The Letters of John and Abigail Adams

From 1762 to 1801, John and Abigail Adams carried on a remarkable correspondence. Some 1100 letters between the two survive to this day, offering historians a treasure trove of insights into both the dramatic events that occurred during that period (the Revolution, early Republic, and Adams' own tumultuous presidency) and the more mundane aspects of everyday life in a colonial family.

But the Adams' weren't just any colonial couple. They were the ultimate power duo. Think FDR and Eleanor. Bill and Hillary. Barack and Michelle. Abigail Smith Adams was a remarkably well educated woman who was not afraid to voice her opinions.

One of her more famous letters, from March 31, 1776, admonished John--then a delegate at the Second Continental Congress and a staunch advocate of declaring independence from Britain--to consider the rights of women in the new republic:

...in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.

Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands.

Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. 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.

As an early advocate of women's rights, Abigail Adams was ahead of her time on other issues as well. She opposition to slavery and was a supporter of equal education for boys and girls. During his terms as Vice-President and President, John Adams considered Abigail Adams to be his most trusted advisor.

The Massachusetts Historical Society maintains an excellent online archive of the Adams letters in their digital collection " The Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive."

The letters are fully indexed and can searched by date or keywords. Each letter contains a transcription as well as a digital image of the actual letter and envelope and an automatic citation generator. The perfect place for historians (both new and veteran) to begin research!