Synopses & Reviews
The Letters of John and Abigail Adams provides an insightful record of American life before, during, and after the Revolution; the letters also reveal the intellectually and emotionally fulfilling relationship between John and Abigail that lasted fifty-four years and withstood historical upheavals, long periods apart, and personal tragedies. Covering key moments in American history-the Continental Congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and John Adams's diplomatic missions to Europe-the letters reveal the concerns of a couple living during a period of explosive change, from smallpox and British warships to raising children, paying taxes, the state of women, and the emerging concepts of American democracy.
Review
"The Adamses were an unusual couple, and Abigail was certainly the brightest and the most learned of the Founders' wives. But the Adamses were products of their time, not ours, and we do ourselves no favor by ripping them out of the century in which they lived. To recover their time and their place, with all the immediacy and the contingency of events whose future significance the participants could not know, there is no better place to start than with these genuinely extraordinary letters." Gordon S. Wood, The New Republic (read the entire New Republic review)
Synopsis
The correspondence of a Founding Father and his brilliant wife
The Letters of John and Abigail Adams provides an insightful record of American life before, during, and after the Revolution; the letters also reveal the intellectually and emotionally fulfilling relationship between John and Abigail that lasted fifty-four years and withstood historical upheavals, long periods apart, and personal tragedies. Covering key moments in American history - the Continental Congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and John Adams's diplomatic missions to Europe - the letters reveal the concerns of a couple living during a period of explosive change, from smallpox and British warships to raising children, paying taxes, the state of women, and the emerging concepts of American democracy.
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Synopsis
An intimate portrait of a colonial family and an important historical record of the beginnings of American government
Synopsis
The Letters of John and Abigail Adams provide an insightful record of American life before, during, and after the Revolution; they also reveal the intellectually and emotionally fulfilling relationship between John and Abigail that lasted fifty-four years and withstood historical upheavals, long periods apart, and personal tragedies. Covering key moments in American history the Continental Congress, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and John Adams' diplomatic missions to Europe the letters reveal the concerns of a couple living during a period of explosive change from smallpox and British warships to raising children, paying taxes, the state of women, and the emerging concepts of American democracy.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. [xxxiii]-xxxiv).
About the Author
John Adams (1735-1826), educated as a lawyer at Harvard, was the Massachusetts delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses. During the Revolutionary War, he served abroad in diplomatic roles and helped negotiate the peace treaty. After serving as Vice President for two terms under George Washington, he was subsequently elected President.
Abigail Smith Adams (1744-1818), was one of the most influential women of her era.
Frank Shuffelton is professor of English at the University of Rochester, and edited the Penguin Classics edition of Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson.
Table of Contents
The Letters of John and Abigail Adams Introduction
A Brief Adams Calendar, 1774-83
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Text
Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife
Explanatory Notes