First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role by Jeanne E. Abrams

Author:Jeanne E. Abrams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: United States, Revolutionary Period (1775-1800), HIS036000 History / United States / General, 19th Century, History
Publisher: NYU Press
Published: 2018-03-06T01:04:28.179000+00:00

Abigail Adams became the second First Lady of the United States on February 8, 1797, when, at the age of sixty-one, John Adams was formally elected president, although he did not officially assume office until March 4. Abigail felt keenly the heightened degree of responsibility and increased level of public duty that would now fall on both herself and particularly her husband, and she observed, “My feelings are not that of pride, or ostentation upon the occasion. They are solemnized by a sense of the obligations, the important Trusts and Numerous Duties connected with it.”1 Abigail’s words reflect the unwavering commitment to the public good that she and John had long internalized. Moreover, she fully understood the strong partnership the position would require, and Abigail soon declared to John that she was “always willing to be a fellow Labourer with you in all those Relations and departments to which my abilities are competent.”2

John called upon Abigail’s support almost immediately. As he put it so dramatically, “I never wanted your Advice and assistance more in my Life.”3 That he relied on the new First Lady for advice is most significant, as he obviously realized that, despite his intellectual brilliance and political acumen, he often lacked the requisite skills to navigate the political/social culture surrounding his presidency and that he would ascend to the nation’s highest office in an exceptionally fraught period for the young republic. In December 1796, even before his inauguration, and with his typical dry wit, John summarized the challenges that would assail him as president: “John Adams must be an intrepid to encounter the open Assaults of France and the Secret Plotts of England, in concert with all his treacherous Friends and open Enemies in his own Country.” In the same letter he referred to Abigail as the incumbent “Presidante” and assured her that, despite the rough road that was sure to unfold ahead, he was more than prepared to carry out his duties. Rather surprisingly, John also maintained that “he never felt more Serene in his Life.”4

For both Abigail and John, the presidency capped long years of devoted sacrifice and service on behalf of the new nation. Yet John had received only three more electoral votes that his major opponent, Thomas Jefferson. Despite the fact that Adams and Jefferson headed opposing parties, because of the peculiarities of the early election system, Jefferson then became Adams’s vice president. From Quincy, Massachusetts, Abigail sent her heartfelt best wishes and prayers for providential guidance as well as her assurances of John’s worthiness for the position. At the same time, she informed her husband that, owing to her professed responsibility for the family farm and her ailing mother-in-law, she would have to be excused from the inauguration on March 4. In the end, Abigail did not join John in Philadelphia until May 6, and of his four years as president, largely due to issues surrounding her often fragile health, she spent only a year and a half at his side.

Abigail had

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