The Spirit of America 🇺🇸

Are you overwhelmed with everything happening in America lately? So much divisiveness. One side absolutely and irrevocably against the other, vitriol and hate, their only commonality. You may be tempted to give up on America and erase the past because of the mistakes of our antecedents. But let’s not be hasty. It has been said that those who fail to learn from their history are doomed to repeat it!! I love the spirit of America. The Founders were some of the most thoughtful men and women who ever lived. Their knowledge, their passion, and their noble sense of honor illuminate their words. We must remember they lived in a different time with different cultural norms and they were only human, of course. They had faults and made mistakes, but they were still amazing people whom I enjoy learning about. I hope you do, too! 

One of my favorites is America’s second First Lady. Abigail Smith was born on November 22, 1744 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. (Happy Birthday, Abigail!) Education was important to Abigail, but much to her regret, she never received formal schooling. She was however, raised in a home filled with books! 📚 She learned to read and write, showing special interests in philosophy, theology, Shakespeare, the classics, ancient history, government, and law. Abigail was an avid history reader and recognized its importance and impact on her own life and surroundings. (See? History!)

                                    

One of my favorite things about Abigail is her relationship with her husband, John, and the awesome letters they exchanged. 📬🥰 John called Abigail “Miss Adorable” and Abigail called John “Dearest Friend.” They were married on October 25, 1764, by her father, the Reverend Smith. Immediately following the wedding, the couple moved into a small cottage next to John’s childhood home.

In 1774, John Adams went to Philadelphia to serve as the Massachusetts delegate in the Continental Congress. This began a new series of letters between them, chronicling the Revolutionary and Federal eras and the public issues debated by America’s new leaders. It was a time of strong opinions, division and heated arguments! (Sound familiar?) Many of these letters recount Abigail’s advice to her husband and her observations of the press and citizens’ reactions to news of the American Revolution. They also detail her struggles with wartime shortages and inflation, challenges of raising five children and running a farm, and most of all, her loneliness without her husband.

In 1789, Abigail became the first Second Lady of the United States, when her husband was elected Vice President of the United States. She developed a close relationship with First Lady Martha Washington. Following eight years as Vice President, John Adams was elected President of the United States in 1797. Abigail was the first hostess of the White House while it was still under construction. 

Abigail was very active in politics and policy, earning her the nickname “Mrs. President.” Abigail often wrote editorial letters in attempts to help her husband’s administration and spread the word about important events and policies. Two issues that were most important to her were women’s rights and slavery. As early as the 1770s, Abigail was an adamant supporter of women’s rights to equality. She believed that women deserved many of the same rights as men, and that they shouldn’t be expected to follow laws that weren’t written for them. She believed above all that women deserved to be educated and should have the same legal status as men. She was also adamantly against slavery. She believed it was not only evil, but dangerous to the American democracy. 

In March 1801, following the loss of re-election to former family friend Thomas Jefferson, John and Abigail returned to their Massachusetts  home. At first, Adams and Jefferson lost contact over political beliefs, but following the death of Jefferson’s daughter, Abigail wrote to the President, renewing their friendship. Abigail proudly followed her son John Quincy’s political career, but never got to see him serve as President. On October 28, 1818, Abigail died of typhoid fever. Her last words were, “Do not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend. I am ready to go. And John, it will not be long.”🥰😢

Abigail was an interesting woman of letters. I am thankful that there are many of them to read today. So in honor of Abigail’s birthday, send some mail to your friends and family, regardless of their political leanings. Everybody likes “good mail” 🥰📬🐌 💌

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy