Abigail Smith Adams

Abigail Smith Adams (1744-1818) was an American writer, political correspondent, and First Lady of the United States. Married to John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams, she left a remarkable body of letters that reveal her intelligence, political judgment, domestic labor, and commitment to education. Her most important writings are her correspondence, especially the letters urging her husband to Remember the Ladies during the founding of the United States. Abigail Smith Adams matters because she brought women's rights, republican virtue, learning, and practical governance into the private letters that shaped public history. She argued for female education, warned against unchecked male power, and managed family and property through revolution and public service. Her quotes endure because they combine moral clarity, political realism, and impatience with fine words unsupported by action.

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