Abigail
Adams
Abigail Smith Adams 1744-1818
A minister’s daughter from outside of Boston who married a country lawyer for love, Abigail Adams never imagined herself to be a figure on the national stage. Nonetheless, her self-taught financial savvy, civic intelligence, and patient understanding of human nature provided critical support for her husband, 2nd President John Adams, throughout his lengthy career of public service. A fierce advocate of universal education and the then-novel concept of women’s rights, she reared and inspired her children (including future 6th President, John Quincy Adams) to lead the young nation in defending the notion of liberty for all.
John Adams 1735-1826
An upper-middle-class Massachusetts lawyer before the Revolution, Adams began his political career as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774. An early and vocal supporter of separation from England, he championed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He would later write the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. After years of diplomatic missions to Europe, he was elected to serve as the nation’s first Vice President in George Washington’s administration. Adams then served one term as President of the United States from 1797-1801 before losing the election of 1800 to Thomas Jefferson.
1766 by Benjamin Blyth - Massachusetts Historical Society
c. 1795 - unidentified artist - Fenimore Art Museum
1800 / 1815 by Gilbert Stuart - National Gallery of Art
Abigail Adams never intended for us to know all we do about her. Not only was she expecting her correspondence to remain private, she frequently asked of John, “I wish you would burn all my Letters.”
He did not heed her request.
In the 1840s, Charles Francis Adams, John and Abigail’s grandson, published several collections of their letters, which had been preserved with the rest of the family’s papers after their deaths. Over 66 years after it was written, Abigail Adams’s plea to “Remember the Ladies” became public knowledge, as well as part of the nation’s founding narrative.
The work of portraying a real individual who lived a full life in their own era comes with sincere responsibility. I have no desire to misrepresent Mrs. Adams, to distill her down to a few brief quotes, to limit her life experience to one moment, or to say she was always one thing and never the opposite. While she may not have wished to leave the autobiographical record she did, the legacy of her writing has kept open a window for future generations to view the founding of the United States. My goal is to study and interpret Mrs. Adams as a real person throughout the whole of her life, and by doing so, to illustrate the progression of the American Revolution to a modern audience.
A toast to Madame Abigail from Weymouth -
She who devoured and recited poetry as she reared a keen flock of legendary citizens - she who simultaneously filled the roles of farmer, landlord, employer, teacher, nurse, accountant, wife, daughter, sister, mother, merchant, and muse - she who nursed elderly parents and mourned the babies she buried - she who saw the splendor of Europe and conversed with royalty, only to cement her love of south shore Massachusetts -
She who poured her soul onto pen and paper with a deluge that shaped the infancy of a nation - she who infallibly supported her partner as he reached his full potential, even though it meant years of painful separation - she who believed "to be good, and do good, is the whole duty of man comprised in a few words" - she who championed universal access to education regardless of gender, race, or economic station - she who hated the French Directory almost as much as she hated Alexander Hamilton -
She who never yearned for a public life, yet became an American symbol of fortitude, poise, humility, self-sacrifice, strong opinions, moral philosophy, and civic service -
To Mrs. Adams, a toast.
Audrey Stuck-Girard
John and Abigail
I regularly perform with Michael Lepage, who has been portraying 2nd President John Adams at historic sites and events for decades. Solo or as a team, we are happy to collaborate with clients on a variety of performance styles: classroom programs, appearances at historical sites, scripted speeches, improvised in-character banter at cocktail events and fundraisers, and presenting and leading intellectual discussions on site-specific topics.
