Early Life
Abigail Adams was born Abigail Quincy Smith on November 11,
1744 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Her father, William Smith was a minister while
her mother, Elizabeth Quincy came from a distinguished family. Like most women
of her time, Abigail had no formal education and did not attend school.
However, she was a devoted reader and read the works of Shakespeare, Milton,
Pope, and Thomson.
In 1761, during the summer before her fifteenth birthday,
Abigail met a lawyer named John Adams. The two soon fell in love and throughout
the next year, exchanged romantic love letters. Three years later, on October
25, 1764, Abigail and John married. The couple lived on John’s farm in
Braintree or in Boston. Abigail bore five children. The first was Abigail in
1765 with future president John Quincy in 1767, Susanna in 1767, Charles in
1770, and Thomas in 1772.
Both Abigail and John supported the colonists’ cause in the
American Revolution. John’s involvement in the war caused him to be constantly
away from home. As a result, Abigail had to raise the children as well as take
care of the farm on her own. She bought farm stock, paid bills, hired help, and
coped with quarrelsome tenants, all with cleverness and craftiness. Her
grandson Charles even credited her form saving John from debt.
Beliefs
Despite their time apart, John and Abigail still remained
close through correspondence. They wrote more 1,100 letters to each other. John
would write to Abigail asking her for political advice. Moreover, in her
letters, Abigail expressed her concern about how the government would treat
women. She spoke out against discrimination of women especially through
education. Abigail was also condemned slavery and racial discrimination. For
example, she taught one of her slaves how to read and write and furthermore,
sent him to mathematics school.
After the Revolution, in 1784 Abigail joined her husband in
France as he served there as a diplomat. When John became diplomat to England
in the next year, they relocated to there until 1788. She kept her strength
despite the rudeness of King George III and Queen Charlotte.
First Lady
John Adams eventually became vice president in 1789. As a
result, Abigail had to divide spending her time in the Capitol and on the farm.
She helped Martha Washington, the First Lady, entertain guests. However, in
1791, her health forced her to spend majority of her time on the farm.
In 1796, John became the second president of the United
States. Abigail remained a supportive wife and joined him in the White House in
1800. They were the first to live in the White House, which was mostly
incomplete. Washington D.C. was in the wilderness with few streets paved.
Despite this, Abigail still worked hard as the First Lady. She rose early to
deal with personal matters and then spend the rest of the day entertaining
guests and hosting events.
However, John and Abigail did not see eye to eye in
political issues all the time. One example is the XYZ Affair. At this time,
France was run by a legislative body and the Directory, a five-man executive
group. During John’s term, the Directory stopped trade with the U.S. and
blocked all meetings. But three officials known as X, Y, and Z offered bribes
to hold discussions. The XYZ Affair was eventually published in the newspapers.
While Abigail believed war should be declared, her husband sought a peaceful
solution.
John and Abigail did agree on the Alien and Sedition Acts of
1798. The Alien Acts targeted immigrants because most joined John’s opposing party.
They increased the length of years required for naturalization and allowed
detainment of anyone deemed dangerous. The Sedition Acts banned any
antigovernment writing that said negative things about Congress or the
president. The penalty was a steep fine or jail time. Abigail supported these
laws because she wanted to punish whoever published lies about her husband.
Later Life
The Alien and Sedition Acts made John unpopular with the
public and caused his defeat against Jefferson in the election of 1800. Great
tension arose between Adams and Jefferson, turning the once close friends into
enemies.
John left office in 1801 and moved back to the farm with
Abigail. Abigail began to send letters to their once enemy Jefferson and
slowly, renewed their friendship. In 1814, the Adams’ daughter, Abigail died of
cancer. Abigail also suffered a stroke in October 1818 and later caught typhoid
fever. She died at her home on October 28, 1818 and was buried in the First
Church of Massachusetts.
