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When I think about the Revolutionary War, my first thought is of the brave men who

fought on the battleground for freedom. I never considered the impact in that time women had.

There were many women who helped the cause and shaped the ideas for us in the future. One of

these women was Abigail Adams.

Abigail Smith was born on November 22, 1744, in Weymouth, Massachusetts to William

and Elizabeth Smith. According to the book, Abigail Adams by Woody Holton, her father,

William Smith, was the longest serving minister at the Weymouth church. Her mother, Elizabeth,

was from a prominent Massachusetts Bay Colony family. Abigails grandfather, John Quincy,

was speaker in the provincial House of Representatives. Abigail spent much time with her

grandparents growing up. She had a close bond with her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth

Norton Quincy. Her grandmother was outgoing, youthful at heart. She brushed off Abigails

wild streak stating, wild colts make the best horses. (Holton 2,3)

Abigail met John Adams in 1759. He, at 24 years old, was almost a decade older than

Abigail, not quite 15 years old. As Joseph J. Ellis writes, initially they were not impressed with

one another (Ellis 3). Soon, however, that changed. John and Abigail developed a friendship,

fondness, and physical attraction to each other. They would write letters to one another

frequently. Over the course of their relationship, they wrote over 1,200 letters to each other

(Ellis 7). They were married on October 25, 1764.

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John graduated from Harvard in 1755. Abigail, not having a formal education due to

early childhood sickness, could hold her own when it came to writing. Her husband paid her a

great compliment by saying, If I could write as well as you, it would be so, but, upon my word,

I cannot (Ellis 31). She was not timid about expressing her opinions and observations in society.

For example, she thought of slavery as evil and had strong opinion on politics and womens

rights as well.

In the early part of their marriage, while John was part of the Continental Congress and

a diplomat in Europe, they were apart for nearly 5 years. During the Revolutionary War, she kept

him abreast of what was happening on the home front. She tended to the farm and watched over

their 6 children; the surviving children were Abigail, John Quincy, Charles, and Thomas.

She was passionate about the rights of women in their days. Women were treated like

second class citizens by their husbands. It is during this time when her husband was in congress

that she penned the infamous letter, Remember the Ladies. In March of 1776, she said in her

letter addressing John and other members of Congress,

And by the way 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

and favorable to them than your ancestors. (Holton 99).

It was this impassioned plea that marks her as a founder the womens right movement. She also

made her own fortune, which was unheard of for a woman to have a nest egg all their own.

Woody Holton writes that she would send her mother-in-law a quarterly cash allowance to do

with as she wished (Holton 210).

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In her book, Ladies of Liberty, Cokie Roberts wrote that when Abigail became First

Lady, she was Johns closest advisor. She always kept him updated on the political front. He

trusted her wholeheartedly and always valued her opinion (Roberts 6). Roberts also notes that

Abigail was a vocal critic of Thomas Jefferson (Roberts 26).

Author Ann Shen describes Abigail Adams as a lot of things: First Lady of the United

States, feminist, opponent of slavery, trusted advisor, loving supporting wife, devoted mother

(Shen 39). One thing is for sure, she was a woman ahead of the time and a role model for

todays women to aspire to.

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Works Cited

Ellis, Joseph. "First Family." Ellis, Joseph. Abigail and John Adams. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf/Random House, Inc., 2010. 299. Book.
Holton, Woody. "Abigail Adams." Holton, Woody. Abigail Adams. New York: Free
Press, 2009. 483. Book.
Roberts, Cokie. "Ladies of Liberty." Roberts, Cokie. The Women Who Shaped Our
Nation. New York: Harper Collins, 2008. 481. Book.
Shen, Ann. "Bad Girls Throughout History." 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed
the World. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, LLC, 2016. 222. Book.