Chapter 7 Treason (1860-1861) Summary

After ten years, Washington, D.C. still feels the same; it is still a rough and unfinished place. The sense of unity, of faith in the Union, is not strong, and much North/South hostility abounds. Adams finds that everyone seems ignorant, especially the cotton planters, who understand least of all what the result of their actions might be. Adams considers it a "lesson in the working of excess power in inadequate hands" and concludes that "he could learn nothing but cross-purpose" in Washington. He searches for someone who can serve as a teacher: only his old friends Sumner and Seward seem worthwhile. Adams also meets John Hay for the first time, a young man serving as a private secretary. They become fast friends; as Adams says, "friends are born, not made."

Adams does a lot of work, in...