In the late 1700s, a group of American leaders helped create the United States. Experts call them the “Founding Fathers.” However, women played a key role in forming the country as well. Abigail Adams was the wife of the second U.S. president, John Adams. She was also a founder — a “Founding Mother” — of the new nation.
Abigail Adams was born on November 22, 1744, in Weymouth, Massachusetts. She married John Adams in 1764 and moved to Braintree (now Quincy). At the time, Massachusetts was a British . Adams believed the colonies should be . And she supported the Revolutionary War (1775–1783). One way she did that was by melting the metal in her kitchen utensils to make bullets for American soldiers.
As the Founding Fathers worked to form a new nation, Abigail Adams helped guide the way. She did that by writing letters — more than 1,000 — to her husband, John. In one letter she said she did not believe in slavery. Enslaved people “have as good a right to freedom as we have,” she wrote. Another letter from March 31, 1776, shared advice. She said the rules for the young country should support women.
“Remember the ladies,” wrote Abigail Adams. “All men would be if they could,” she explained in her letter. And she added a warning. “If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies,” she said the women may start “a .”
George Washington became the first U.S. president in 1789. John Adams was his vice president. When Washington stepped down, John Adams became the U.S. president in 1797. That meant Abigail Adams was the second “first lady” of the country. And she continued to support the nation in this role.
Women in the United States could not vote until 1920. But Abigail Adams made sure her opinions were heard. She was an advisor to President Adams and helped edit his speeches. John Adams described her as “my best, dearest, worthiest, wisest friend in this world.”
Many people did not like that Abigail Adams spoke so openly. Still, Adams didn’t stop speaking her mind. She even attended meetings at the U.S. House of Representatives.
President Adams lost his next election and stepped down in 1801. Abigail and John Adams then returned to Quincy. Abigail died in 1818. Yet she continued to have an impact on the young country. In 1825, her son John Quincy Adams become the 6th president of the United States.
Updated March 6, 2024, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
