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Name History MATC Fall 2019 Prof. O’Reilly ABIGAIL ADAMS: Influence of Abigail Adams on the 2nd President of U.S Abigail Adams was born on November 23, 1744, in Massachusetts. Considered one of the most notable women of the revolutionary period. Her education, due to what was found in documents of the time was scarce. She was characterized for being a delicate and nervous woman, during her childhood and youth she was always ill frequently, a state for which her parents decided not to send her to study in prestigious schools of the time1. However, in the trajectory of her life she dedicated herself to studying literature in English, thus becoming a kind of writer with a concise, vigorous, and elegant style which could be seen in her letters. She spent her early years with people who had political knowledge. She got married to John Adams on October 25, 1764. He was a lawyer in Boston. Her marriage to John Adams changed her life completely since she later became a first lady.2 Abigail Adams was a woman of cheerful character and great sharpness. Interest lies on the letters she

1 Gelles, Edith B. Portia: The World of Abigail Adams. Indiana University Press, 1992

2 Adams, John. Familiar Letters of John Adams and his wife Abigail Adams: During the

Revolution. Hurd and Houghton, 1876.

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was sending to her husband. In those letters you can find revolutionary advice to the time in which he lived. She is best remembered for encouraging the president, to “Remember the Ladies…” The president putting effort on the Declaration of Independence, Abigail specifically instructed the president to treat ladies with generosity She was the first woman to stay in the White House. All the decisions made by the President were greatly influenced by her. She advised the president on matters of appointing ministers. John Adams knew the influence of his wife and she consulted her at many times. The support which she gave her husband did not go unnoticed since the President had always acknowledged her wife. The President named her, “best, dearest, worthiest, wisest friend in this World…” Abigail Adams letters are the best evidence to show how much influence she had on the John Adams. In 1776, she wrote to the president; “remember the ladies”. Since she was a great supporter of independence, she believed that freedom should be enjoyed by all people. Also, women should be independent of men. This is a feministic idea which paints the first lady, as a feminist. She believes in gender equality. There is no gender which is superior to the other. Hence, she encourages her husband to view women’s right equally with the men’s rights. She vividly tells her husband that she will not retaliate to take action if women’s rights are not put into consideration. Abigail Adams believed slave trade should be demolished. Britain was selling slaves to America but Abigail did not like this form of trade. She spearheaded for it to be abolished, and

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every mankind to experience freedom. Since she supported women rights, she did not shy away from showing it to her husband through her letters. She wrote in one of her letters that female education is being compromised and taken for granted. Female were not given priority in matters of education3. She advocated for female education. Females were neglected in education purposes because they are termed as “they belong to the kitchen”, and taking care of the little ones.4 But Abigail’s Adams did not encourage this idea because she believed also females should be given the right to education. Since she was the first lady, Abigail held and expressed clear viewpoints on the day's political topics and debates. Her critics named her as the “Mrs. President of the U.S.”,5 she did not stop offering advice to her husband even though at times the president did disagreed with her. For instance, Abigail Adams wanted the president to declare war on France because of the XYZ affair. The XYZ affair occurred in the 18th century but there was no declaration of war. Even though they disagreed on the XYZ affair, they agreed on the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. The Adams administration began preparing war and compensated fresh land tax for the concerns of an impending French attack. The Federalist Congress majority passed four new

3 Levin, Phyllis Lee. Abigail Adams: A Biography. Macmillan, 2001

4 Akers, Charles W., and Charles W. Akers. Abigail Adams, an American Woman.

Addison-Wesley, 2000.

5 Franklin, Slavery, et al. "The American Revolution." The nineteenth century is (2004).

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laws, in general they were called “the Alien and Sedition Acts”, in the fear of the many that had intruded the American society.6 When Adam risked his position as a president by defending the attack on the British soldiers on March 5, 1770, his wife also stood by his side. While John was an enthusiastic nationalist who supported freedom, he believed the soldiers had behaved poorly and been tricked into shooting by an unruly crowd. He wanted to prove to the world that the law should be followed. Most emotion-led Americans were angered by the defense of Adams for the despised "redcoats," but Abigail respected the position of her husband in the context of the gloomy time. John Adams was proven right and the nine men were cleared their charges of murder. Although the decision diffused this issue, even greater problems were bound for the colonies. The Adams’s' dream of a sovereign country was not expressed by anyone7 But Abigail 's dream of freedom was greater compared to the delegates viewpoints. Her thoughts were that, equal rights ought to be given to all people and both sexes. She tells her husband in one of the letters that she wishes the black people were treated the same way as the white people. She is one of the prominent people who fought for abolishment of slave trade. The African Americans were treated as not human beings because of their skin color. Abigail Adams wrote to her husband to influence him to free the Africans in America from their slave owners. But since her husband needed the Congress to pass the laws, they did not honor the rights of Black people or women 6

7 Gelles, Edith B. Portia: The World of Abigail Adams. Indiana University Press, 1992.

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Abigail Adams was lucky since her husband would always want to hear her thoughts on every issue. This encouraged Abigail to be outspoken even if the critics did not like her and label her names. John Adams wrote to his wife that he would want to see and hear her thoughts on sensitive issues which needed counselling. He did not ignore his wife but gave her the chance to speak her mind made john to be a remarkable President of the U.S.A. In 1818, Abigail Adams passed away.8 She is still a role model to all the First ladies. Her legacy is a valuable tool to illustrate the sacrifices of this individual to her family and country through public service. Her dedication to fight for feminism and the freedom of Black people will forever be remembered.

Bibliography ADAMS, ABIGAIL ADAMS TO JOHN. "Letters Between Abigail Adams and Her Husband John Adams." (1776).

8 Holton, Woody. Abigail Adams. Simon and Schuster, 2009.

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Adams, John. Familiar Letters of John Adams and his wife Abigail Adams: During the Revolution. Hurd and Houghton, 1876. Adams, John. The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams. Vol. 1. Institute of Early American History and Culture at Williamsburg, Va., 1959. Akers, Charles W., and Charles W. Akers. Abigail Adams, an American Woman. AddisonWesley, 2000. Anthony, Carl Sferrazza. First Ladies. Vol. 1. Harper Collins, 1990. Franklin, Slavery, et al. "The American Revolution." The nineteenth century is (2004). Gelles, Edith B. Portia: The World of Abigail Adams. Indiana University Press, 1992. Holton, Woody. Abigail Adams. Simon and Schuster, 2009. Levin, Phyllis Lee. Abigail Adams: A Biography. Macmillan, 2001 Withey, Lynne. Dearest friend: A life of Abigail Adams. Simon and Schuster, 2002. ....