Adams, Charles Francis

Charles Francis Adams II (1835–1915), descendent of the politically famous line of Adamses in Massachusetts, influenced issues of the economy, railroading, politics, the Civil War, and basic and higher education. His contributions to basic education foreshadowed ongoing issues such as professional development and lifelong learning.

Adams was born in Boston, son of the well-known public official Charles Francis Adams, the first. The second Charles Francis fought in the Civil War as an officer, seeing action at Antietam and Gettysburg. After the war, he turned his attention to railroading, writing several exposés on the problems of railroading, especially mismanagement of the Erie Railroad.

After serving on several railroad commissions and boards, including the Massachusetts board and the Union Pacific, he turned his attention to the public school system in the Adams hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts. His autobiography conveys his concern about the lack of public attention to the quality of public schools. He observed that the lack of attention to school management resulted in ineffective education yet carried a hefty price tag.

Adams suggested reforms for Quincy, which were widely adopted. The Quincy board hired a superintendent with experience in German Common Schools, giving him freedom to make reforms such as combining the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic with the concept of hands-on experiences. Adams believed that quality would result from improved practices, rather than just increased expenditures. He also delivered an influential address to the National Education Association in 1880, in which he called for increased professionalization of school administration, including the creation of formal preparation programs in elite colleges and universities.

Adams served higher education for 24 years as a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers, and he gave a series of lectures at Oxford University. Two years after publishing those lectures, he died and was buried in Mount Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy. His educational legacy was a blueprint for reform reflective of current practice.