The Mother of America In the Revolutionary Era, people always remember the founding fathers who worked together to create the beautiful country we live in today. What some people don’t always see is the hard work put in by the mothers who stayed at home with the family while the men were away. Abigail Adams was among the few women who helped shape America all from her kitchen. Abigail Adams is the wife and third cousin to John Adams. They married at age 17 and had 6 children. They had a rough start to marriage when their fourth child, Susanna, died at the age of 13 months.
Abigail knew how to read and write and was considered very intelligent for her time. Abigail Adams is the most revolutionary figure in American history because of her letters written to John that many historians believe truly changed America. Her intelligence as a woman and her ability to lead an entire gender to believe they can do anything; unconditionally shows how she changed America. When she was a young girl, her parents inspired her to learn how to read and write even though they could not.
Abigail educated herself at a young age and carried that with her while raising her children. Her ability to understand high intelligence situations is what helped her out most in the Revolutionary War. Knowing how to read and write, she set a standard for women with no rights at the time. She showed that women can do anything a man can do, based on her participation in voicing part of the constitution and running a farm and a household. She could be considered one of the very first feminists America had seen.
Her intelligence is what helped her succeed as a Revolutionary figure. “The daughter of a minister, she was a devoted reader, studying the works of William Shakespeare and John Milton among others. However, she did not attend school, which was common for girls at the time” (Biography 1). Her parents wanted her to be intelligent and successful in life, and they helped lead her down the path to being an inspiration. Abigail herself never had an official education; she was taught at home and had specific passion for subjects like philosophy, government and law, and ancient history.
All these backgrounds of knowledge helped her in her views about the world evolving around her such as the Revolutionary War and the making of the Constitution. “Abigail Adams is one of the few women of the eighteenth century who has remained in the public eye, many reasons because of her political views and letters to her husband” (Carter 1). She would not have achieved these high titles of success without her education. She went on to introduce the idea of young girls getting an education and attending school just like boys.
Education is the core of every human’s mental process and Abigail Adams changed the schooling system forever. John Adams is one of the founding fathers to America, but most of his political opinions came from his wife Abigail. She is revolutionary because she influenced the revolutionary decision’s her husband made. Abigail was a huge influence on some of John’s decisions he made while in political meetings in Boston. “Abigail Adams remained a supportive spouse and confidante after her husband became President in 1797. Some critics objected to Abigail’s influence over her husband calling her ‘Mrs.
President’. (Bigelow et al. 1). She really inspired her husband’s views based on her opinions back home. She watched the whole war from her backyard so she always had an opinion of what was going on. Her motherly instincts and wits always kept her fresh on looking for new information that could help her husband. During the times of the Revolutionary War, small pox was a huge disease risk that was spreading like wild fire all across America. Vaccinating her children is just one example of her extraordinary mother role she played while john was away. John and Abigail didn’t always see eye to eye on every situation” (Bigelow et al. 1).
With the intelligence from both john and Abigail, the Adams family household thrived with life, lightheartedness and love. Today in America, there are many empowered woman working to change the views of fellow Americans to treat everyone equally. In the 1700s, Abigail was considered revolutionary because she advocated equality for women. From one of her letters, “I desire you would remember the ladies, and be generous and favourable to them than your ancestors.
Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. “(Abigail Adams) An example from her letters is just the beginning to the window to the past 18th Century. Thousands of letters have been published from Abigail Adams and many historians say that although she didn’t have an official occupation, she was a writer at heart. “Collections of Adam’s letters have been published regularly since then, allowing readers to learn about the customs, habits, and manners of the Adam’s family as well as details about the American Revolution”(Gelles 1).
She was one of the first American Woman who wasn’t afraid to share her voice in hope of change for the better. She is believed to be the first official feminist, advocating equal rights for women including social status and schooling. She is truly revolutionary. Abigail Adams is the most influential woman in American History because of her beliefs in women’s rights. Her childhood learning experience that inspired her with the idea that everyone should have an education.
Her connection with her husband was how she voiced her opinion. The affect she has made throughout the years of history and present day today. If Abigail Adams had just been a quiet housewife who hadn’t voiced her opinion, America could have been totally different today. Her voice as a writer was not recognized until her letters were posted by her great grandson, but they changed the views on how America was started, giving women and Abigail Adams a lot of credit. America would not have been the same without her.
