Study Questions Handout:
Abigail Adams: "Remember the Ladies"
Letter to John Adams (1776)
Respond to the following questions after reading the letter "Remember the Ladies," sent by Abigail Adams to
her husband, John Adams, in the spring of 1776 as the colonies approached independence.
1. Abigail's ringing defense of women, extending from the sentence, “I long to
hear that you have declared an independency,” to the letter's end, has
sometimes been misunderstood. What did she actually mean in these two
paragraphs?
2. Why is Abigail reporting on the state of affairs in Boston, Massachusetts?
Respond to this question by looking for evidence of the Intolerable Acts in her
letter.
3. Why do you suppose Abigail complains in the first paragraph about the lack
of war news in John Adams's letters to her?
4. Assume that John listened to Abigail and draft an additional paragraph for the
Declaration of Independence that addresses her concerns.
5. Conduct research to find John Adams's response to this letter from his wife.
Summarize his response in a paragraph or two.
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