Abigail Adams Letter Analysis

In 1780, eight years before the validation of American Constitution, Abigail Adams penned a letter to her son, John Quincy Adams, (a future president), while he was traveling overseas on his second voyage to France with his father. Blissfully unaware of her son`s future political career, she writes to John Quincy with aspirations of advice concerning his travels and diligence. Adams incorporates historical allusions, a motherly tone, propaganda and evidence to exploit the truth behind the possibility of success if one was to expand upon a natural ability by applying oneself.

1st Lady, Abigail Adams, in her letter, advises her son, John Quincy Adams, to travel and learn. Adams’ purpose is to urge him to have no regrets and learn from his experiences. She adopts an affectionate tone in order to convince him to live his life to the fullest and take advantage of his opportunities in hope of becoming a great and powerful man.

Abigail Adams constructs a well-composed letter to her beloved son John Quincy Adams in order to support and advice John Adam. The letter is written in the twelfth of January 1780 when John Adam was traveling abroad with his fate. The tone of Abigail Adams can be best described as being gentle and complimentary. Furthermore, the purpose of Abigail Adams was to advise John Adam concerning the future of his nation and to advise him on how to take charge of his country. Throughout the affectionate letter, Abigail Adams uses parallel structure, similes, pathos, and alludes to figures from history.

Abigail Adams was very unique in behavior, which was quite uncommon to the 18th century: she spoke her mind. Adams wrote to her husband, “I wish you would ever write me a Letter half as long as I write you […] I am willing to allow the Colony great merrit for having produced a Washington but they have been shamefully duped by a Dunmore.” In this era women were expected to be meek and subservient to their husbands. Adams, however, contradicts the stereotypical behavior of women by speaking to him as his equal, not his inferior. Adams continues to opine, albeit accurately, about the nature of men, writing: “That your Sex are Naturally Tyrannical is a Truth so thoroughly established as to admit of no dispute […] Lawless to use us with cruelty […] Men of Sense in all Ages abhor those customs which treat us only as the vassals of your Sex.” Adams outright states she possesses a distaste for the treatment of women in her era; she even goes so far as to say that intelligent men are disgusted with the customs which restrict females as nothing more than birthing vessels. Abigail Adams is clearly able to express her opinion concisely, but what is more remarkable is her strong spirit, her passion that is clearly expressed in her letter. This

In the letter to her son, John Quincy Adams, Abigail Adams encourages him to use his experiences, knowledge gained from his travels, and guidance brought forth by his own loving mother and father. The intended purpose of the letter is to assure and remind John Quincy that he was fortunate to be raised with many opportunities, benefits which he should apply to become a virtuous and well-regarded person. Abigail Adams implements an analogy and an allusion to historical figures to create an inspiring and supportive voice to present to her son her expectations as well as her faith and confidence in him to utilize what he had learned from the world and his own mother’s nurturing to fulfill those expectations and transform into the great man and

First Lady Abigail Adams criticized whatever she could about both the city and the house when she first arrived at the White House. She focused on what was wrong with everything, all of the little inconveniences of living in an unfinished building, and reacted negatively to almost everything that she saw. The longer she stayed, she was able to envision what the house and its rooms would look like when they were completed, and how the problems she was having would be fixed in the future. She started to see the place in a better light and even started describing it as beautiful.

Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her reluctant son John Quincy Adams while he was off at sea to visit France with his father in 1780. In her letter, the message that she wanted to transfer was clear--she wanted to tell her son to not ruin the opportunity that was at stake. This type of letter works for John because she knows he will obey his mother and do as she says. She uses rhetorical methods to show her son that she knows what is best for him. John Quincy Adams had the opportunity with his diplomatic father to visit France and gain a new opportunity.

Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her husband John Adams called Remember the Ladies. Abigail is writing this letter during the Revolutionary War. The timing of the letter is significant because the country is at war for freedom and equality. In her letter Abigail pleas with her husband for women’s equality. Abigail’s purpose for writing to John regarding women’s equality is so that he will think of women as they adopt new laws. Throughout the letter Abigail uses different points of view, word choice, and varying tones to persuade her husband to see the need for laws that are considerate of women.

In the “Remember the Ladies” letter, a correspondence between Abigail Adams and her husband, John Adams, she is writing her husband for the rights of women to not be forgotten. During the American Revolution, a woman’s place was at home with her family. A woman’s job was to bear and raise children, take care of a home, and be a wife. Women were considered just as much property as slaves were property to their masters. Women, like Abigail Adams, began to question their role in an unequal society.

The author of this document is Abigail Adams, a white female that is married to John Adams. She lives in a time where women have no form of representation, and they live in the shadow of men. Because of this, Abigail takes up a woman’s traditional role and performs activities such as manufacture clothing for her family, soap making, creating gun/cannon powder for her husband, and other chores for the benefit of her household (Adams, Paragraph 12). Fulfilling this role has shaped her by securing her inferiority to her husband and other males. She as a woman lacks power both socially and politically when it comes to the opposite gender; however, it is just this that has cultivated her attitude towards her government, the male sex, and even her own spouse. By requesting that her husband remember to give rights to women, it shows that she was brave enough to present her opinions even though they were unwelcomed (Adams, Paragraph 9). She is headstrong in the sense that she is willing to rebel if she does not receive the proper representation that she is asking for. Also, by mentioning that the women would rebel, Abigail displays her intelligence because she could foresee the inevitable future if women’s rights were not improved (Adams, Paragraph 9). She sees the world for what it is, unjust. Moreover, her social and political inferiority did not result in ignorance. Based on her vocabulary, writing style, and comprehension/expression of such complex ideas, she reveals that she is

Abigail Adams faced many hardships throughout her life. She was the daughter of a minister and had two sisters and a brother. In the 1700’s, children did not have a high survival rate due to the amount of diseases and nothing to treat them with. Abigail Adams said in her old age that she “was always sick” (Akers 5). This reminds people how tough life was in the 1700’s and how easy it was to pass away from a mere cold. Abigail also did not have any education growing up. Women, in the colonial era, were not supposed to have an education and were supposed to watch the kids, cook, and clean. Readers of this book learn that many women back then were illiterate and were self-taught, if they had any education. Abigail did find a love for literature due to her sister’s spouse, Richard Cranch. He influenced her love for literature at a young age and she started to become more literate. Along with the disease and educational deficiency, women were considered as property. A young woman could either give up

Abigail Adams was a woman of high character and a loving soul. She was selfless in her thinking and remarkable in the way she handled people. Her management skills were above average for the normal female in the 1700s. She held many worldly interests that tied her to the political fashion of society. She was well cultured and was able to apply this to her role of a politician’s wife with great attributes towards society. She became the “buffer” with regard to her husband's temper and lack of diplomacy. She participated in many political activities. Her independent thinking, character, faithfulness, and hard work gave her the ability to succeed in society in the 17th century. Even though Abigail Adams was not formerly

The author of the document we are analyzing is Abigail Adams. Abigail Adams is a strong minded women in her early thirties. (First Lady Biography) She is the wife of John Adams, a prominent figure in the Continental Congress. From this document we can infer that Abigail is concerned about the women and their rights. “They have time and warning given them to see the Evil and shun it.—I long to hear that you have declared an independency—and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors.” (Adams, Letter) In this quote Abigail is explaining to John that when they write the Declaration of Independence they should keep the women in mind and be more supportive of them.

On 12 January, 1780, Abigail Adams writes a letter to her son, John Quincy Adams, who is traveling to France with his father. She encourages her son to take advantage of his travela and use his skills and knowledge to help better himself and experience growth. Throughout her letter, Adams uses ethos, allusion, pathos, and other rhetorical devices to encourage her son John to continue traveling.

Letter to John Adams from Abigail Adams and Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams