Valentines, Part 2: John & Abigail Adams

That's a lot of letters

Last week, I talked about George and Martha Washington in my first Valentine post

Now, we’re on to two more iconic founding Valentines – John and Abigail Adams.

This is probably what their letters looked like.

From their courtship starting in 1762 until 1801, the final year of Adams’ presidency, John and Abigail Adams (well, Abigail Smith at the beginning) wrote letters.

💌 Lots of letters. So many letters. More than 1,000 still exist today.

And they show the deep love and respect these two had for one another. They also show Abigail to be a woman who knew her own mind and was not afraid to advise her husband. In 1775, for example, she advocated for independence, writing “Let us separate, they are unworthy to be our Brethren.” 

John Adams had many duties and diplomatic posts that kept him from home during their marriage (hence the need for so many letters), but his wife not only kept things running, she ensured they flourished. 💰 She was an incredibly savvy investor who grew the family wealth through bonds and other smart financial decisions. 

Meanwhile, he kept her updated the best he could and, when it wasn’t safe to put details into letters, he would “go on trifling.” But he always valued her opinions, writing "I want to hear you think or see your thoughts."

The two worked together as a true partnership, something that was highly unusual at the time. When she became first lady in 1796, some critics even referred to her as “Mrs. President”, because her husband consulted her so regularly. 

Upon Abigail’s death in 1818, her son John Quincy Adams (who would later become president as well) wrote “Oh! what must it be to my father, and how will he support life without her who has been, to him its charm?” 

😍 swoon 😍

🔈Want to hear more about them? Check out this episode on the Second Continental Congress. I was joined by Dr. Sarah Georgini, Series Editor for The Papers of John Adams, part of The Adams Papers project at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Get ready – next week, I’ll tell you the love story of Dolley and James Madison.