Abigail Adams

Abigail Smith Adams (November 22, 1744 – October 28, 1818) was an American women's rights advocate, writer, and the wife of the second U.S. President John Adams. Born into a well-educated family in colonial Massachusetts, Abigail received an informal but comprehensive education that was unusual for women of her time, reading extensively in her father's library. During the American Revolution, she managed the family farm and business while her husband served in the Continental Congress and as a diplomat. Her letters to John Adams, particularly her 1776 plea to 'remember the ladies' when drafting new laws, are considered early feminist documents advocating for women's property rights and education. As First Lady from 1797 to 1801, she remained intellectually engaged in political matters and corresponded with many leading figures of her era. Her son John Quincy Adams became the sixth President of the United States. Abigail Adams is celebrated as a pioneer of women's rights in America and remains an influential figure in American intellectual and political history.