Abigail Adams was a First Lady, political adviser, and writer who became a central figure of the founding era. She was also the mother of President John Quincy Adams, making her one of two women in American history to have been both the wife and mother of a US president (the other being Barbara Bush).
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Despite receiving no formal education—standard for women of her era—Adams became well-read, largely through self-directed reading and extensive correspondence with leading political thinkers of her time, such as Thomas Jefferson and Mercy Otis Warren.
Abigail Smith married John Adams on October 25, 1764, beginning a partnership that would last for more than five decades. Despite long separations during the Revolution and John's diplomatic career, the two maintained a deep intellectual and personal bond throughout their lives.
In a March 1776 letter to John, Adams urged the Founders not to grant husbands unchecked power over their wives. Historians note it was not a demand for suffrage but a challenge to coverture—the legal doctrine that denied a married woman an independent identity.
In "The American Revolution," filmmaker Ken Burns presents the conflict as both a global war and a civil war, telling its story through the lives of soldiers, civilians, enslaved people, Native nations, and international allies.
President John Adams moved into the unfinished White House on Nov. 1, 1800, followed by first lady Abigail Adams, who used the East Room to dry laundry. The building lacked heat and plaster, with construction continuing for months.
As First Lady, Adams took an active role in her husband's presidency—advising on appointments, critiquing his speeches, and corresponding extensively with politicians. She supported the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts and pressed for war with France during the XYZ Affair.
This podcast brings to life a letter Abigail wrote to her son John Quincy in February 1786, reporting from London on dinners with wealthy South Carolinians and her daughter Nabby's relationships—with commentary from a Massachusetts Historical Society scholar.
Their correspondence is a rich collection of American history. The letters provide a personal glimpse into the Revolution, the early republic, and the dynamics of one of America's most significant marriages.
This podcast chronicles Abigail's voyage across the Atlantic to join John in Paris during his diplomatic service, then follows the couple's return to America and their rise to the White House.
In letters written during the Revolution, Adams clearly opposed slavery—calling it an unjust scheme and highlighting the contradiction of fighting for freedom while enslaving others. Read it in her own words here in a letter to John Adams.
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