His [Adams’] own beloved Abigail lectured him in a series of letters during the spring of 1776. While her tone was playful, the banter had a discernibly serious purpose: “And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you will remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power in the hands of husbands. 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.”
Adams attempted to retaliate with mock disbelief, suggesting that women were the real tyrants within the household and that he had no intention of exchanging the tyranny of George III for “the despotism of the petticoat.”
Source:
Ellis, Joseph J. “The Year.” American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic. Vintage Books, 2008. 38-9. Print.
Original Source(s) Listed:
Abigail Adams to Adams, 31 March 1776, AFC 1:369-70.
Adams to Abigail Adams, 14 April 1776, Abigail Adams to Adams, 7 May 1776, AFC 1:382, 402.
Further Reading:
No comments, yet...