Historical Figure
Abigail Adams
1744–1818
First Lady of the United States from 1797 to 1801
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Biography
Abigail Adams was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States. She was a founder of the United States, and was both the first second lady and second first lady of the United States, although such titles were not used at the time. She and Barbara Bush are the only two women in American history who were both married to a U.S. president and the mother of a U.S. president.
Timeline
The story of Abigail Adams, told in moments.
Born Abigail Smith in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Never formally schooled. Educated herself through her father's library and the guidance of her grandmother.
Wrote to John Adams at the Continental Congress: "Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors." He laughed it off in his reply.
Crossed the Atlantic to join John in Europe. Served as his closest political advisor during his ambassadorships to France and Britain. Their letters number over 1,100.
Became First Lady when John took office as the second president. She was the first to live in the White House, hanging laundry in the unfinished East Room.
Died of typhoid fever at 73. She and Barbara Bush remain the only two women in American history to be both wife and mother of a president.
In Their Own Words (20)
Men of sense in all ages abhor those customs, which treat us only as the vessels of your sex
Cited in: Kabir, Hajara Muhammad (2010). Northern women development. [Nigeria]. . OCLC 890820657., 2010
Do not put such unlimited powers in the hands of the husband, Remember all men would be tyrants if they could.
Cited in: Kabir, Hajara Muhammad (2010). Northern women development. [Nigeria]. . OCLC 890820657., 2010
Do not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend. I am ready to go. And John, it will not be long.
Last words in a letter to John Adams, as quoted in Famous Last Words (1961) by Barnaby Conrad, 1961
I acknowledge myself a unitarian — Believing that the Father alone, is the supreme God, and that Jesus Christ derived his Being, and all his powers and honors from the Father. … There is not any reasoning which can convince me, contrary to my senses, that three is one, and one three.
Letter to John Quincy Adams (5 May 1816), 1816
To be good, and to do good, is the whole duty of man comprised in a few words.
Letter to Elizabeth Shaw (1784), quoted in John Adams (2001) by David McCullough, p. 310, 1784
Artifacts (15)
Gilbert Stuart, Abigail Smith Adams (Mrs. John Adams), 1800-1815, NGA 42934
Gilbert Stuart
Abigail Adams gemalt von Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart MALER(1755 - 1828)
Abigail Adams engraving
Stuart, Gilbert, 1755-1828, artist (original). Published in New York by Johnson, Wilson, & Co.
Abigail Adams engraving
Stuart, Gilbert, 1755-1828, artist (original). Published in New York by Johnson, Wilson, & Co.
A Adams from an original painting by Gilbert Stuart
New York : Johnson, Wilson & Co. Publishers
Abigail Adams (Stuart) 2
Derived (by Johnson, Wilson & Co.) from a painting by Gilbert Stuart
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