Abigail Adams

Hello, my name is Abigail Adams. I was born Abigail Smith on November 11th, 1744, in a small town called Weymouth, located in the colony of Massachusetts. In my time, it was quite unusual for girls to attend school, so I never received a formal education. However, I was very fortunate that my father, who was a minister, had a wonderful library in our home. It was filled with books on history, poetry, philosophy, and many other subjects. I spent countless hours reading every book I could get my hands on, teaching myself about the world far beyond my small town. Through this love of learning, I met a clever and ambitious young lawyer named John Adams. We fell in love, finding a deep connection in our shared passion for knowledge and ideas. We were married on October 25th, 1764, which marked the beginning of a partnership that would carry us through the birth of a new nation.

My life changed forever when the American Revolution began in 1775. John was chosen to represent Massachusetts in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where he and other leaders worked to decide the future of the American colonies. This meant he was gone for months, and sometimes even years, at a time. I was not idle while he was away. I took on the great responsibility of managing our family farm, raising our children, including our son John Quincy, and handling all of our business and financial matters. These were tasks typically reserved for men in the 18th century. To stay connected, John and I wrote to each other constantly. Thousands of our letters crossed the miles between us. I shared news from home, but I also offered him my thoughts and advice on the political issues he was debating. On March 31st, 1776, while he and the other delegates were discussing independence, I wrote him a now-famous letter. In it, I urged him and the other men to 'remember the ladies' when creating the new laws for our country. I firmly believed that women deserved to have a voice and be protected by the laws of the new government. The war was never far from my mind; from a hill near our home, I could even see the smoke rising from the Battle of Bunker Hill, a constant and frightening reminder of the fight for freedom happening all around us.

After the war was won, my adventures continued on a global scale. In 1784, I made the long journey by ship across the Atlantic Ocean to join John in Europe. He was serving as a diplomat for our new country, the United States of America. I lived first in Paris, France, and then in London, England. During this time, I met many important people and experienced cultures that were very different from my own. It was an exciting period, and I was always proud to represent our young nation. My public life reached its peak in 1797, when my husband became the second President of the United States, and I became the First Lady. I was never a silent partner in his presidency; John valued my opinion greatly, and I continued to be his most trusted advisor. In 1800, we moved into the new President's House in the brand-new capital city of Washington, D.C. The building was so unfinished that it was drafty and cold. I famously had to hang our laundry to dry in the large, empty East Room because there was no other space. We were the very first presidential family to call the building, which would later be known as the White House, our home.

When John's presidency ended in 1801, we retired to our beloved home in Massachusetts, which we called Peacefield. I spent my later years surrounded by my children and grandchildren, but I never stopped learning. I was always reading, writing letters, and staying informed about the world's events. I lived a full and exciting life, and I was 73 years old when my life came to an end on October 28th, 1818. Today, people remember me not just as the wife of one president and the mother of another, but for the thousands of letters I wrote. Through them, historians have a clear window into what life was like during the founding of America. I am also remembered for my call to 'remember the ladies'—a plea for rights and education for women that continues to inspire people to fight for equality today.