Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams by Lynne Withey

Author:Lynne Withey [Withey, Lynne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Women, Political, Literary Collections, Letters, General
ISBN: 9780743233125
Google: wYNnqxDfgewC
Amazon: 074323443X
Publisher: Touchstone
Published: 2002-03-03T22:56:51.410000+00:00

Throughout the months in France, Abigail kept close tabs on their affairs at home. Charles and Tommy progressed well in their studies through the winter; Charles would be ready to enter Harvard the next summer. She and John decided that it was time John Quincy went home to enter Harvard too; for all his considerable schooling and experience in Europe, they had long felt that he should finish his education in his own country. The difficulty was that John Quincy was much older than boys entering Harvard, and his learning presumably surpassed theirs too. So John asked Cotton Tufts to request that the overseers of the college admit him as an advanced student, to either the third-or the fourth-year class. This was accomplished by Christmas, and they began to make plans for John Quincy’s return in the spring.

Cotton Tufts also continued to look after their financial affairs, and Abigail was as avid as ever to have him buy more land for them. She and John disagreed over what to buy, however. John was interested in a particular farm near theirs, but she did not want it. Tufts agreed; the land was wearing out and would not produce good crops. Abigail wanted a larger farm, one with a spacious house that they could move into when they returned. She had heard of its availability from Royall Tyler and persuaded John to consider buying it. “It is a bold stroke for a wife,” she told Tufts. But John, on further reflection, hesitated at such a large purchase; they could not buy it without going into debt, and, as he put it, “I love to feel free.” Abigail reluctantly agreed but told Tufts to continue making inquiries about the farm anyway.

In fact, John was quite happy to leave the direction of affairs at home to Abigail. For the first few months that she was in Europe, Cotton Tufts wrote long letters to both of them about their financial affairs and the expenses of their children. After a while, however, he wrote to John about politics and to Abigail about finances. She told him that it was impossible to get John to think about anything domestic; he wanted everything to run smoothly but could not be bothered with details himself. “He chuses I should write @ think about them & give directions,” she explained. “Tho I am very willing to relieve him from every care in my power, yet I think it has too much the appearance of weilding instead of sharing the scepter.” After their years apart, when Abigail had been forced to take care of all domestic and financial affairs, there seemed no reason to revert to the more conventional way of doing things. The one domestic detail that John did pay attention to was his sons’ education. But buying land, finding tenants for their farms, and having the house repainted—all those things were best left to Abigail.

By the beginning of May, John Quincy began preparing to go home, while John and Abigail once more faced a decision about where they would live.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.