adams, was undoubtedly the most qualified to be president. he was a son of the second president and had studied at harvard college. he was fluent in dutch, french and german. in 1794 he was the u.s. minister to the netherlands. during his father's presidency he served as the minister to prussia. under president madison he helped negotiate the treaty of ghent in 1814 ending the war of 1812. as secretary of state he played a key role in foreign policy. adams helped to formulate the monroe doctrine. he was elected to the massachusetts legislature in 1802 and the next year was elected to the united states senate.