Abigail Adams

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Lore & Background

Abigail Adams was born on November 22, 1744, at the North Parish Congregational Church in Weymouth, Massachusetts, to William Smith and Elizabeth (née Quincy) Smith. On her mother's side, she was descended from the Quincy political family. She did not receive formal schooling; she was frequently sick as a child, something which may have been a factor preventing her from receiving an education. Later in life, Adams would also consider that she was deprived an education because females were rarely given such an opportunity. Although she did not receive a formal education, her mother taught her and her sisters to read, write and cipher; her father's, uncle's and grandfather's large libraries enabled the sisters to study English and French literature. Her grandmother, Elizabeth Quincy, also contributed to Adams's education. As she grew up, Adams read with friends in an effort to further her learning. She became regarded as one of the most erudite women ever to serve as first lady. The Smith family were slaveholders and are known to have owned at least four people. A slave named Phoebe took a caretaking role to Abigail and other children; later on she would work as a paid servant for Abigail after she became free. Abigail would come to express anti-slavery beliefs as an adult. Abigail Smith first met John Adams when she was 15 years old in 1759. The couple married on October 25, 1764, in the Smiths' home in Weymouth. William Smith, Abigail's father, presided over the marriage. After the reception, the couple mounted a single horse and rode off to their new home, the saltbox house and farm John had inherited from his father in Braintree, Massachusetts. In 12 years, Abigail Adams gave birth to six children: Abigail ("Nabby"; 1765–1813), John Quincy (1767–1848), Susanna (nicknamed "Suky") (1768–1770), Charles (1770–1800), Thomas (1772–1832), and Elizabeth (stillborn in 1777). Adams was responsible for family and farm when her husband was on his long trips. "Alas!", she wrote in December 1773, "How many snow banks divide thee and me." Letters exchanged throughout John's political obligations indicate his trust in Abigail's knowledge was sincere. John often excused himself to Abigail for his "vanity", exposing his need for her approval. In 1784, Abigail and her daughter Nabby joined her husband and her eldest son, John Quincy, at her husband's diplomatic post in Paris. At first, she found life in Paris difficult and was rather overwhelmed by the novel experience of running a large house with a retinue of servants. However, as the months passed, she began to enjoy herself: she made numerous friends, discovered a fondness for the theatre and opera, and was fascinated by Parisian women's fashions, although she ruefully admitted that she "would never be in the mode." After 1785, she filled the role of wife of the first U.S. minister to the Court of St James's (Britain). In contrast to Paris, Abigail disliked London, where she had few friends and was, in general, cold-shouldered by polite society. One pleasant experience was her temporary guardianship of Thomas Jefferson's young daughter Mary (Polly), for whom Abigail came to feel a deep and lifelong love. She and John returned in 1788 to their home in Quincy, Peacefield (also known as the "Old House"), which she set about vigorously enlarging and remodeling.

Reader's Guide

Abigail Adams is significant as one of the most documented of the first ladies. Surveys of historians conducted periodically by the Siena College Research Institute since 1982 have consistently found Adams to rank as one of the three most highly regarded first ladies by historians. When John was elected President of the United States, Abigail continued a formal pattern of entertaining. She held a large dinner each week, made frequent public appearances, and provided for entertainment for the city of Philadelphia each Fourth of July. She took an active role in politics and policy, unlike the quiet presence of Martha Washington. Abigail was so politically active, her political opponents came to refer to her as "Mrs. President." As John's confidant, Abigail was often well informed on issues facing her husband's administration, at times including details of current events not yet known to the public in letters to her sister Mary and her son John Quincy. Some people used Abigail to contact the president. At times Abigail planted favorable stories about her husband in the press. Abigail remained a staunch supporter of her husband's political career, supporting his policies, such as passing the Alien and Sedition Acts. Adams brought the children of her brother William Smith, her brother-in-law John Shaw, and her son Charles to live in the President's House during her husband's presidency because the children's fathers all struggled with alcoholism. Charles's daughter, Susanna, was just 3 years old in 1800 when Adams brought her to live in the President's House in Philadelphia days before Charles's death. Abigail also took responsibility for the family's financial matters, including investments. Her investments made through her uncle Cotton Tufts in debt instruments issued to finance the Revolutionary War were rewarded after Alexander Hamilton's First Report on the Public Credit endorsed full federal payment at face value to holders of government securities. One recent researcher even credits Abigail's financial acumen with providing for the Adams family's wealth through the end of John's lifetime.

Did You Know?

• Abigail Adams and Barbara Bush are the only two women in American history who were both the wife of a U.S. president and the mother of another U.S. president.
• Abigail did not receive formal schooling; she was frequently sick as a child, which may have prevented her from receiving an education.
• The Smith family were slaveholders and owned at least four people; a slave named Phoebe took a caretaking role to Abigail and later worked as a paid servant after becoming free.
• Abigail's investments in debt instruments issued to finance the Revolutionary War, made through her uncle Cotton Tufts, were rewarded after Alexander Hamilton's First Report on the Public Credit.
• Surveys of historians conducted periodically by the Siena College Research Institute since 1982 have consistently found Adams to rank as one of the three most highly regarded first ladies by historians.

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