John Adams Women's Rights Essay

The document illuminates the nature of female protest during the American Revolution, written by Abigail Adams to Mercy Otis Warren on April 27, 1776. Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States. She wasn't just one of the strongest female voice in the American Revolution; she was a key political advisor to her husband and became the first First Lady to live in the White House. Additionally, Mercy Otis Warren, who was a good friend of Abigail Adams and was known as the First Lady of revolution. She was the first significant woman historian, wrote an eyewitness account of the American Revolution.

In the letter dated March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams asks her husband, John Adams to "Remember the ladies”, and don’t forget the women of the nation. She asks her husband to remember the women when he comes to write the laws; and be more generous than their ancestors were. Abigail let him know that she hoped that he could achieve independence and she wants that the government allow women to have more rights, voice and representation in government. She demanded more protection against the abuse of men. She asks that don’t give unlimited power to men because they tend to be tyrants; and that if their request is not heard they will rebel in order to get it.

In Abigail Adams to John Adams, Abigail is left at home to work on the land while John is away working on the Declaration of Independence and working with the Continental Congress. In a letter to John, she tells him to “Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors.” Knowing that previously, women were seen as the subordinates to their husbands and now that the American Revolution has taken place, it was up to the new founders to change the situation. Following this conversation with his wife, John Adams questioned in John Adams to John Sullivan, “But why exclude Women? You will Say, because their Delicacy renders them unfit for Practice and Experience, in the great Business of Life, and the hardy Enterprizes of War, as well as the arduous Cares of State.”

In Document D, Abigail Adams exclaims, in the John Adams miniseries, that Congress is like the King, because they don’t care for women and slaves (Source D). When Abigail tells her husband this, it displays her opinion that the King isn’t being fair to the Congress. In return, the Congress isn’t being fair to the women, which means that she needs to stand up for herself and the other women that need a say in laws and government. In Source B, Adams writes, “…we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice, or representation.” Similar to Source D, this quote illustrates how strongly Abigail Adams’ determination would take her.

1. How did revolutionary America see both improvements and limitations in women’s roles and rights? Revolutionary America saw improvements and limitations in women's roles and rights through various methods. One of the common limitations in women's rights is the topic of gender versus power. In most cases, the husband had legal authority over their wives, ultimately considering the women to be unfit for citizenship.

The American Revolution was without a doubt one of the most crucial events to have ever existed in humankind that would later go on to help shape and form today’s society. Beginning 1775, the 13 English colonies rebelled against British rule because they regarded it as unfair and oppressive. Alongside the help of Spain and France, the 13 colonies were able to defeat the British and then gain independence through the Treaty of Paris in 1783. After considering the definition of a revolution - an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed - and the American society before and after the American Revolution, it is obvious that those who don’t consider the American

“Life, woman, life is God 's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it” (Miller 132). In the months of February 1692 to May of 1693, more than 200 people were falsely accused of witchcraft, 20 of them being brutally executed, including two dogs, creating a craze for witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Abigail Williams, a twelve year old girl, is seen as the initiator in Salem’s trials. In the 17th century, women’s rights were faint, as women were seen as the weaker link of the two genders. So when Abigail Williams was asked who afflicted her cousin, Betty, she was quick to point fingers to her uncle’s Barbadian slave, Tituba.

She begins her letter by stating that John is working too frequently and not spending enough time with her and her family. She proceeds to denounce his work in office by stating that despite their government’s progress towards equality of all men, the women still deserve to have equal opportunities. Moreover, she also infers that a government is only as powerful as it’s people, thus, if not provided wit equal opportunities, the women will revolt against the government. Before reading this, I was unaware that women, especially women of higher class/power, were discussing equal rights and opportunities of women. I assumed that they would have primarily discussed this with the other women in their society rather than the men.

Numerous women expressed their disapproval towards how they were denied their rights based on their gender, thus causing women to take a stand for their suffrage and rights. In a letter to her husband, Abigail Adams told him to “be more generous and favourable to [women] than [his]

Abigail Adams was extremely influential to the nation’s beginnings due to her drive to push certain decisions and debates through the status of her husband. She found the issues of women’s rights and slavery while also finding local politics to be important. As the wife of a president, Abigail Adams was able to use her status in a way to push and bring to life her political agenda. Abigail Adams was able to provide her husband with information and insights of the political situation in Boston during his decade long trip through numerous letters that had been exchanged for so long. Her letters regarding the political situation “included commentary on the American struggle for independence and the political structure of the new republic.”

And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ head on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!” (Miller 12). This quote shows how Abigail has changed and what she’d do if she was confronted with such a situation. She made the decision quickly and opted to only save herself. Over the course of the book it gets represented pretty well that she is capable of doing everything to hold up her reputation.

Education was a big factor that Abigail urged women to have more of a passion for. An educated woman is a strong woman. She promotes that women are just as capable as men, and intellectual thinkers who want their voices to be heard. Since women had little rights for themselves, some women were against slavery, especially Abigail Adam’s, they saw how little to no rights slaves were given and saw a comparison of the situations and wanted to be that voice for them and those that joined her. John Adams had complete trust in her to be able to handle all that was going on in the household while he was gone.

The life of Women in the late 1800s. Life for women in the 1800s began to change as they pushed for more rights and equality. Still, men were seen as better than women, this way of thinking pushed women to break out from the limitations imposed on their sex. In the early 1800s women had virtually no rights and ultimately were not seen as people but they rather seen as items of possession, it wasn’t until the late 1800s that women started to gain more rights. The Civil War actually opened opportunities for women to gain more rights, because with many of the men gone to war women were left with the responsibilities that men usually fulfilled during that time period.

(Miller 12). This quote shows how Abigail has changed and what she’d do if she was confronted with such a situation. She made the decision quickly and opted to only save herself. Over the course of the book it gets represented pretty well that she is capable of doing everything to hold up her reputation: she wants to be a saint. Every decision she makes is like a little test that shows what kind of person and friend she is.

Feminism is a word that has changed over time, it is not fixed, but has a broad meaning. It has been used in conjunction with liberal, socialist, radical, cultural, spiritual, black, multicultural, and plenty others. Eventually, the Women’s Liberation Movement adopted the term feminist because is was simple and appealing. The term has now gained the basic meaning of women engaging in activities to foster their development. Today, the causes of the term being notorious are the numerous campaigns that have arisen.