leone were kidnapped and sold into the transatlantic slave trade.
While being transported on the Spanish ship La Amistad, they revolted, killing the captain and attempting to sail back to Africa.
The ship was intercepted by the U.S. Navy near Long Island, and the Africans were imprisoned and charged with murder and piracy.
Adams’ Role:
Adams joined the legal defense of the Africans at the request of abolitionists, including Lewis Tappan.
Though in his 70s, Adams argued passionately before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1841, delivering a 4-hour argument defending the Africans’ right to freedom based on natural law, U.S. law, and international treaties.
He exposed the contradiction of a country that declared “All men are created equal” while maintaining slavery.
Impact:
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Mende captives.
Adams’ victory was a major blow to pro-slavery forces and a symbolic triumph for the abolitionist movement.
The case also set a legal precedent for the right of enslaved people to resist unlawful captivity.
“The moment you come to the Declaration of Independence, that every man has a right to life and liberty, an inalienable right, this case is decided.” — John Quincy Adams in Amistad argument
Adams’ Core Anti-Slavery Principles
Across both cases, and especially in Amistad, Adams’ anti-slavery views were grounded in:
Natural rights philosophy: All men are born free and equal.
Biblical and moral law: Slavery contradicted divine justice.
Constitutional contradictions: He saw the U.S. Constitution as a battleground for liberty, even while compromised by pro-slavery forces.
A global view of justice: Adams saw the slavery question not just as a domestic issue, but as a violation of international and natural law.
Legacy for Black and Indigenous Descendants
John Quincy Adams:
Was one of the first presidents to publicly denounce slavery while still in office.
Mentored younger abolitionists, including many who later supported the Underground Railroad.
Left a legacy of legal resistance, moral clarity, and documentation that modern researchers can lean on — especially those tracing Black-Indigenous history and racial misclassification in the legal system.
Suggested Reading & Sources:
David Waldstreicher, Amistad: The Story of a Slave Ship
Henry Louis Gates Jr., Prince Among Slaves
William Lee Miller, Arguing About Slavery: John Quincy Adams and the Great Battle in the United States Congress
John Quincy Adams, Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, Comprising Portions of His Diary from 1795 to 1848
John Quincy Adams played a critical and influential role in several slavery-related cases and legislative battles, beyond the Amistad case. While not always the attorney of record, Adams used his legal mind, congressional position, and former presidency to fight slavery through multiple avenues — especially in freedom petitions, gag rule battles, and constitutional defenses of civil liberties for Black and Indigenous people.
Here are several notable cases and legal-political fights where Adams was either directly involved or powerfully influential:
⚖️ 1. The Gag Rule Battles (1836–1844)
Not a court case, but a legal-political war over free speech and slavery petitions.
Context:
In 1836, Congress instituted the “Gag Rule” to automatically table (silence) any petition related to slavery mainly targeting the thousands of anti-slavery petitions being submitted by Northern abolitionists.
Adams’ Role:
Adams vigorously fought this rule for nearly a decade.
He read names of enslaved petitioners into the record, including freed people and women, daring the House to silence him.
He framed it as not just an anti-slavery issue, but a constitutional crisis over the First Amendment.
Significance:
Adams eventually got the Gag Rule repealed in 1844.
This victory re-opened the door for Congress to debate slavery and allowed enslaved people to petition for their freedom more publicly.
⚖️ 2. The Dorr Rebellion / Rhode Island Civil Rights Cases (1841–1842)
(Indirect influence)
Context:
The Dorr Rebellion was a civil uprising in Rhode Island over voting rights, where property requirements barred free Black men from voting.
Adams’ Influence:
Adams used this moment to advocate for universal suffrage including Black men’s rights and criticized state constitutions that denied voting based on race.
He defended the right of Black Americans to participate fully in civil society, laying groundwork for future legal arguments in civil rights and voting equality.
⚖️ 3. Mutual Protection & Legal Aid for Freedom Seekers
(Through influence, funding, and strategy)
Context:
While Adams wasn’t the lawyer in every case, he was a behind-the-scenes strategist and legal consultant to abolitionist groups like:
The American Anti-Slavery Society
The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society
The Tappan brothers, who led legal funds for enslaved people
Types of Cases He Aided:
Freedom suits by enslaved people claiming illegal bondage
Habeas corpus petitions for kidnapped free Blacks
Rescue trials, such as when abolitionists were charged for helping enslaved people escape
Adams also helped legitimize and protect lawyers like Theodore Sedgwick and Samuel Sewall, who represented mixed-race individuals and Native-descended slaves in court.
⚖️ 4. United States v. The Schooner Armistad (1841)
This case is so central it deserves repetition.
Adams:
Joined the case late, after lower court victories
Argued before the Supreme Court for 4+ hours
Framed the Africans' fight as a universal struggle for liberty, comparing them to America’s Founding Fathers
Used natural law, international law, the Declaration of Independence, and biblical references to destroy the legal foundation of slavery
⚖️ 5. Influence on the Creole Case (1841)
(Indirect but ideologically aligned)
Context:
In 1841, enslaved Africans aboard the American ship Creole rebelled and sailed to the Bahamas (a British territory), where slavery was illegal.
British officials granted them freedom.
This outraged American slaveholders and led to diplomatic tension between the U.S. and Britain.
Adams’ Influence:
Though not a litigator in this case, Adams defended the Creole rebels' actions publicly and in Congress.
He argued they had every moral and legal right to resist bondage and that the U.S. could not claim them as property in a land where slavery was outlawed.
⚖️ 6. Support for Native and Black-Indian Petitioners
(Examples include those affected by Indian Removal and mixed-race identity misclassification)
Context:
Adams repeatedly invoked Native American land rights, Black-Native identities, and enslavement of Indigenous-descended peoples in his speeches.
Cases or causes he influenced:
He questioned the legality of enslaving Seminole and Creek descendants in Florida and Alabama.
He cited Black-Indigenous resistance to highlight the racial hypocrisy of the South.
While not tied to a single court case, Adams’ public acknowledgment of “Native American Negroes” pressured legal and moral reflection on mixed-race misclassification and bonded status.
Why Adams Matters to the Legacy of Freedom Cases
He set legal precedents and moral frameworks used later in:
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) — even though the outcome was the opposite of Adams’ vision, his constitutional reasoning became key in the rebuttals and dissent.
Civil War Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) — Adams’ belief that slavery was a moral cancer helped shape the language of Reconstruction.
Modern Indigenous and Black Identity legal fights — Adams’ early framing of people as both “Native American” and “Negro” calls out forced racial categorization, a fight that continues to this day.
Sources:
Arguing About Slavery by William Lee Miller
The Amistad Rebellion by Marcus Rediker
The Slaves’ Cause by Manisha Sinha
Diary and Memoirs of John Quincy Adams (primary source)
The Anti-Slavery Constitutionalism of John Quincy Adams by Joseph R. Fornieri
FIRST TRIBE
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