John and Abigail Adams
Letters
Introduction
The letters exchanged by John and Abigail Adams were written between 1774 and 1776, during the heart of the Revolutionary War period. At times, the Adamses write of very personal experiences: their children, domestic life, illnesses, and of missing one another. At other times, they write about war and the political landscape: what is being printed in the papers and what is being debated by the Continental Congress. This combination of both intimate conversations about the home and discussions about governmental processes reminds us not only of the humanity of these “founding” figures, but also that the political matters they discussed were also very personal. This is, perhaps, one reason why Abigail reminded her husband to “Remember the Ladies” as he worked with other men to establish the guiding principles of this new nation. As you read their letters, consider how they negotiate their roles in this changing environment, and how their exchanges offer another dimension to the larger public conversation about what counts as American.
Discussion Questions:
- How do the John and Abigail Adams letters convey their own ideas about what counts as American? What values or qualities do they emphasize? What strategies do they use to convey these ideas?
- Why might these letters be important in the study of American literature? Why or how might they still be relevant today?
- Although John and Abigail Adams are writing directly to one another, their letters reveal that they are also in conversation (even if indirectly) with other prominent figures during this period. How do their letters, or the ideas in those letters, extend the ideas offered by writers like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, or Phyllis Wheatley?
13. Abigail Adams.
Braintree, 19 August, 1774.
The great distance between us makes the time appear very long to me. It seems already a month since you left me. The great anxiety I feel for my country, for you, and for our family renders the day tedious and the night unpleasant. The rocks and quicksands appear upon every side. What course you can or will take is all wrapped in the bosom of futurity. Uncertainty and expectation leave the mind great scope. Did ever any kingdom or state regain its liberty, when once it was invaded, without bloodshed? I cannot think of it without horror. Yet we are told that all the misfortunes of Sparta were occasioned by their too great solicitude for present tranquillity, and, from an excessive love of peace, they neglected the means of making it sure and lasting. They ought to have reflected, says Polybius, that, “as there is nothing more desirable or advantageous than peace, when founded in justice and honor, so there is nothing more shameful, and at the same time more pernicious, when attained by bad measures and purchased at the price of liberty.” I have received a most charming letter from our friend Mrs. Warren.[36] She desires me to tell you that her best wishes