ABIGAIL ADAMS

Abigail Adams

Birth: 1744 – Death: 1818


Born In: Massachusetts, United States of America
Died In: Massachusetts, United States of America
Achievements: Humanities
Worked In: Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania
Countries Worked In: United States of America

Wife of one president and mother of another, Abigail Adams was more than a family helpmate. Insightful, witty, and intensely concerned with politics, she shared and shaped her husband John’s political thought and career.

Because of his service to the nation in war and diplomacy, they spent more than half their married life apart, but they communicated closely. In early 1776 she was caring for their four young children alone, but she wrote him to urge daring and boldness, quoting Shakespeare:

“There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune.” In her famous “Remember the Ladies” letter, Abigail Adams half jestingly proposed that women should claim their share of liberty. She objected specifically to the legal codes under which married women could not own property. But she was ahead of her time; later generations of women would have to struggle to change such laws.

“I never wanted your advice and assistance more in my life,” John Adams wrote to her earnestly after his election as the second president of the United States. Ironically, the reinforcement he gained from Abigail may have prevented him from developing the willingness to compromise. His unbending devotion to principle helped make him a one-term president.