Adams, Abigail (Smith)

Abigail Smith (1744–1818) was born at Weymouth, Massachusetts, and married John Adams in 1764. While she was the first woman to be the wife a President and mother to another, she may be better remembered for her letter writing, especially to John during the Continental Congress of 1776. Her appeal to John to “remember the ladies” makes her one of the United States first feminist icons even among women who may scoff at the label: “… remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice or Representation.”

Regardless of whether John listened to her or not, women were not written into the Constitution until the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote. Abigail's letter has been argued to be the start of the American feminist timeline. She continued to be a vocal supporter of women's rights and abolition throughout her life, including during her duty as First Lady. The amount of travel that John performed during the early days of the United States instigated the letter writing that stands as a document to the country's birth. Abigail had been asked to publish her letters during her lifetime, but she felt her letters were too private for public reading. She confided to her daughter how stressed she was as First Lady.

Abigail would say one thing in public, complain to her daughter about the same thing, and then exhort her daughter to say that her mother was very happy. Her letters to John were finally published years after her death by her son, and was the first such publication focused on a First Lady. During John's travel, Abigail also raised their five children and managed the family farm on her own. However, she did not live to see her son, John Quincy, become President; she died in 1818.

Abigail was a trusted confidante to her husband throughout their marriage. Their correspondence during the war and his diplomatic journeys to Europe reveal that John sought out her advice. During John's Presidency, Abigail was both beloved and hated for her counselor role, much as Hillary Rodham Clinton was in the 1990s. In one instance during his Presidency, after John Adams had made an unpopular appointing in this wife's absence, he wrote to inform her: “O how they lament Mrs. A's absence.… She is a good counselor!” The dichotomy between Abigail and Martha Washington was night and day. Abigail espoused the role of First Lady as a Mrs. President, [Page 16]while Martha crafted the more traditional role of the good hostess. Abigail saw the role of First Lady as not just a hostess, but as a partisan defender of her husband's policies, which she did splendidly.

Abigail Adams's role in the birth of the United States was predominately featured in the HBO mini-series John Adams in 2008. Laura Linney received a Golden Globe award for her portrayal.

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