Abigail Adams

By: Megan Simmons

Early Childhood• Abigail Adams was born

November 11, 1744 in Weymouth MA to Reverend William Smith and Elizabeth Quincy Smith.

• Abigail later described herself as being in poor health as a child and claimed to spend most of her time reading and writing letters to friends.

Education• Abigail had no formal

education although her father believe that everyone should be able to read and write and taught Abigail at home himself.

• Unlike many women at this time Abigail was greatly exposed to extensive libraries that her father and grandfather owned.

Marriage• At the age of nineteen

Abigail married local lawyer John Adams in a small ceremony preformed by her father on October 25, 1764.

• John and Abigail’s marriage was a strong and happy one that lasted almost fifty four years.

Braintree, MA• Immediately after

their wedding John and Abigail moved into the house next to the house that John grew up in.

• Within nine months Abigail gave birth to their first child Abigail “Nabby” Adams.

Children• John and Abigail had

five children.Nabby – 1765-1813John Quincy- 1767-1848Susanna- 1768-1770Charles- 1770- 1800Thomas Boylston- 1772- 1832

Life during the Revolutionary War• John was appointed MA’s

delegate for the Continental Congress in 1774 leaving Abigail to manage their home, finances, children and family farm.

• John often wrote to Abigail asking her advice concerning what was going on in Philadelphia.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXQZIo6JN2Q&feature=related

Europe• John spent many years

over seas in Europe trying to get support for American Independence.

• In 1784 Abigail joined him in his delegate efforts in France and England.

Life as First Lady• John was elected as the second

President of the United States of America in 1797.

• Abigail went with John to live in the Presidents House, which was unfinished and almost unlivable.

• Because of Abigail’s active role in the government she was given the nickname of “your majesty” which reflected her views of the French Revolution and the Alien and Sedition acts.

Peacefield• After loosing the

election of 1800 John and Abigail returned to MA to Peacefield, the house they bought while in Europe.

• Abigail spent most of her time remodeling the house to fit the needs of her fastly growing family as well as entertaining guests.

• In October of 1818 Abigail became very ill with Typhus.

• On October 28th Abigail died in her bed and was buried in the Adam’s Family crypt in Quincy, MA.

• Her last words to John were “ Don not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend. I am ready to go. And John, it will not be long.”

• Abigail was interred and reburied with her husband in a crypt under the new Unitarian church

Legacy

• Abigail will always be remembered as an advocate for women’s rights as well as an abolitionist against slavery.

• She was strong willed and free spirited. Without her help and support John Adams would never have gone as far as he had.

• Her letters have not only documented her own life during the Revolutionary War but have helped in studies involving what life was like for a woman at the time.

Sources

• Adams, Abigail, John Adams, L. H. Butterfield, Marc Friedlaender, and Mary-Jo Kline. The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1975. Print.

• Adams, John, Margaret A. Hogan, and C. James Taylor. My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2007. Print.

• Ellis, Joseph J. First Family: Abigail and John. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. Print.