Samantha Cassell

Dr. Alec Thompson

History 151
26 October 2017

Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams was most known for her marriage to John Adams; however, she was

much more than that. She was a huge influence in the American Revolution, contributing many

new ideas and intellectual thoughts towards womens rights and other political matters. Her

contributions during this time were seen as unordinary and often disregarded. Even though some

felt her ideas to be insignificant, President John Adams still confided in her with most political

questions and concerns during his time in office. This is shown through, more than 1,100

letters, they exchanged during their lifespan (Miller).

While she is seen as the first, First Lady to hold political power she often found herself

in the crossfire of opposing views. Her gender left her exposed to scrutiny and held very little

room for privacy. One well-known exposure Adams faced would be the release of her private

letters to her husband. She is quoted saying, I could not believe that any gentleman would have

so little delicacy or so small a sense of propriety as to have written a vague opinion and that of a

lady, to be read in a public assembly as an authority. That man must have lost his sense.... (First

Lady Biography). Once her husband lost the reelection she made it known that she was pleased

to no longer have to live under such inspection.

During her time as First Lady, Adams made her opinions on womens rights and slavery

very known. Years after President Adams office, their letters were released exposing Abigail

Adams most known quote, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and

favorable to them than your ancestors (Abigail Adams urges husband to remember the

1
ladies). Her views held room for debate among many well-known men in office. Adams

argument was that women needed knowledge to influence the youth of the nation. Without

knowledge the young men of the present would have a hard time running the government of the

future. Women were entrusted in raising the sons and daughters of the forthcoming nation,

encouraging the importance and influence of knowledge would be key to their future success. If

women held no knowledge, then what would they arm their children with?

Another issue Adams felt dear to her heart would be the emancipation of slavery. The

views she held were shared among few and threatened those who opposed the idea, hence why

they didnt flourish. In one of their many letters, Adams expressed to her husband that slavery

was a sin, an unimaginable evil, and that she wished there was not a slave within the province

(Acferraro). Her disbelief towards the necessity to hold another person captive proved to be

infamous and beyond her time. Unfortunately, Abigail Adams passed away years before she

could ever witness her philosophies come to life.

During this era a lady was not to be remembered, but rather she was to maintain the

household and nothing more. Intelligence was not considered an attractive trait for a woman,

rather a nuisance and insignificant. Abigail Adams opened the door to a new view towards

women, showing that knowledge for anyone would be an improvement to any society. She may

not have seen the war on slavery end, but she certainly helped bring the issue to the forefront.

Through her writings as well as her public platform she was able to shed light on these views

and many others while also helping her husband during his time in office. She will be

remembered as a woman with courage and exceptional knowledge, even though she herself had

little education.

2
 Works Cited

Abigail Adams urges husband to remember the ladies. History.com, A&E Television
Networks, www.history.com/this-day-history/abigail-adams-urges-husband-to-
remember-the-ladies.

This articles main topic is about Abigail Adams view towards the importance of womens
education. It also includes her views toward equal gender rights. The article briefly touches on
their shared respect for one another as well as their children, calling them the first power
couple.

Acferraro. UPDATED: Abigail Adams: Slave Owner or Not? The Founders & Slavery, 21
Apr. 2015, foundersandslavery.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/Abigail-adams-slave-owner-
or-not/.

This article exemplifies practicing what you preach. Both John Adams, and Abigail Adams had
strong views towards slavery and did not have any slaves of their own. They were among the
few that not only believed slavery was wrong, but also did not have slaves to themselves. It was
not uncommon for people of power to disagree with slavery, yet still own them.

Miller, Elizabeth Bissell. Abigail Adams. George Washingtons Mount Vernon,

www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/abigail-adams/.

This overview of Abigail Adams life is written to express her most valued beliefs while also
giving a detailed biography of her life events. This article gives detail to her personal life,
including her parents and family life. Although the articles main focus is Abigail Adams, it also
goes into short detail of John Adams as well as others she encountered.

First Lady Biography: Abigail Adams. Abigail Adams Biography :: National First Ladies
Library, www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=2.

This is exactly what it states, a biography. It allows the reader to see a time line of Abigail
Adams life, including dates of important life events as well as other significant dates. This
biography includes several pictures, as well as descriptive titles to each topic within the article.