Abigail Adams, born on November 11, 1744, in Weymouth, Massachusetts, was the wife and closest advisor the John Quincy Adams, our nation’s second president. She was the second child born to Elizabeth Smith and Reverend William Smith, the Pastor of Weymouth's North Parish congregational Church as well as one of the best educated and most prosperous citizens of the community. Abigail herself was taught to respect God and help others in any way that she could, as her father was a religious man. Her mother spent much of her time visiting the sick and bringing food, clothing, and firewood to needy families; Abigail joined her mother in tending to the poor and sick. Like many other women of her time, Abigail had no formal education, but such limitations did not satisfy her, and she availed herself of the family’s library to master subjects that most women never considered. She later wrote that her sister’s husband, Richard Cranch, was a tutor who put “proper Bookes into my hands, who taught me to love the poets and to distinguish their Merrits.” When Abigail’s mother worried about her bookish nature and strong opinions, Adams’ grandmother assured her that “wild colts make the best horses.”
As third cousins, Abigail and John had known each other since they were children, and in 1764, they married and moved to Adam’ farm in Braintree, south of Boston, and had three sons and two daughters. As her husband began to increasingly travel as a lawyer, a political revolutionary, and a diplomat, Abigail managed their farm and business affairs while raising their children. Although married women at this time often had limited property rights, she began to refer to the property a hers.
From the onset of their courtship, the couple began an extensive correspondence that is often used as insight into the social and political climate of the Revolutionary and Early National periods in American history. In 1776, as her husband participated in the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Adams wrote her most famous letter, telling the Founding Father to “remember the Ladies.” She added, “Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember that all men would be tyrants if they could.”
Although she was not exactly the feminist that some historians have depicted her to be, Adams was deeply concerned with greater protection for women under the new laws, as well as access to formal education. She allied with Judith Sargent Murray’s efforts to expand women’s education, because Adams also saw mothers as having a vital role in preparing sons to be virtuous citizens and leaders in the new republic.
The Adams became the first First Family to occupy the White House in Washington, DC in 1800. When Adams lost his re-election bid in 1801, the couple retreated to Massachusetts, where Abigail maintained her correspondence with political leaders (including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Dolley Madison). She died of typhoid fever on October 28, 1818, and is buried beside her husband in a crypt located in the United First Parish Church in Quincy, Massachusetts. Her last words were, “Do not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend, I am ready to go. And John, it will not be long.”
Elise - it was interesting that you thought of discussing Abigail Adams and show her background and "bookish" nature. She remains a celebrated author in American literature and as a front runner for American women, even today. She herself was able to have influence because of her family status. Regardless of this though, she used it to leverage her own feminist power but perhaps not the same degree that we think. When you gave the direct quote from Abigail Adam's grandmother, that was most thought provoking. Women wanted representation, they weren't sitting idle and the fact that Abigail's grandmother encouraged her "unladylike" disposition shows how important an education and encouragement is (similar to Phillis Wheatley who used her education for the anti slave movement).
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