Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Essay #2
Trombley1
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
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
1
History 151
Essay #2
Trombley2
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
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
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
2
History 151
Essay #2
Trombley3
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
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
3
History 151
Essay #2
Trombley4
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.