In recent history, we’ve had some good First Ladies, with the exception of one or two. I think there should be a better name for the distinction. In my opinion, “First Lady” is just a tiny step above “The Little Mrs.” or “The Old Ball and Chain.”
Like, “Second Commander In Chief” or “The Real Housewife of Washington DC.”
Anyway. I have a few favorites. Of course, Eleanor Roosevelt is one. Edith Wilson sure took the lead. Clinton had her moments. And others.
But I think the one that really “braved” the way was Abigail Adams. Yes indeed. She was the second “First Lady,” as we know. And I don’t think Martha Washington paved too many trails. So Abigail was really putting it out there.
She and her husband, John, were closer than most married couples of that day. In fact, John and Abigail exchanged over 1100 letters during their time together.
A little note about Abigail. She really wanted to go to school like the boys when she was young. But, like most New England girls in the 18th century, Abigail was homeschooled along with both of her sisters. And they were most likely taught by their mother, Elizabeth Quincy Smith. I should add that Abigail was born Abigail Smith in a little burb called Weymouth, Massachusetts. Her father, William Smith, was the minister of the local church. She had a brother and those two sisters.
They had lots of books, which was good for that time. Their reading material ranged from Shakespeare to the Bible to local newspapers. She loved to learn, and as such, she became a lover of books and a prolific writer.
But here’s the deal with Abigail. Her mom must not have been strong in spelling, and it showed up in Abigail. Her letters were frequently plagued with such typos as “perticular,” “benifit,” and “litirary.”
In her defense, standardized spelling was just getting a foothold in the Colonies. Even still, Abigail was particularly self-conscious about her bad spelling. She even ended one of her letters with “You will escuse this very incorrect Letter.”
I bring all of this to your attention because on this date, March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams urged her very dear husband to “remember the ladies.”
At least, it was written in a letter to him, dated March 31, 1776. Abigail urged John — AND the other members of the Continental Congress — not to forget about the nation’s women when fighting for America’s independence from Great Britain.
Here is part of what she wrote:
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“I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, 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.”
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Yes. She had a vision for the women of this country. I mean, it was nearly 150 years before the House of Representatives would pass the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. And there she was, asking for that same right.
It was a “First Lady” first step in the fight for equal rights for women. I just love her for that.
But she wasn’t all talk. She really dug in too. About a year earlier, on June 17, 1775, Abigail and her 7-year-old son, John Quincy, looked on as the Battle of Bunker Hill erupted near Charlestown, Massachusetts.
It was a hard and brutal thing to watch. And during the battle, more than one hundred American lives were lost. One of the men killed was Joseph Warren, the Adams family doctor and a general of the Revolution.
Abigail got really upset. Mad, in fact. She wanted to do her part in the war, so she gathered up all of her precious pewter spoons and melted them down into musket balls for the rebel troops. She also sheltered numerous patriot troops and Boston refugees at her Braintree home.
And in addition to all of that, she vehemently opposed slavery. She hated it and spoke out about it.
I have to add one more thing. She loved dogs. Through the years, the Adams family had several dogs. But probably their two best-known pooches were named Juno and Satan. Juno especially loved Abigail and was always seen at her side.
You go, girl. You go.
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“Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.”
― Voltaire, Philosophical Dictionary
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“The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.”
— Albert Einstein
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“I figure, if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one.”
— Calamity Jane
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Did they call you Abby? Or butt-kicker?
