The Adams were a very
influential married couple in the early republic era. John Adams was the first Vice-President, and
the second President, of the United States.
Abigail Adams was the first Second-Lady, and the second First-Lady of
the United States. Both were also
devoted spouses and parents. But,
because of John’s important job, he was often away from home. This led to perhaps the most famous exchange
of personal letters in history. These letters provide a very accurate record of
many events that shaped American history, and have been invaluable to many
historians wishing to gain an eyewitness account of the American path to
independence. While the Adams “exchanged
over 1,100 letters, beginning during their courtship in 1762 and continuing
throughout John's political career” we will be talking today about a mere nine
of these letters (1). While their
letters contained thoughts on day-to-day struggles of a separated couple, family
issues, and anecdotes, their main focus point was politics.
It is important to understand the
Adams’s relationship before delving into the writings themselves. John Adams was born in the Massachusetts Bay
colony in a town called Braintree, just South of Boston, on October 30th
1735. He had an average childhood and
went on to earn a master’s degree from Harvard, as well as become an
experienced lawyer. Abigail Smith was born in Weymouth Massachusetts, the
neighboring town of Braintree, on November 11th 1744. She did not receive any formal schooling, but
being a minister’s daughter, she learned to love reading. She quickly gained an understanding of the
world through literature. They were
married on October 25th 1764.
They were a textbook example of a happy, devoted, and mutually
supportive couple. Their mutual love for
politics and philosophy strengthened their bond tenfold. However, while they were loyal to one
another, both seemed to be equally, if not more loyal to their country. (2)
It is equally important to
understand what the Adams wrote about, in order to understand the underlying
theme of the letters. John and Abigail
wrote often to discuss their respective situations, but their personal problems
seemed to come second to their concern for their country. This is shown in a letter sent to John from
Abigail on August 19 1774.
Abigail starts the letter with salutations and then immediately continues
to tell of her worries. These consisted
of, “The great anxiety I feel for my Country, for you and for our family
renders the day tedious, and the night unpleasent.”(1) Abigail’s placement of the worries suggests
a hierarchical list of importance, in which the anxiety for the country
precedes that of her husband and family.
This rank of importance is shared by John Adams as well. The stress
placed upon the issues of state, is evident in almost all of the letters.
The tone the Adams used when writing
about their daily lives and the circumstances of their country, further proves
that the major theme of the selected letters was that of the Adams’s concern
for their country. In a letter from John
Adams to Abigail, after lengthy descriptions of his involvement in various
affairs of state, he has to remind himself not to become preoccupied with the
government and to talk about his family.
This is shown when he says, “I believe it is Time to think a little
about my Family…” another example of the hierarchical list of importance.
(1) He seems to ask halfhearted
questions and writes the bare minimum to satisfy curiosity. Likewise, Abigail frequently inquires about
John’s involvement in actions of the government, seeming to barely contain her
anxiousness to hear a response. Her
day-to-day duties of watching, teaching, and feeding the children seem to bog
her down when conversing. However, she
always perks up at the mention of any political business.
The government was the main source
of conversation for the Adams merely because of the tumultuous political
situation the United States found itself in at the time of the Adams’s
correspondences. John Adams was held on
high regard in the field of politics. He
was a revolutionary thinker and was responsible for helping the declaration of
independence be put into action. His
opinions were weighty, and were widely considered in any political debate. Adams wits were sharpened with the lengthy
debates with his wife. Both Abigail and
John were very concerned with each others’ well-being, but they wrote mainly to
keep up the political banter that must have abounded freely in the Adams’s
home.
All in all, the Adams’s relationship
was held together by their mutual love of political debate. They wrote mainly about politics in their
letters. They used a candid, curt tone
when writing. Their environment pushed
them toward political banter and quick debate.
They loved each other, but they loved politics more.
1.
"About
the Correspondence between John and Abigail Adams." Adams Electronic
Archive : Correspondence between John and Abigail Adams. N.p., n.d. Web. 18
Feb. 2017.
2. McCullough,
David. "John Adams". N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
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