Abigail Adams Essays

The first idea is to remember the ladies. She states that men should not be given all the power. If the ladies are paid no attention it was bound to inspire a rebellion against this tyrant like behavior. If women have no voice, they will not be happy. If men need the title of master women will act differently than if they called themselves their wives’ friend. All these ideas are voiced in the letter she wrote. John expressed his ideas about women and how he thinks they should not vote in the new government. Both made valid points.

John Adams was born in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts, on October 30, 1735, and he is the first of three

Abigail Adams was a woman of high character and a loving soul. She was selfless in her thinking and remarkable in the way she handled people. Her management skills were above average for the normal female in the 1700s. She held many worldly interests that tied her to the political fashion of society. She was well cultured and was able to apply this to her role of a politician’s wife with great attributes towards society. She became the “buffer” with regard to her husband's temper and lack of diplomacy. She participated in many political activities. Her independent thinking, character, faithfulness, and hard work gave her the ability to succeed in society in the 17th century. Even though Abigail Adams was not formerly

Abigail Adam’s emotional appeal was the main rhetorical strategy in her letter. When writing, she uses a maternal tone to encourage John to make his parents and country proud. She uses the words “my dear son” to address John in the beginning, and continues using the words “my son” throughout. She speaks formally, with attention to detail, but this helps

Abigail Adams uses tone as a rhetorical device in her letter. The first being a loving and trusting tone towards her son that appeals to his emotions. Recognizing that her son has “readily submitted to her advice,” Adams praises her son for his consideration of her opinion. When she states that difficult times are times “in which a genius would wish to live,” she illustrates her trust toward her son - she believes that he is a genius and thus should uphold the thinking of a genius. However, Abigail Adams’s methods of persuasion are not entirely congenial. Mothers are aware that sometimes they have to be more austere with their children in order for them to comprehend the importance of their advice. Therefore, the mother utilizes a stern tone in her letter. In the beginning, A. Adams tells her son, John Quincy Adams, that he does not have “proper deliberation” or the right judgement to make the decision on his own. Therefore, she had to step in and urge him to accompany his father and brother on the voyage. Additionally, she tells him that she has voiced her opinion, so she hopes that he will “never have an occasion” to “lament” it. By saying this, she is showing J.Q. Adams that it is in his best interest to follow her advice. As the saying goes, mother knows best. Abigail Adams is very passionate about making this aware to her son; however, sometimes her

The tone of Abigail’s letter to John is more sincere than his letter to her. In her letter you can tell that even though she does not agree with some of his stands on issues she still loves and supports him. The tone of John’s letter is dry, with not much emotion. He doesn’t show much concern for her or her ideals. The only evidence of intimacy found is when they discuss their children. In Abigail’s letter intimacy is also found when the reader finds that she misses him and worries about him and when she says she is willing to do anything he needs.

The author of this document is Abigail Adams, a white female that is married to John Adams. She lives in a time where women have no form of representation, and they live in the shadow of men. Because of this, Abigail takes up a woman’s traditional role and performs activities such as manufacture clothing for her family, soap making, creating gun/cannon powder for her husband, and other chores for the benefit of her household (Adams, Paragraph 12). Fulfilling this role has shaped her by securing her inferiority to her husband and other males. She as a woman lacks power both socially and politically when it comes to the opposite gender; however, it is just this that has cultivated her attitude towards her government, the male sex, and even her own spouse. By requesting that her husband remember to give rights to women, it shows that she was brave enough to present her opinions even though they were unwelcomed (Adams, Paragraph 9). She is headstrong in the sense that she is willing to rebel if she does not receive the proper representation that she is asking for. Also, by mentioning that the women would rebel, Abigail displays her intelligence because she could foresee the inevitable future if women’s rights were not improved (Adams, Paragraph 9). She sees the world for what it is, unjust. Moreover, her social and political inferiority did not result in ignorance. Based on her vocabulary, writing style, and comprehension/expression of such complex ideas, she reveals that she is

Abigail Adams had even warned her husband that if women did not receive equal rights within the constitution, the founding fathers would have to fear rebellion. This seemed to hold true over a hundred years later when the women’s suffrage movement increased rapidly and showed the nation that women deserved the right to vote through protests and marches. Despite these strong similarities, there are also a few differences that separate their writings. For example, both women wrote in different styles. While Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote in a logical appeal, Abigail Adams appealed to her husband with emotion. Unfortunately, Abigail Adams did not leave a large impression on the women’s rights movement. Although letters like hers were what eventually inspired a young E. C. Stanton. Although Adams did not succeed in bringing women’s rights, Stanton left a lasting impression that won’t be forgotten.

* Abigail was born to Reverend William Smith and his wife Elizabeth in Weymouth parsonage in Massachusetts.

As members of Congress drafted laws to guarantee the independence for which the colonies were fighting, Abigail wrote to John begging him to remember that women also needed to be given the right to independence. Her most famous letter about the need for women's rights was written to John on March 31, 1776:

Abigail Adams married a man destined to be a major leader of the American Revolution and the second President of the United States. Although she married and raised men that become such significant figures during their time, her herself was played an important role in the American society. The events that happened in her life, starting from childhood and ending in her adult years, led her to be a Revolutionary woman. Three main reasons behind her becoming such a strong, independent woman was the fact that she married a man who had an important role in politics, growing up with no education, and raising a family basically by herself.

Withey’s book also includes much information about the politics and government of the time, while also painting a portrait of Abigail Adams as an intelligent, resourceful, and outspoken woman, as well as involving details of her domestic life, with excerpts from multiple letters that she and John wrote to each other. The reader is able to read these passages and understand the public and reserved sides of Abigail Adams, who was both a believer in the emancipation of slavery and an early feminist, and had advised her husband of keeping women in mind while he

Once again, the only way Abigail could communicate with him were letters. The letters this time were full of even more meaning because Abigail would report what she knew about the British and what they were doing. She knew how important this all was. She even took young John Quincy to the top of Penn’s Hill to watch the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17,1775. Although not all the people saw eye to eye with Abigail on her ideas, her husband agreed with her. In June of 1776 John was appointed to the committee of five men to help create the Declaration of Independence. Abigail was very please but she still longed for more. She had a broader idea then the delegates, she believed both sexes should have equal rights. In one of her most famous letter she wrote “remember the ladies, and be more favorable to the than your ancestors”. While they did adopt the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 it failed to give rights to women or blacks. Abigail was not discouraged and that was good because there would be many more chances for her to make a difference. John was soon appointed head of the Board of War and would turn to Abigail in seek of help many times. He valued his wife’s opinion and once even wrote “I want to hear you think or see your thoughts”. In a letter she wrote to him at one point of his job as the board leader said “These are times a genius would wish to live…great necessities call out great virtues (Page

Abigail Adams faced many hardships throughout her life. She was the daughter of a minister and had two sisters and a brother. In the 1700’s, children did not have a high survival rate due to the amount of diseases and nothing to treat them with. Abigail Adams said in her old age that she “was always sick” (Akers 5). This reminds people how tough life was in the 1700’s and how easy it was to pass away from a mere cold. Abigail also did not have any education growing up. Women, in the colonial era, were not supposed to have an education and were supposed to watch the kids, cook, and clean. Readers of this book learn that many women back then were illiterate and were self-taught, if they had any education. Abigail did find a love for literature due to her sister’s spouse, Richard Cranch. He influenced her love for literature at a young age and she started to become more literate. Along with the disease and educational deficiency, women were considered as property. A young woman could either give up

“If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”