John Quincy Adams (1848–1922) was an American newspaper editor and publisher, educator, civil rights activist, and politician.

[8] Adams was an influential writer and a staunch Republican, and like other editors of his day, he expressed his opinions through his paper's editorial page.

The Appeal received funding directly from the Republican Party, another common practice for newspapers of the time.

[8] He transformed the paper into a national publication with newspaper offices in Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.[1] A young lawyer from Chicago who had recently moved to Saint Paul, Fredrick L. McGhee and Adams, worked together to challenge racial discrimination and civil rights issues in Minnesota.

[1] Adams supported Booker T. Washington at the conventions of the National Afro-American Council in St. Paul (1902), and Louisville (1903).