Abigail Adams, wife of future president John Adams, sent numerous letters to her husband while he was at the Second Continental Congress. She knew, through her correspondence with her husband, that the delegates were in the crux of drafting the crucial Declaration of Independence. In her letters, she appeals to her husband to "remember the ladies" when they are drafting the document. She is often considered one of the first to push for women's rights.
Click here to read some of their letters. Please read the letter dated March 31, 1776 and the letter dated May 7, 1776.
Answer the usual questions, and then think about this: Do you think Abigail Adams is truly pushing for political equality for men and women? If not, what IS she pushing for?
Due: MIDNIGHT, Tuesday, Sept. 18
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Abigail Adams letters to her husband are based on the point of view of a woman who is the wife of a powerful man. The main idea is that she requests that John Adams includes women in the Declaration of Independence because she believes that they should hold all the same rights as men. She always says that basically women can rebel and refuse to obey their husbands whenever they feel like it. I find this kind of ironic since most women didn't rebel and didn't earn the right to vote and divorce or whatever for a long time after these letters were written. I think Abigail Adams is only speaking for the rights of women, but then again I'm probably wrong.
This is Brian, it still won't let me post any other way.
Abigal Adams wrote these letters to express womens thoughts about being equal to men. Her point of view is from one that wants independence from England but also an equal status with men. She doesn't want the men to have all the power and exclude the women. I think that she is pushing for equality in every way for women, not to be treated as inferior but as peers.
Hey Mrs. Stone!!! This is Mackenzie Wilder ~ The main point in these letters to her husband, John Adams is for him to take into consideration women’s roles and should be rights at this point. Abigail wants John Adams to see that the way women are being treated are in the same respect the same as way they are being treated by the British. Abigail writes, “"Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.” This shows the King and parliament are tyrants and when the colonists were not care for they decide to form a rebellion. When the colonists formed their rebellions they were bound by no laws and the whole rebellion was started because the colonists had no representation. Abigail can see this and at a certain point women will rise up against men and take what is theirs just as the colonists did. The point of view is Abigail Adams but I think women all in the colonies had the same burning desire for some sort of women rights. The purposes of these letters were to try to sway John Adams decisions on “women rights”. I have never read any other documents like this before but I think it is very interesting that Abigail had the sand to actually say something to her husband about the issues she was facing. This was not very common but I respect her for taking a stand. I also learned that Abigail Adams was a very intelligent woman and was politically on top of her game. You go girl! I think that Abigail Adams was one of the first women to recognize that women were entitled to the same rights are their husbands.
Abigail Adams wrote her thoughts about men in her letters to her husband. I don't think that she would have wrote these letters had she not been in a higher position than normal women. Abigail is writing to her husband to urge him to let women have normal rights just like the men had. John Adams told his wife that her thoughts would be heard and not forgotten. I also realized the power that women have against men like rebelling against them. I also found it weird that women never used to have rights like they do today. I guess the view of women has changed vastly over the course of years.
The main idea of these letters to John Adams from his wife, Abigail, are to firmly ask that while writing the declaration that her husband would support and include women's rights and privileges to have a voice and be represented. From Mrs. Adam's point of view, the letters show a great amount of bolstering the including of women in the document. I find it interesting that Abigail Adams almost gives a threat in the way that she says that the men who wish to be **happy** will give up their tyrannical ways in place of a tender friendship and equality of man and woman (unless I completely took that the wrong way)... What I can relate this to are the many documents sent to Britain from the colonists (written by men) that establish the need to be heard by the people who are supposed to represent and listen to them most.
Considering the last line of Abigail Adam's last letter, I assume that (yes) she is pushing for equality, but in a way it seems that she wants to have the power instead of equal power. It seems like she's angry that the men got their chance to rule, and now it's hers...(LIKE I SAID.. unless i completely interpreted that wrong)
shazam.
Hey, it's Jake in 4th I tried to leave a comment like this on the last blog but I dont think it worked, hopefully this will.
Well lets see Abigail Adams it seems to me was a smart person who was not afraid to show what she thought. In her letters to John she states that, she hopes he will lessen the, distance, between men and womens rights, that men should not think of women as slaves, but actually as friends, and she expressed hope that they would put this in the declaration. I think this is a strong gesture for those times, and she must have been a very open minded women who was ahead of her times. In her response to John she shows her dislike for the way things are again and says that if things dont change they will eventually rise up without even a noticable fight.
It really seemed like she was just talking about women's rights, maybe something more but I dont think so.
The letters were obviously written by Abigail Adams. They were written to John Adams at the second continental congress to not neccesarily push equal rights with men but that men be less tyrannical over their wives. The point of view comes from Abigail but not i'm not sure other women felt the same way about this issue but i'm sure some did. I've never read any other document like these and i agree with Abigail because John Adams' and the continental congress guys would be hypocrites if the complained about unjust treatment and go and treat their women the same way.
Whoo-hooo!! Go Abigail! Talk about telling her husband in a hmm...okay, fine, in a very nice “I’m-just-the-wife-so-I’m only suggesting-this-to-you.” way. Still, I have to wonder if John just didn’t listen to his (very much correct) wife, or just didn’t understand exactly what she wanted. I can practically see it now… “Abby we put in men, that’s more than half of women!” Ha-ha, get it? Look at the letters...(Excuse my corny joke). And what more could Abigail have been hinting at besides women’s rights? Because if she was trying for the whole subtle thing, then her husband really didn’t get it. (And I can’t really blame him, seeing as how I’m a girl-bonus points for anyone who got it before I said that!- and didn’t even notice any hinting or symbolism. Sorry guys, but you all stink when it comes to picking up hints or even understanding from women.)
Abigail Adams was pushing for women's rights in these letters to her husband, John Adams. This is from the point of view of a woman who wants equality between women and men. She says that women are treated like the servants of men. "Men of sense in all ages abhor those customs which treat us only as the (servants) of your sex..." She tries to get the men in the Second Continental Congress to "remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors" when they write up the new laws. she wrote "...whilst you are proclaiming peace and good-will to men, emancipating all nations, you insist upon retaining an absolute power over wives." This shows how strongly she felt about equality. She wrote that if they didn't get these freedoms then the women would free themselves and "throw both your natural and legal authority at our feet." these are the ideas that women used in later years to actually fight for women's rights.
sorry this is beth galloway thats my comment above
Mrs. Stone this is MAckenzie and i need to finish my blog it cut me off! But i would have to disagree with Brain and Emily although Abigail is refering to "Rights". I dont think she means political rights rathar than just legal protections and wanted to be some recognition for womens roles and values in their husbands's lives.
Abigail Adams’ letters to her husband show that the wives of higher up men, still fight, probably even more so, for women’s rights. She wants John Adams to include women in the Declaration of Independence. She says to “remember the ladies” and not to “make the same mistake his ancestors did.” Abigail writes from the point of view of a woman, really “back in the day,” wants equal or higher status than men. She does not want unlimited power in the hands of tyrants, men, according to her. She also states that women would be able to rebel, refuse to obey their husbands, and not bide by the law if they were not mentioned in the Declaration. Moreover, because they were not mentioned in the Declaration, the law does not apply to them. I think that she is sort of pushing for women’s equality, but more so she wants the women in political seats, having all of the power. She states that she wants men to throw both natural and legal authority at women’s feet.
JOSH HAMMOND
Abigail Adams is trying to persuade her husband to influence the writing of the D.O.I. in a positive way for women. She refuses to be an unimportant servant wife and wants some power and a say in things. Some of her vocabulary is hard to understand and confusing. I think she would love political equality but knows it isnt achievable in her lifetime. She justs wants a little more power and respect, and like brian said to not be inferiors.
When Abigail Williams wrote these letters she probably didn't think that years later people would be doing blogs on them. I believe that her main purpose was to try and pursued him to keep the women’s rights in mind when writing the constitution. She believed (I think) that women had the same capabilities as men, if not more. I took offense to what he said in the first reply back to his wife. He almost replied back like it was a joke. Obviously he did not get the message because women were definitely not created equal at that time. If I were Abigail I would be very disappointed in my husband because he did not really “remember the ladies” like he should have when writing the declaration.
The main point of Abigail Adams's letters was to convince and persuade her husband, president-to-be John Adams, to "remember the ladies" when drafting the Declaration of Independence. Basically, she wanted him to consider mentioning women's rights as well as those of men. Unfortunately for her, John Adams did not agree.
Because the letters are written by Abigail Adams, they are from the point of view of a woman and advocate women's rights.
I found it interesting that Mrs. Adams was so adamant about proclaiming women's rights in the Declaration of Independence. But I don't think she was truly pushing for women's political rights. I think she was more interested in the social equality of men and women and believed that if it were to be written down, then the proclamation would be followed. For example, she says men treat women as servants, and as they are purely pleasurable beings, meaning women are only here to make men happy. Of course, as a girl, I disagree. But the Declaration of Independence doesn't focus on individual rights as much as the rights of our nation as a whole. It is simply a mission statement for America and when it says "That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," it includes men AND women, using "man" as a general term for for human.
While John Adams attended the Second Continental Congress, beginning the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, Abigail Adams sent letters to her husband explaining, from her point of view as a woman, that men's rights should be more evenly distributed, like men's rights. Abigail writes these letters to try to get the idea across to her husband that he should provide women with better rights and that if he does not, women would have no problem protesting. While reading Abigail's letters, I thought the same thing as Harris: her letters reminded me of the documents sent to the British by the colonists "suggesting" the British change their political behavior towards the colonists. Through reading this document, I learned that women were ready to rebel if their rights were not granted. What I do find confusing/still wonder is if Abigail ever pleaded her case to anyone else or if she only encouraged her husband to allow women to be granted more rights. I do not believe that Abigail is pushing for equality for men and women, but rather wanting to erase women's status as inferior to men and pushing for more rights to be given to the women.
it's blair..my comuputer is gay.
Abigail Adams letters to her husband, John Adams were sent to inform John that women are not created equally as men. Since he was helping make the Declaration of Independence she thought her husband might have listened to her. The only reason I think she wrote this letter is because her husband was in a powerful position. I am shocked that more women didn't write to the Congress other than Abigail. I do not think she was pushing for the equality of men and women, I believe Abigail was pushing for women to be seen as more important. In her first letter, she is basically pointing out that without women, men would be a bunch of tyrants running around, which makes me believe that she is saying women are the necessity to life, to balance things out. Even though it seems to me that she is pushing for women to be better than men, it may have opened the eyes of men just a little bit because women have really never expressed their rights before. I agree with Danielle, that John didn't really hear what she had to say but in years to come women will get what they want. :D
HEY MRS. STONE THIS IS CHELSEA!!!
The purpose of these letters is to persuade the forefathers of our country to treat women more equally. Her point of view is obviously from the female and wife perspective. It is very interesting that being a wife, she says that women are treated like servants. It is interesting that she thinks that her husband doesn't treat women with respect and yet she remains married to him. These letters are kind of like a womens version of the delcaration of rights and grievances. I definitely think that she is wanting for the women to have more rights. She is very persuasive with her arguments as well. Her points are valid even though we all know the end and that women really weren't included in the declaration of independence.
Abigail Adams wrote these letters to her husband in an effort for the roles of women, particularly wives, to not be relegated to that of servant or otherwise inferior to their male counterparts. John Adams just seems to kind of laugh at her in a husbandly sort of way, and does not appear to take her appeals for equality seriously.
Which is kind of obvious since the various legal documents following this upon the founding of the country used terms such as 'all men' (not women) and women didn't exactly get the right to vote until 144 years after the Declaration Indepence.
Abigail Adams wrote these letters to her husband to act as a womanly influence on Congress. She intends for her letters to represent women and their political views. She wants her husband to consider the wish of women to be equal with men and have the same rights. I think that political issues were not her only concern, she may have just wanted respect. She wants men to understand that women are not inferior, and should be treated as equals.
The author of the letters is Abigail Adams. She is writing these letters while the Declaration of Independence is being drafted and she wants to make sure that women's rights are remembered while the men are convening. The point of view is pretty obvious, she is a woman and has a vested interest in fighting for more women's rights. She makes the very valid point that all men (or at least most that have actually risen to power) have proven to be tyrannical in nature and then she goes on to make it very clear that should women not get a share of the power now, that they are fully capable and "determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold [themselves]...bound by any laws in which [they]...have no voice or representation" (Sounds kind of familiar to the Colonies' pleas for actual representation in matters concerning taxes). I agree with Harris and Sophie that her letters remind me of the documents that the Colonies sent to the British asking for them to reform their political behavior. I think that it is clear that she does want political equality; she is tired of women being the servants of men and is making a decent request that men and women be seen as equal.
Abigail Adams here is pressuring John Adams to consider adopting greater equality between women and men domestically. Her letters don't especially mention a female right to political power, but rather more that men not have such power domestically over women. So, more likely domestic equality than political equality. Anyway, this comes from the point of view of the wife of a politician during the formation of the American government.
Hey Mrs. Stone this is Brian T.
Abegail Adams wrote these letters to her husband in hope of winning more freedom for women. Her husband John Adams has a good deal of power in creating the new laws that would shape America. So whe asks him to "remember the ladies" or in other words to give them more freedoms and more equality to men. She also expresses more than once that if men continue to horde power to themselvse and not recognize women that the women would just ignore the law and rise up. I'm guessing her pleading did not work since things did not look up for women for a good while.
The main idea of the letters that Abigail Adams wrote to her husband is to ensure that while the Declaration is being written that women's rights are supported and included. From Abigail's point of view the letters show her full support and belief in women's rights and equality to men. The letters don't sound as if they were written to her husband becuase they sound almost like a threat or petition. In the letters she doesn't seem to just try and persuade but scare the crap out of her husband. She almost seems like the type of person who would kill her husband if women's rights weren't included. Mrs. Adams deffinitely had the right idea in "reminding" her husband of the ladies since he was such a powerful man and had a big part in writing the Declaration. I agree with Harris that the document sounds like many of the petitions written by Americans protesting the British government for power and rights. If Abigail got ticked off about the whole controversy of women's rights after the Declaration, I sure am glad that i wasn't around to experience her wrath.
Abigail Adams saw her husband's position in what was soon to be a new government as an opportunity for her to voice her concerns as to the place of women in the new society. She saw the Declaration as a potential turning point in history to leave behind the old world views of male dominance. She did not seem to be speaking from personal experience (although her husband obviously disagreed and scoffed at her views), but rather from the collective feminine experience. She viewed women as the balance to counteract men, whom she proposed were naturally prone to be tyrants when given power. She is definitely pushing for political equality between men and women, and going about it in the manner of applying John Locke's theory to the women's rights cause, explaining that women will have to throw off the oppression of their "masters". These letters prove that women were stiving for equality long before their right to vote was granted. Her letters remind me a bit of the female counterpart to the French "Declaration of Rights of the Man and Citizen", which was of course the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen". It dealt with the same issue, the exclusion of women from the newly written constitution.
Hey Mrs. Stone its Nick Foister the thing wont let me log in.
The letters were written by Abigal Adams to John Adams, her husband while he was away at the Second Continental Congress. The letters were written to ask her husband that women are deserve to be given the same rights that men have. She claims that if too much power be given to a man that it will make him become tyrannical. I think that Abigal just wants a little better treatment and her voice to be heard.
hola, mi nombre es Hannah Mauldini!
The letters Abigail Adams wrote to her husband are about giving rights or protection to women. The point of view is that of a woman who believes in equality between men and women. She wrote her letters trying to convince John Adams to "remember the ladies" in the Declaration of Independence. This document is linked with any other famous letters I've read simply because it is a letter. I agree with Mackenzie about what exactly Abigail was wanting. I'm not completely sure whether or not she was pushing for the rights of women or just for the recognition of their roles in their husbands' lives.
ADIOS!
Abigail Adams is the author of these two letters. She is corresponding to her husband who is in the Second Continental Congress. Her purpose of writing these letters is to express her ideas to her husband John Adams. The main idea is that all of the new laws being put into place are great, but there should be some enacted to give women some power. Abigail comments that she "desire[s] you [her husband] would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors." This idea is somewhat inline with how the colonoists felt against Britian when they were imposing all the taxes on the colonists.
I do think that she is pushing for somewhat of an equal playing field for men and women politically. When she says "[we] will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation." She is talking about women being held by laws that were created by men.
the letters written by Abigail Adams are written in her point of view, a women with a powerful husband. I dont think that Abigail Adams was striving for equality but just to have a little more say in what went on, which is the main idea. She doesnt want the men to be tyrants. I havent read any documents like this. Abigail is pushing for some rights but not equality
Abigail Adams letters to her husband were a way for her to communicate with her husband while he was at the Second Continental Congress. She used this to project her point of view and state her opinions. Her main opinion is that she pushes rights for women and wants the men to treat the women with the same respect that they treat each other. Abigail speaks about how bad it would be if all the power was in the hands of the tyrannical husbands and wishes that some power and respect would be given to the wives. I agree with Josh, she realizes that politcal equality cannot be given to them at this time but she wishes for some power and some dignity shown towards them. She no longer wants to be inferior to the men. I don't think that she is fully pushing for equality but more of a sense of equality and moving more towards womens' rights.
Abigail Adams's main point and idea is to get across to John Adams the importance of equality between men and women. Her point of view is one of being a proud and strong women and that they aren't just "slaves" to the opposite sex, but rather one of their own, one with independence. This is very much like all of the documents we studied in elementary and middle school about the women's rights movement. I found it quite funny that Mrs. Adams says that "all men would be tyrants if they could...", it seems to me that she is saying that without women, men would go crazy with power. I learned that not only is it confusing to us readers now when Mr. Adams says "all men are created equal", but it was to the people of that time as well.
I definitely would say that Abigail Adams is doing more than just "pushing" for women's rights, she's almost demanding them. She speaks of revolting against men if they are not given some rights and continuously mentions the fact that the documents that Mr. Adams is writing aren't fair and almost ignore women as a whole. I'm sure that many of the women who started the modern women's rights movement drew a lot of inspiration from these very letters.
Abigail Adams wrote letters to her husband while the Declaration was being drafted. She wanted women to be remembered in the document. She wants to show that women have the same rights as men, and that everyone is equal. Abigail uses the letters to show her point of view, and to support and show that women's rights were the same as men. Abigail does not think that all power should be given to men, but rather spread out among genders. I also agree with Harris that the letters are similar to petitions formed by Americans protesting the British government. Abigail is persistant in trying to achieve rights for women, but I do not think she is pushing for equality. Abigail just doesn't want women to feel inferior to men.
It seems as if Abigail Adams is pushing for a little power in 1776 which seems a little risky considering her husband was a man of power, although I do respect her for entering into a realm few women have entered because her sending letters to her husband during the writing of the Declaration of Independence takes guts. It also seems that John Adams pays absolutely no attention to Abigail's request because his response begins with him saying all he can do is laugh. Although he does say the women are more important than the slaves and negroes (some sweet privledges). He writes to her almost as if she's not his wife, but some dumb housewife from Travelers Rest. Abigail Adams pushed for women's rights early even at the forming at this country and although it was almost looked over, she began a movement that continues on today.
Abigail Adams wrote these letters to her husband asking him that when drafting the set of laws to govern America, that he remember the ladies. I think that she mainly meant for equal rights in the home, and not necessarily politically. The problems she discusses seem like they should be something each wife would need to deal with with their own husband. This is important because this is one of the first instances of a woman asking for equality in any aspect. She really isn't specific, however, and just mentions for her husband to remember the ladies, and that she doesn't like her husband being a tyrant.
This Jared Alexander from 7th period. It still will not let me in.
The point of view of the letters from Abigail Adams to her husband John Adams to have representation for the women that have no say in the rebellion. The main idea in the letters is to give some power to women not all to the men, like women voting and owning property. She tells John Adams that women can also rebellion against the crown of England and Parilament. The purpose of these letters is give John Adams what women also desire in the war against England. I think Abigail was only trying to get some rights to women but as say politics or owning businesses and such.
Trying to use her husband's position in the Congress to make sure the women had their due rights, Abigail Adams was one of the first women to really push for rights. In her letters she talks about how she and other women will rebel if not given the rights they want. I dont think she's really pushing for equality, just a little bump in society so that they have more say, more respect, and also a little more freedom. Because back then women had barely any freedom. I don't think shes pushing for women's rights as much as just a little respect and freedom for the women of their society.
These letters were written by Abigail Adams to her husband, John Adams. She wrote them to urge him to guarantee certain rights of women in the Declaration of Independence. That women are due these rights and that it is the duty of the men drafting the Declaration to protect them is the main idea of the document. This document is linked to the Declaration in that it is an attempt to influence its contents, but as the letters that comprise the document are part of a personal correspondence rather than something official, they are very different. Important details I have learned are that many of the women of this time believed in their rights very strongly, but that their idea of "rights" was very different from that of women today.
After skimming some of the other responses, I'm slightly less confident in this thought, but I don't think Abigail Adams is pushing for political equality for men and women. She seems instead to want respect and protection of women's property and lives in a mostly domestic sense, because according to her, men are "naturally tyrannical" and tend to abuse their power over women.
Also, I agree with Gabbie's thought that Abigail might not have written these letters "had she not been in a higher position in normal women.
p.s. I did this one over an hour and a half before midnight!
Abigail Adams is writing to her husband John Adams who is at the Second Continental Congress. She knew that the men there were composing the Declaration of Independence and she was pushing for woman’s rights. She says that if they do not give the women any rights they will not wait to start a rebellion. I don’t really think that she is pushing for equality with men in the government but just a voice. She doesn’t seem to say that the women have to have the same rights as men do but they do want some. I have learned that Abigail Adams was the one of the first women to push for women rights. The wording confused me a bit but I got what the letters were about.
The main idea of these letters, written by Abigail Adams,is to get her husband, John Adams, to strongly push for and support the equality of women and men. She wants him to push for women's rights while he is away at the Second Continental Congress. The point of view of these letters by Abigail Adams is that of a women who strongly wants equality between men and women in society to be included in a very important and crucial document, the Declaration of Independence. This document reminds me of many other documents the colonist wrote to the British concerning things they wanted. I agree with Sophie in that I learned that the women were putting their foot down and were ready to do anything for equality. I do not believe that she is pushing for political equality between women and men, but rather pushing for more rights for women over men. She wants women to be superior not equal.
Abigail Adams' letters to her husband, John Adams, are based on the ideals that women had during the time period where women were beginning to step up and being recognized as domestic powers. Women held a role during the war that backed their men fighting by doing things like raising money for uniforms and weaving or sewing to make uniforms, as well as there were many nursing the injured. Therefore the women in this time period felt as if they had the position to finally take a stand for their rights as well. Abigal Adams is basically saying that women are no longer in fear of their husbands, rebelling may come to be necessary. (Woot! Woot! I say haha) Any way the point of view is obviously coming from a woman's view-point showing bias towards their treatment.
It is very obvious too, that John Adams really did not take into consideration to "remember the ladies" because the very first line says, all MEN are created equal, notice the men instead of women. This is the beginning of a movement that will demand attention in the near future for women rights and eventually in the next century the government will be faced with the civil rights movement and suffrage.
I learned that even though the books do not necessarily describe the women's viewpoint thoroughly but that women were tired of being beneath the male race. Estrogen over Testosterone is what women were wanting, it was the time for women to overpower men and begin to take positions socially with rights equal to the men.
All I have to say is Go Women!! haha
Point of view: colonial wife of powerful legislator; writer: Abigail Adams; purpose: to urge her husband to "remember the ladies" whilst making laws and advocate women's rights; main idea: to advocate women's rights and help them escape from under the "tyrannical" hands of men; document reminds me of: that little caveat in the Stamp Act Petition about the colonists' imminent boycott of British goods if they continue to be taxed ("If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation."); lessons learned: Abigail was a pretty cool chick (and, I suppose, a little radical for her time?); confusion: none; response to others: Elizabeth's colloquial responses are always very entertaining; Do I think Adams is truly pushing for political equality: Hmm, no. . .she's not asking for the right to vote or anything, just domestic justice. Cheers!
the letters were written by Abigale to her husband in an attempt to get better rights for women. the letters were written around the time of the declaration of independence and the writer clearly wishes for independence. yeah. i think she was just wanting protection for certain rights and some kind of statement placed in saying women weren't the property of men and not necessarily equal rights. i think thats everything. i actually did this kind of early.
Abigail Adams wrote the letters to her powerful husband, John Adams, to push the equality of men and women. Because they were in the process of writing the Declaration of Independence she requests that women be included in the document for equal rights. I agree with Jake that this is a very strong gesture for that time period, since women have always been treated a lot like slaves before this time. In John Adams response to the first letter he laughs at the idea of women being included in the Declaration of Independence and I don't understand how a woman like her could put up with that. These letters don't seem a lot like those between a husband and wife. She is very threatening towards her husband saying that the women can rebel at any time. What makes women so different from men that we must get treated differently? I never understood why women have always been treated as inferiors(until recently of course). I definately think she is pushing for men and women's equality. She wants the same rights as men and it seems that she is crazy enough to do whatever she can to get it.
Hey i forgot about the blog until now...right before i went to bed so im gonna start writing it now but the post will probably be up after midnight... just so you know, hope this isnt considered late!
Abigail Adams writes these letters not to make sure that the women are included in the Declaration of Independence (or not completely for that reason), but rather to take a stand in women's social status in the colonies. This is, unfortunately, the beginning of the era where women have the power to influence (or somewhat threaten) men into doing what they want. I mean, of course Abigail wants to be included equally in the Declaration of Independence, but she was smart enough to know that she could use her writing in more than one way. In Abigail's first letter, she talks down on men and then follows that up in the second by saying that women can "throw both [mens] natural and legal authority at our feet," emplying that women dont have to listen to men anymore if they dont want to. Those are strong words coming from a woman and if I were John Adams, I'd be freaking out when I got those letters and would obey to everything she wanted.
Liz G.'s post:
These letters were by Abigail Adam writting to her husband John Adams. She is wanting him to include the idea of more womens rights in the Declaration. I don't think she's like shoving this in his face making him do it, more of a slight push towards the idea. She wanted for there to be more equailty between men and women. (i'm pretty sure she knew it wouldn't mean totally equal because lets face it, women have always been somewhat "lower" than men.) When she says, "If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion..." is this the first protest for women's rights? Maybe not first first... Would this be considered a threat? She seems like a pretty tough chick and a good wife for such an important man like John Adams.
So yeah I went to sleep last night and woke up at like midnight and a half and figured the blog was already late so I might as well wait until this afternoon!
Anyways...these letter are obviously written in the point of view of Abigail Adams but the letters are meant to represent the feelings of all the women who sat at home while their husbands went to war. Abigail would like for John Adams to include women's rights in the Declaration of Independence because she feels as if women are really taken for granted in the society! She isn't necessarily saying that she wants complete political equality between men and women; she just wanted men to look upon women as more than an object.
This document makes me think of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60's. This is when the rights for women were pressed.
Whadddup this is Warren,
Abagail Adams writes these letters to her husband in the Continental Congress to remind him not to completly leave out the women from their thoughts. I don't believe that she is pushing for political equity as much as the men having complete control over what goes on in the new nation. She just wants to make sure that men wont be men and go for complete dominance. I agree with what Nate said about its not political power that she wants but domestic equality.
I tend not to leave a response, however after browsing a
few of the responses here "Abigail Adams: "Remember the ladies!
"". I do have 2 questions for you if you do not mind.
Could it be simply me or does it appear like a few of the comments appear as if
they are coming from brain dead people? :-P And, if you
are posting at additional social sites, I'd like to keep up with you. Would you make a list of the complete urls of your social networking pages like your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?
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