Page 1, Letter from George Washington to John Adams, 20 February 1797

In this letter, George Washington, the outgoing president, writes to John Adams, the incoming president, thanking him for "giving me the perusal of the enclosed," which was a letter Adams recently received from his son John Quincy, written from his diplomatic post in the Netherlands. Washington goes on to note the "caution" that John Quincy "hinted at in the letter": the concern that he should not accept a diplomatic post from President Adams lest it be seen as nepotism. Washington states that John Quincy is an excellent diplomat in his own right, and that John Adams should not let a family connection deter him from appointing his son to a diplomatic post when the elder Adams becomes president.