Becoming America - An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution, 2018a

BECOMING AMERICA
REVOLUTIONARY AND EARLY NATIONAL PERIOD LITERATURE
3.7 JOHN ADAMS AND ABIGAIL ADAMS
(1735–1826) & (1744–1818)
John Adams was born in Braintree
(now Quincey), Massachusetts, situated
ten miles from Boston. He attended
Harvard then practiced law in Braintree.
His opposition to the Stamp Act and the
Intolerable Acts led to his serving as
delegate to the intercolonial congress; the
First Continental Congress (that adapted
his “Declaration of Rights”); and the
Second Continental Congress. Accepting
the need for armed resistance, Adams
helped delegates join together to declare
independence against England. He also
helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris that
ended the Revolutionary War; served
as America’s rst constitutional vice
president (under George Washington);
and its second president.
Abigail Adams née Smith was also
born in Braintree, Massachusetts. She
received no formal education, instead
being guided by her mother in the
domestic arts expected of women in
that era. She fulfilled her expected
role as wife when she married John in
1764 and as mother when she bore ve
children in seven years. During the
early years of their marriage, Abigail
moved from one household to another
in order to remain close to John. The
two were separated, however, starting
in 1775 as he served in the congresses
leading to the American Revolution.
Abigail remained in Braintree, managing
their farm, enduring many privations
and witnessing terrifying battles—
experiences from which John was, to
some degree, insulated. After the war,
John and Abigail would live separately
and together in America and abroad
Image 3.8 | John Adams
Artist | Gilbert Stuart
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | Public Domain
Image 3.1 | Abigail Adams
Artist | Benjamin Blyth
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | Public Domain
Page | 433