President John Adams appointed his son John Quincy to become minister of Prussia in 1797. John Quincy Adams expressed reluctance to his father about accepting the position because he feared it would be derided as a nepotistic appointment. However, his father sternly told him that he was the best person for the job. At the end of his presidency, John Adams terminated John Quincy’s diplomatic career, fearing that incoming President Thomas Jefferson might dismiss his son and cause him some humiliation.