We remember Abigail Adams as the wife of the second President of the United States, John Adams, and mother of the sixth President of the United States, John Quincy Adams. Abigail Adams is a wonderful example of a courageous woman who lived in colonial America. We sometimes think that women in her station had an easy life. Surely, she must have been pampered and privileged. Actually, she had a difficult life before becoming First Lady. During the struggle of the colonists against Britain, she managed her family farm and ran the family business while her husband was away serving his country.
Abigail was the daughter of a Congregationalist minister, Rev. William Smith. She was educated at home and she learned quickly and she loved to read. That she was very intelligent can be seen in her writings. She and her husband, John Adams, had an affectionate marriage. She was a devoted wife and mother and put her duty above all things.
They had four children, three sons and a daughter. Because John was away for long periods of time, sometimes months or years, Abigail managed the family farm, the business, and the education of their children. However, she still found time to correspond with her husband and with many family members and friends. She loved writing and wrote nearly every day. She also tended to the needs of the poor in her area, feeding them and sewing for them. With what little time she had left over, she managed to educate herself with the help of books.
When it became obvious to all Americans that the British were not going to be reasonable or fair to the colonists she gladly gave her husband up to the cause of freedom. It was a great sacrifice for her. She loved him dearly and he was really needed at the farm. Like many of the other wives who lived during the War for Independence, she took on the responsibilities of the family business herself as her contribution to the war effort. Many of our foremothers rose to the occasion by sacrificing their comforts in order to provide financing and supplies for the soldiers. They also sacrificed their own loved ones; husbands, fathers, and sons were killed. Many families lost their property. Some, like Annis Boudinot Stockton, had their homes looted and then burned down. Annis was left destitute and hungry. This was not uncommon.
Abigail’s farm was not lost, but the war came within a short distance of it. She could go up on a nearby hill and watch the battle. This must have been terribly frightening, but she trusted in God to take care of her and the family. And she was full of feelings of patriotism. One night after witnessing a fearful battle and listening to the tremendous noise from the bombardment, she wrote to John in a letter, “The cannonade is from our army and the sight is one of the grandest in nature. ‘Tis now an incessant roar. Tonight we shall realize more terrible scenes still.” She was full of pride for America when the colonists won the battles. She told her husband that she longed to be away from the sound of the battle and be with him, but she knew where her duty was.
Often during the war disease would spread. Once Abigail nearly lost her son but managed to nurse him to health. She was so ill herself that she could barely move around, but almost everyone else in the neighborhood was ill, too, so she could not depend on anyone else to do it. Around this time, her mother died, and this added to her loneliness and her weariness. Her husband could not come home to console her, but she bravely wrote to tell him that she understood that he was needed by their country, and that he must continue to serve.
She was fiercely loyal to the American cause. After reading the King of England’s proclamation against the colonists she wrote to her husband, “This intelligence will make a plain path for you, though a dangerous one. I could not join today in the petition of our worthy pastor for a reconciliation between our no longer parent state but tyrant state and these Colonies. Let us separate; they are unworthy to be our brethren. Let us renounce them; and instead of supplications, as formerly, for their prosperity, let us beseech the Almighty to blast their counsels and bring to naught all their devices.” Let the reader understand, these are very brave words. There were British enemies all around them. There were also Tories, who would have gladly gotten into the good graces of the British by turning in “traitors” like Abigail Adams. Don’t forget, because Americans won the war, we think of the Patriots as heroes. History has judged them to have been the ones who were in the right. But in the early part of the war, the outcome was not so sure. The Tories, colonists who supported the British, often had the upper hand and the colonists who were in favor of independence were seen as the traitors. There was a very real threat to Abigail’s home and family. She showed incredible courage to take a stand with her husband as she did.
We have heard a lot about our Forefathers. We owe them a debt of gratitude for the freedom we have today. But we also owe a debt of gratitude to our Foremothers. Women of courage supported the war effort in many amazing ways. It is a shame that in our time, they have been forgotten. But back in their own day, great men were appreciative of their efforts. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush, said, “The women of America have at last become principals in the glorious American controversy. Their opinions alone and their transcendent influence in society and families must lead us on to success and victory.” Abigail Adams shines as proof of his words.
