“You come into life with advantages which will disgrace you if your success is mediocre. And if you do not rise to the head not only of your own profession, but of your country, it will be owing to your own laziness, slovenliness and obstinacy.“You come into life with advantages which will disgrace you if your success is mediocre. And if you do not rise to the head not only of your own profession, but of your country, it will be owing to your own laziness, slovenliness and obstinacy.’’

— Then Vice President (and the next President) John Adams (1735-1826) to his son John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), then a teenager, in 1794. John Quincy Adams managed to become secretary of state, president and congressman, in which job he led the opposition to slavery. Both Adamses are buried at the United First Parish Church, in Quincy, Mass.