Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams received no formal education, but was taught at home. Although she was never a published author, much of her private correspondence with her husband, John, and her many friends survives to this day, and represents the thoughts, attitudes, and lifestyles of at least some women during the Revolutionary Period. Like many women of her time and socio-economic status, Adams was concerned about the social and political issues of her day. Like her cousin, the historian Mercy Otis Warren, she felt that women were not given sufficient status and rights. Adams felt that girls should receive a formal education similar to boys, so that they could be prepared for their vital role as republican women. She was also an opponent of chattel slavery. Her husband. John Adams, was the first vice-president and the second president of the United States. Her son, John Quincy Adams, was the fifth president of the United States. Her grandson, Charles Francis Adams, published her letters in 1840.