Summary Of Abigail Adams Letter To John Quincy Adams

Toma Haghiac APAS Q3 Extra Credit 11 March 2024 Abigail Adams’ Letter to John Quincy Adams In 1780, future First Lady, Abigail Adams, wrote a heartfelt letter to her traveling son, John Quincy Adams. Abigail writes to John to provide him with guidance for his future. Her son is overseas in France for diplomatic issues with her husband and future president of the United States, John Adams. In her eloquent letter, Abigail implements an affectionate tone, allusion, and various appeals to her son’s emotions to inspire him to continue striving to be the best version of himself. Abigail opens her letter to her son by demonstrating her love and care for him. She wishes the best for John, so he may not regret voyaging to France. With her affectionate

In the final paragraph of her letter she asserts her belief in her son, telling him he will become, “a good/ citizen, do honor to your country, and render your/ parents supremely happy” (Line 60-62). With an abundance of support for her son’s actions, Abigail appeals to John’s emotion of love to help give him advice in life. Abigail Adams alludes to Ancient Rome to compare her son to the great Cicero. She claims a genius would not wish to live in times of peace and tranquility. Abigail sees “the tyranny of Catiline, Verres, and Mark Anthony” (Line 31-32), as being the spark to Cicero’s illustrious career as an orator. Abigail believes John is a genius and has great potential that he can reach through hard work and effort. When Abigail gives the example of Cicero’s success, she reinforces her belief that difficult times create characters of high esteem and John is capable of exceeding his limits. Abigail inculcates the thought of failure to become a good man to frighten her son of deviating from her instruction. Abigail elucidates that she has put countless time and effort into shaping John into a fine man, and she hopes he will not take it all for