American Biography – Abigail Adams (1744 – 1818)
Abigail was born in Weymouth,
Massachusetts, the daughter of a minister. Her
mother’s family was wealthy and distinguished.
She never attended school as a child
because in her own words, “I was always sick”.
However, she was intelligent and open-minded.
She read widely. Later in life, she expressed her
views on events in hundreds of long letters that
she wrote to her husband, John Adams, who
was often absent from home on political matters.
She also carried on a lengthy correspondence
with Thomas Jefferson, who admired her
intellectual abilities.
When she was 17, she met and fell in love
with John Adams, then a 26 year old struggling
lawyer. They wanted to marry, but her parents
opposed the match. John’s family were farmers
and Abigail’s parents considered him to be
unworthy of their daughter. However, Abigail
was determined. Two years later, in 1764 they
were married. They established their home on a
farm in Baintree, Massachusetts. Abigail ran
the farm and oversaw the education of their four
children. Meanwhile, John participated in the
growing political crisis between the colonies and the Mother Country. Gradually, he
became one of the leaders of the revolutionary movement.
Early in their marriage, John had learned to listen to Abigail’s advice on political
issues. However, her views were too advanced for the period, and John was limited by
the spirit and times in his ability to put her ideas into legislation.
Even before the Declaration of Independence appeared, Abigail advised her
husband: “…in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to
make, I desire you would remember the ladies, and be more generous to them than
your ancestors. Do no put such unlimited power in the hands of husbands.
Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention are
not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold
ourselves to obey the laws in which we have no voice of representation.”
The idea of any type of equality between the genders was simply unthought-of of
during that time. Despite the political changes that the Declaration of Independence
reflected, society was still under domination by males. Abigail’s views would not
become a reality for another 144 years.
After Independence had been won, John was sent to France by the new American
government. Abigail joined him. In the next year, 1785, he was appointed the
ambassador to the English Court. In 1789, John was elected Vice-President for
George Washington. While he was away, Abigail continued to manage the family
farm. After a second term as Vice President, John was elected President in 1796.
Abigail and her husband were the first presidential family to live in the White
House (at that time, and until the War of 1812, it was called the Presidential
Palace). It was not yet completed and was very uncomfortable and drafty. The walls
of the house were still so wet that seven cords of wood had to burned to dry them.
Abigail hung her laundry to dry in “the great unfinished audience room”.
John’s term as President was plagued by internal and external political crises. All
the while, John turned to Abigail for advice. In fact, John was publicly criticized for
listening so much to his wife’s advice. His political enemies labeled Abigail Mrs.
President.
After John’s defeat for re-election in 1800, Abigail and John returned to their
home in Massachusetts. They watched with parental pride as their younger son, John
Quincy Adams, rose in prominence. In 1816, John Quincy Adams was named
Secretary of State by President James Monroe. Abigail died two years later, six
years before John Quincy was elected president.
Abigail represented the role played by many women during that period. Custom
and tradition prevented them from assuming a prominent part in the Revolution and its
aftermath. Nevertheless, they did not allow themselves to be silent. As a member of
the upper class in colonial and then republican society, they were highly visible, but
still restrained in the actions they took.
Question for Thought:
Was “Mrs. President” an appropriate label for Abigail Adams? Why or Why
Not?