Most Famous And Influential Letters By Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams, advisor and wife to former president John Adams, was born in a time when women did not have many educational opportunities past secondary school. With her persistence and the encouragement of her family she was able to broaden her knowledge of philosophy, theology, classic authors, ancient history, government and law. This proficiency set her apart from other women of the time. Abigail was first introduced to John Adams when she was a teenager. He was currently in a relationship, therefore he did not think highly of Abigail. Their disastrous interaction miraculously transformed into a conjoint relationship. John loved Abigail, valued her opinion and relied on her assistance. Their marriage was rare. Seeing that John respected

The most famous and influential letter by Abigail Adams was written on March 31st, 1776. Her letter opened by asking John to respond with on the status of his fleet, the defense of Virginia, and the Gentry Lords showing her knowledge on current topics that John was experiencing. After Abigail asked about John’s situation she began talking to herself which she does in many of her other letters. She wondered if liberty and the Christian principle of “treating others as you wish to be treated” (which she knew from her father) was reciprocated between different genders. She concluded that it is not which led into the next section where she propagated for women rights. Abigail had a Code of Laws which argued that laws of the new nation should recognize women as something more than property and protect them from the arbitrary power men held over them. She spoke of these laws, urged John to “remember the Ladies” and threatened him by stating that if no attention was paid to women they would form a rebellion. John, on the committee that made the Declaration of Independence, was in a position to create change and could have advocated for women’s rights which Abigail was pointing out. She reminded him that “all men would be tyrants if they could” therefore unequal treatment was unnecessary. Although John declined her new Code of Laws, he reminded her to “be patient,” and that her letter was “the first intimation that another tribe more numerous and powerful than all the rest were grown discontented.” John relied on Abigail so much that she swayed his opinion on inequality between genders. John blatantly stated that Abigail rose a question no one else had heard before, which led him to believe that women were more powerful than men. Abigail’s influence from this letter is found throughout strains of feminism in American history. The Seneca Falls