Abigail Adams

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Abigail Adams, painting by Gilbert Stuart , ca.1812

Abigail Smith Adams (born November 11, 1744 in Weymouth , Province of Massachusetts Bay , British Colony , now the United States , † October 28, 1818 in Quincy , Massachusetts ) was the wife of the second US President John Adams and is therefore considered the second US -american first lady , although this term was coined after her death. She was the mother of the sixth US President John Quincy Adams . During her lifetime she was referred to as "Lady Adams". As an advisor to her husband, she had a great influence on politics and was very committed to women's rights.

Life

Family and youth

Through her mother, Elizabeth Quincy (1721-1775), Abigail Adams was descended from the Quincys, a respected family of the colony of Massachusetts. Elizabeth married the Reverend William Smith (1706–1783) in 1740, whose ancestors had emigrated to Massachusetts from Dartmouth , England. Abigail Adams was the second child of her parents.

Abigail was raised a congregationalist . Because of her poor health, she never went to school and was taught reading and writing at home. At a young age, under pressure from her father, she read a great deal, using his extensive library. Abigail developed a special interest in philosophy , the works of Shakespeare and politics , among other things .

Marriage to John Adams

A room in the home of John and Abigail Adams in Quincy, 1961

In 1764 Abigail Smith married the lawyer John Adams (1735-1826); they were married by their father, William Smith. The couple spent their early years at John's birthplace in Braintree, Massachusetts, renamed Quincy in 1792. Later, as John's legal practice grew, they moved to Boston . In 1787 they bought the farm "Peacefield".

Within eight years she gave birth to five children: Abigail Amelia (1765–1813), later US President John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), Susanna (1768–1770), Charles (1770–1800) and Thomas Boylston Adams (1772 -1832).

Influence on politics

Abigail Adams is famous for the letters she wrote to her husband, who traveled a lot, first as a circuit judge in Massachusetts and later as a participant in the 1774 Continental Congress in Philadelphia . As a delegate of the state of Massachusetts he was involved in the drafting of the US constitution by the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 . The frequent separations of the spouses gave rise to extensive correspondence . She is viewed by many as an invaluable home front eyewitness to the American Revolutionary War as well as an excellent source of political commentary. In addition to the members of her family, she also corresponded with Mercy Otis Warren and Thomas Jefferson .

John Adams often sought advice from his wife; their correspondence is full of intellectual discussions about government and politics. Abigail Adams also particularly represented the rights of women:

“Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation. "

“Don't forget that all men would be tyrants if they could. If the ladies are not given special care and attention, we are determined to stir up a rebellion and will not feel bound by any laws on which we have no say and are not represented. "

- Abigail Adams : From a letter to John Adams dated March 31, 1776

In 1788 Abigail Adams and her husband returned to the Peacefield House , now known as the "Old House", which they had expanded and remodeled with great energy. Today, like the house where John Adams was born, it is open to the public as part of the Adams National Historical Park .

As the wife of the first Vice President of the United States , Abigail Adams became a good friend of Martha Washington and helped with official appearances, drawing on her experience at the English court and in French society. After 1791, her health deteriorated and she had to reduce her activities.

As first lady and after

Abigail Adams was First Lady from March 4, 1797 to March 4, 1801. She continued her formal appearances and became the first hostess in the still unfinished White House , which she entered for the first time in November 1800.

Abigail Adams initially had a tense relationship with her daughter-in-law Louisa Catherine Johnson , who her son John Quincy met in London in 1794 and married in 1797, and who first set foot on American soil in 1801.

Adams was an active member of the First Parish Church in Quincy, which in 1753 formally converted from the Congregational ( Reformed ) to the Unitarian creed. In a letter to her son John Quincy Adams from 1816, she underscored her Unitarian anti-Trinitarian positions. In it she wrote that no one could convince her that three is one and one is three .

John and Abigail Adams retired to Quincy in 1801. Abigail Adams died of typhoid in 1818 and is buried next to her husband in the First Unitarian Church in Quincy.

Afterlife

During her lifetime, Abigail Adams refused to publish letters she had written. It was not until 1848 that one of her grandchildren arranged for a letter to appear, which was the first book written by a first lady.

On June 19, 2007, the United States Mint issued a commemorative coin series of the wives ("First Spouses") of the American presidents. Abigail Adams was the second coin after Martha Washington.

In the Broadway musical “1776” and its film adaptation from 1972, excerpts from her letters play an important role.

In the seven-part HBO mini-series John Adams - Freedom for America , the life together of Abigail and John Adams is portrayed on film.

Works

  • Abigail Adams: The Adams Family in Auteuil, 1784-1785, As Told in the Letters of Abigail Adams . Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston 1956.
  • My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams First edition 1840. Margaret A. Hogan (Editor), C. James Taylor (Editor), Joseph J. Ellis (Foreword) Publisher: Belknap Press 2010 ISBN 978-0-674-05705 -0 .

literature

  • Jeanne E. Abrams: First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role. NYU Press, New York 2018, ISBN 9781479886531 .
  • Margaret A. Hogan: Abigail Adams: The Life and the Biographers. In Katherine AS Sibley (Ed.): A Companion to First Ladies. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester 2016, ISBN 978-1-118-73222-9 , pp. 20-37.
  • Joseph J. Ellis: First Family: Abigail and John Adams . Publisher: Knopf 2010 ISBN 978-0-307-26962-1 .
  • Charles W. Akers: Abigail Adams: A Revolutionary American Woman . Mark C. Carnes (Editor). (Library of American Biography Series) (3rd Edition) Longman Publishing Group, 2006, ISBN 978-0-321-44501-8 .
  • Cokie Roberts: Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation . Publisher: Harper Perennial, Reprint 2005 ISBN 978-0-06-009026-5 .
  • Lynne Withey: Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams . Touchstone Books 2002. ISBN 978-0-7432-3443-6 .
  • Phyllis Lee Levin: Abigail Adams . Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 2nd edition (November 5, 2001). ISBN 978-0-312-29168-6 .
  • David McCullough: John Adams . Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2001 ISBN 978-0-7432-2313-3 .
  • Susan Provost Beller: Woman of Independence: The Life of Abigail Adams . Publisher: Universe, September 2000, ISBN 978-0-595-00789-9 .
  • Natalie S. Bober: Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution . Publisher: Simon Pulse; 1st Aladdin Paperback Ed .: Feb. 1998, ISBN 978-0-689-81916-2 .
  • Irving Stone Life belongs to lovers , Drömer, Knaur 1967 (original title: Those who Love 1965, translation: Ulla de Herrera) - historical novel.
  • Laura E. Richards: Abigail Adams and Her Times. Publisher D. Appleton and Company, Year 1917 - On the Internet - online.

Web links

Commons : Abigail Adams  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ National First Ladies' Library
  2. ↑ Mercy Otis Warren Biography (English)
  3. ^ Letters Between Abigail Adams and Her Husband John Adams
  4. ↑ Abigail Adams. Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography, accessed December 31, 2018 .
  5. ^ First Lady Biography: Abigail Adams. Firstladies.org. National First Ladies' Library, accessed December 31, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Abigail Adams First Spouse Gold Coins
  7. ↑ Bibliography , page 2
personal data
SURNAME Adams, Abigail
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smith, Abigail (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British-American wife of the second US President John Adams
DATE OF BIRTH November 11, 1744
PLACE OF BIRTH Weymouth , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 1818
Place of death Quincy , Massachusetts