Almost everyone’s heard of her, there have been numerous books written about her, several thousand letters accounted for that she wrote. She was also the wife of the second president and the mother to the sixth American president, who was this woman? She was Abigail Adams. Abigail Adams life didn’t acquire meaning solely from knowing and being around these two great men however, Adams was eminently worth knowing as an individual herself. Throughout the ages, women have always been involved in war but Abigail Adams brought a new concept to women and war with her involvement in the early colonial years and the American Revolution. Abigail Adams did many things in her lifetime but the questions I will be attempting to answer is how exactly did she impact the Revolutionary War and change the social roles of women in such a male dominated society.
First and foremost, some basic knowledge on the early years and the foundation of Adam’s life are imperative to the understanding of Abigail Adams and how she grew into becoming the women she did. Abigail Adams was born Abigail Smith in a church in Weymouth, Massachusetts on November 11, 1744. Adams’s parents were William Smith, a liberal Congregational minister and her mother Elizabeth Quincy was of a prominent political family at the time. Abigail was the second born of four siblings, one brother and three sisters, their family faith was Congregational. The Adams’s were an active family in throughout the community and involved in the politics of the time. A majority of Adams’s younger days consisted of corresponding with family and friends and reading. Her childhood and young adult life didn’t involve much singing, dancing or card playing as young women typically participated in...
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... Thoughts Life and Letters of Abigail Adams
Gelles, Edith B. First Thoughts: Life and Letters of Abigail Adams . New York, New York: Twayne Publishers, 1998.
Dearest Friend: A life of Abigail Adams
Withey, Lynne. Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams. New York, New York: Free Press Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1981.
Abigail Adams - A Life
Holton, Woody. Abigail Adams - A Life. New York, New York: Free Press A Division of Simon & Schuster Inc., 2009.
Patriotism and the Female Sex, Abigail Adams and the American Revolution
Skinner Keller, Rosemary. Patriotism and the Female Sex: Abigail Adams and the American Revolution. Brooklyn, New York: Carlson Publishing Inc., 1994.
Abigail Adams, An American Women
Akers, Charles. Abigail Adams, An American Women. Toronto, Canada and Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown and Company, 1980.
...s were introduced. American women are truly lucky to have had Abigail Adams. Abigail Adams' efforts have given education for females. Charles W. Akers, the author of Abigail Adams an American Women, as well as I believe that if Abigail hadn't spoken out on these subjects, who else would have? Even though she did not accomplish her crusades, she planted the idea of her goal and objective into other minds. For her courageous foresight, women now have equal rights. Abigail was a talented letter writer, a supporter of her husband in his long civic career, and the mother of the most significant family dynasty in American public life. Abigail Smith Adams was the first fully liberated woman in American history and an inspiration to women for generations to come.
Lewis, Jan. "The Republican Wife: Virtue and Seduction in the Early Republic." The William and Mary Quarterly. 44 (1987), 689-722.
It was because of these events that made Abigail Adams a respected woman in the light of the colonies. Bibliography Akers, Charles W. Abigail Adams: A Revolutionary Woman, 3rd Ed. New York, New York: Pearson Education, Inc, 2007.
Benjamin Franklin has been without a doubt one of the most relevant individuals in US history. His autobiography gives us a brief but detailed summary of what his life was like and how society worked in the eighteen century. This autobiography gives us many details of how the colonies where and offers and an overall image of the development of British North America which later turned into the United States. Due to the fact that this book was originally written for Franklin's son, the book concentrates in personal information and has very little information about other topics. However, there are some topics that can be extracted from his writings; one of them is gender. Even though, Franklin never talks openly about gender, we can observe how in his writing these roles are clearly assigned. In this paper, we will analyze how Benjamin's Franklin autobiography showcases the importance of gender in the early eighteenth century. Gender can be analyzed in Franklins book by looking at different topics. This given to men and women by society can be seen in the workspace, in the education of each individual, and in the family and family structure.
Abigail Adams was the wife of the 1st Vice President John Adams and the mother of the 6th President John Quincy Adams. She lived from 1744 to 1818 and for most of her life lived in Braintree, Massachusetts. The author of this biography wanted to bring Abigail Adams out from under the shadow of her husband John Adams. I think that Charles W. Akers was in fact successful in defending his thesis.
Magill, Frank M. Great Lives From History, American Women Series II. Pasadena: Salena Press, 1995.
John Adams, a United States diplomat and soon to become the second president, is now traveling with his son. In 1780, during the course of their voyage, Adams wife, Abigail, writes a letter to their son to encourage him to gain the most he can from traveling with his father. Throughout the course of Abigail Adams letter, she uses rhetorical strategies to emphasize why she is proud of her son and how he will become wiser from his adventures.
John Quincy Adams was an American whose father was one the greatest American statesman. Abigail’s mother writes to John as he is traveling with his father. In her letter she embodies a mother’s love through the rhetorical strategies of pathos, figurative and syntax.
Abigail Adams is a wife and a mother during the Revolutionary War. As her husband travels overseas, their son has requested to join. With all the encounters possible, positive and negative, Abigail lets John Quincy know what his values in life are. She explains many life lessons to her son, letting the world revolve around him. This letter summarizes teaching life hands out to everyone. When you are raised in the way that sees good through your eyes, you will excel in your life.
The term “Republican Motherhood” is not misleading, the idea behind it was that women were considered to be the supporting and ethical essential of all American families. Women are why church attendance remained part of the families traditions and that they were supplied wth meals and a home that was livable. Even with the restrictions on women throughout the period, the young nation proved to successfully stand-in group of female leaders to whom the United States is indebted. One of the most famous women is Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams. Abigail's communication with her husband John throughout the presidential administration, before and after the war provides a close look into the unfiltered truths on how much the women helped
The process by which I found this letter was quite simple. From following the instructions on the unit one writing assignment document, I was able to find the letter regarding women’s rights quickly. First, I went to the UNLV library database and chose “History” as my research subject. Second, I chose “North American Women’s Letters and Diaries” out of the seven library databases that was listed on the instructions, because, this database caught my attention among the other six. Additionally, the combination of words I used to make my search more advanced was, “Adams, Abigail” and “Revolution.” Third, I went through seven letters that were written by Abigail Smith Adams to her husband, John Adams, but the one that stood out to me the most was
In Abigail Adams’ letter addressed to her son, John Quincy Adams, who is on a mission to France with his father, she encourages her son to find strength in the adversity he faces on the voyage in order to return home a respectable and successful young man. Abigail’s use of metaphor, historical allusion, and word choice throughout the letter assist her in motivating her son to continue his travels and honor both his country and his mother.
As the wife of the United States’ second president John Adams, she played a major role as a woman in her time. She wasn’t treated like any other ordinary women was treated, instead people like John Adams went to her for advice over matters of government politics. In the late 1770s, Abigail became
Women have impacted colonial America, The revolution, and U.S Independence in numerous ways. For example, in
Patterson Meyer, Edith. First lady of the Renaissance : a biography of Isabella d'Este. Boston: Little, Brown, 1970.