Road to Liberty: Abigail Adams

Advisor, writer, and trailblazer, Abigail Adams famously wrote to her husband John Adams to “remember the Ladies” as the Continental Congress gathered in 1776. She continued, “Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could.”

Abigail was born on November 22, 1744, in Massachusetts. She had no formal education, but was a voracious reader, and took advantage of her family’s library to master topics such as Shakespeare, philosophy, and ancient history. In 1762, she met a young lawyer, John Adams, who shared her intellectual interests. They married and had five children, including the future sixth president, John Quincy Adams. In 1762, she met a young lawyer, John Adams, who shared her intellectual interests. They married and had five children, including the future sixth president, John Quincy Adams. 

Leading up to the Revolutionary War, John Adams was frequently away—and it was during this period that Abigail and John cultivated a lifelong correspondence. She gave her thoughts on everything from updates on the children to the need for colonial America to abolish slavery. She also ran the farm and the finances in Adam’s absence, keeping the family afloat through her thriftiness. 

When John Adams became vice president and then second president of the United States in 1797, Abigail often joined him in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, taking on hostess duties. 

The Adams family became the first “First Family” to live in the White House, and Abigail continued to advise her husband on political affairs. In fact, some called her “Mrs. President,” suggesting she might have had too much influence. When John Adams lost reelection in 1800, they moved to Quincy, and Abigail devoted herself to her family and son’s political career. She also resumed correspondence with Jefferson, though his political rivalry with her husband had pained her. In 1818, Abigail Adams died of typhoid fever, but her letters and legacy have forever shaped the American story.