Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams Abigail Adams, born in Weymouth in 1744 and died in 1818, was an intelligent and modern woman, whose life formed a large window on society that saw the “birth and maturation of the United States” (Akers, 1). ... Through letters to friends and loved ones, Abigail Adams shows us an example of a strong modern woman who had a tremendous impact on many aspects of American society and woman’s rights. Abigail Adams made a big difference in the lives of her family as well as in America. She is recognized as a great American woman, who influenced her husband, who became the second president of the United States as well as led her son, John Quincy Adams, to become the sixth president of the United States (Osborne, 26). ... Through her keen interest in American politics and John’s business, she indirectly taught her son, John Quincy Adams to be a great president. ... Sixty-eight years later, John Quincy Adams said, “Do you wonder, that a boy of seven who witnessed this scene should be a patriot? ... Indirectly, Abigail Adams made a tremendous impact on her son and the rest of the family. Abigail Adam’s famous letter “Remember the Ladies,” written to John Adams, expressed her accurate beliefs on women’s rights and even foresaw the needs of women in the future. While John Adams was writing the Declaration of Independence, she had strongly hoped that women would be included so that they would be have a “separate legal existence that would guarantee the wife a share in the fruits of their mutual labor,” recognize the wife as having a voice to express her ideas and opinions, and “grant [the wife] the right to institute a legal action against an abusive husband” (Bober, 72). ... Abigail was not denying the primary role of women nor wifehood or motherhood, but was affirming “women’s rights as equal participants in politics or the economy” (Bober, 73).