John Adams, Fame & a Happy Marriage
Even before David McCullough’s biography of John Adams topped the bestseller charts, I had been a fan of our nation’s second president. Perhaps it is because he, like yours truly, was outspoken for the causes he championed.
Had it not been for his persistence in pushing independence, our great nation might never have been born. He pressed his friend Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence and led the fight to move its passage in the Continental Congress, winning him the nickname, the “Atlas of Independence.” He later helped negotiate the peace treaty which ended the American Revolution and made real that declaration. He was our nation’s first Vice President. And yet despite all his accomplishments, he feared history would not remember him and give short shrift to his role in our nation’s founding.
Indeed, until McCullough’s biography, he seemed to be the forgotten founder, known primarily to those who had memorized the list of American presidents or fortunate enough to have seen a stage production of 1776 (or its screen adaptation). There are no great monuments honoring him in our nation’s capital as there are for his friend Jefferson and George Washington, his presidential predecessor. Perhaps it pained him that Jefferson enjoyed greater recognition than he did in his lifetime. And he would surely have groused if he had known that his immediate White House successor had retained that fame after they both had gone.
But, as I watched the John & Abigail Adams, a PBS production on this great man’s life — and great love, it struck me that in the great scheme of things, he was better off than Mr. Jefferson. He had had one thing which his fellow founder lacked. The Virginian’s beloved wife, Martha, died in 1782, leaving him a widower for the better part of his life whereas Adams’ wife Abigail predeceased her husband by only eight years, having been married to him for 54 years. She provided him comfort in the difficult early years of the nineteenth century after his painful election loss in 1800. That he had her companionship for the better part of his life certainly made this and other difficulties easier to bear.
John Adams was certainly one of the most married presidents in U.S. history. He was not only devoted to Abigail, but respected her judgment and appreciated her intelligence.
Mr. Jefferson may have had the greater fame, but Adams had the deeper and more long-lasting marriage. His path may have been more difficult, but his comfort and companionship were so much greater. His journey was far less lonely than that of his frequent friend and sometime rival from the Old Dominion. What he lacked in fame, he made up for in his marriage.
Given how much John Adams treasured Abigail, I dare say that in his later years, he realized that he had been far more fortunate than had been Mr. Jefferson.
- B. Daniel Blatt (GayPatriotWest@aol.com)
12 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
GPW, not to revive arguments from over 200 years ago, but…
- Alexander Hamilton is probably “the forgotten founder”, having been George Washington’s brain and right-hand and top ghostwriter, the main co-author with Madison of the Constitution as well as the Federalist papers, the administrative genius who created the Federal government as an effective authority, an early Abolitionist, and probably the leading visionary of America as we now know it: i.e., as a large, slavery-free, commercial and industrial nation that spreads democracy and has New York as a major financial center, plus the occasional sex scandal.
- Adams and Jefferson both were pretty awful to Hamilton. (Although he in turn was awful to them.)
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — December 10, 2007 @ 12:16 am - December 10, 2007
Abigail Adams is the “forgotten gem” in early American history.
And if you want to hear one of the most beautiful voices in Broadway history, rent 1776. Virginia Vestoff (1939-1982) played AA in the stage version, too.
Unfortunately, another great voice, Betty Buckley, did not reprise her stage performance for the movie; Blythe Danner played Martha Jefferson. Not the best singing voice, but she is one darn good actress.’
[Ditto everything you said! --Dan]
Comment by Julie the Jarhead — December 10, 2007 @ 8:42 am - December 10, 2007
Sounds like there’s a screenplay in there somewhere?
Comment by Houndentenor — December 10, 2007 @ 9:42 am - December 10, 2007
Dan, nice piece on the enduring and respectful relationship between John and Abigail. I’d further offer that their collective contribution to what has become “America” is far greater than that of James & Dolly Madison, trumps the greatest achievements of even Thos Jefferson and eclipses Monroe’s uneven tenure as Chief Executive.
One thing that their letters reveal is the distant, harsh, isolated life Abigail often led while John was engaged in political affairs abroad both before and after the WH… but at least in retirement, they made up for that lost time. Last summer, we visited the Old House at Peace Field in Quincy and listened to oral histories from the period retold in the John and Abigail Adams’ dooryard… it was neat.
Like ILC, I think there are others who more rightly share the “forgotten Founders” rubric… Gen Hamilton certainly, but Sam Adams, Thomas Hutchinson, James Otis, Ethan Allen, the Lees of Virginia, and hundreds of patriot leaders in the legislatures of Virginia, South Carolina, Massachusetts, New York and other states.
As historiographers tell us, in biographers Adams often gets portrayed as a shameless self-promoting opportunist or as a wise, misunderstood, arrogant and aloof patrician. Of course, each has its kernel of truth and each its deception. But where one stands on the great political debates of that time really determines where one places Adams… on a pedestal or close to the curb. Somewhat like the MSM, historians and biographers carry lots of baggage that seems to color their bias in bright pastels.
What I gained from reading about JA is that insufferable political sniping is nothing NEW to our generation and getting kicked onto the political slag heap is as easy then as it is now… and all usually due to changing political passions. And if you wait around long enough, either an apologist (if you don’t favor the revision) or an astute, gifted historian (if he’s writing about one of your guys) will resurrect you and the issues of the day for greater examination.
What I never knew about JA was his defense of the Brit troops who murdered the Boston Massacre patriots… a strange role for someone who was later to become a Founding Father.
Comment by Michigan-Matt — December 10, 2007 @ 10:21 am - December 10, 2007
The fact that our schools teach so little about our founding fathers is distressing and the root cause of the poor decisions of some of our own generation. John Adams rode horseback during the winter from suburban Boston to the District of Columbia to serve the country. For little to no salary. Just to serve. Abigail was the first feminist. John sought her councel. When he had to spend 8 months out of the year in DC, she ran the farm. These men and women were amazing. They designed our government that has stood for 220 years with few changes to its core. Amazing.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — December 10, 2007 @ 8:06 pm - December 10, 2007
Both Adams and Hamilton are often the “forgotten federalists,” but their contributions to the formation and structure of the Republic are undeniable.
I’m glad you took the time to highlight the relationship between John Adams and his wife, Abigail. All too often this is overlooked in the literature. Indeed, in their personal papers figures such as Jefferson and Washington both noted her contributions. Chernov makes many references in his biography of Hamilton.
Abigail Adams was a remarkable woman. While Adams was in France, Abigail not only ran the farm in Braintree in the middle of a war, but was able to make the Adams family financially solvent. In the folkways of the times, a woman doing such a thing was rare if not almost unheard of—as a side note, if John had taken Abigail’s financial advice after the war [the decision between land or securities], they would have been a very wealthy family.
You or your readers might enjoy reading: “My Dearest Friend: The Letters of Abigail and John Adams.” It’s a wonderful compilation of their correspondence over the course of their marriage. Both were delightful writers and you get a wonderful feel of both the events that shaped early Republic as well as the deep love and respect John Adams had for his “dearest friend.”
Comment by wyocwby — December 10, 2007 @ 10:37 pm - December 10, 2007
Both Adams and Hamilton are often the “forgotten federalists,” but their contributions to the formation and structure of the Republic are undeniable.
I’m glad you took the time to highlight the relationship between John Adams and his wife, Abigail. All too often this is overlooked in the literature. Indeed, in their personal papers figures such as Jefferson and Washington both noted her contributions. Chernov makes many references in his biography of Hamilton.
Abigail Adams was a remarkable woman. While Adams was in France, Abigail not only ran the farm in Braintree in the middle of a war, but was able to make the Adams family financially solvent. In the folkways of the times, a woman doing such a thing was rare if not almost unheard of—as a side note, if John had taken Abigail’s financial advice after the war [the decision between land or securities], they would have been a very wealthy family.
You or your readers might enjoy reading: “My Dearest Friend: The Letters of Abigail and John Adams.” It’s a wonderful compilation of their correspondence over the course of their marriage. Both were delightful writers and you get a wonderful feel of both the events that shaped early Republic as well as the deep love and respect John Adams had for his “dearest friend.”
I hope this doesn’t repeat–my brower is having issues
Comment by wyocwby — December 10, 2007 @ 10:41 pm - December 10, 2007
I never knew much about Pres. Adams, until I read that biography…I could not put it down…riveting!
Comment by Gothguy — December 11, 2007 @ 6:22 pm - December 11, 2007
I recommend a historical fiction novel entitled “Those Who Love,” which is the story of the young Abigail Adams from the time of her courtship with John Adams until their retirement from public service.
I always cite Abigail as a true gender feminist: she was one of the first women in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to vote because she owned her own chattel, and her historic plea to John to “remember the ladies” was the first time in American history that women’s suffrage was addressed.
And let’s not forget, she also gave birth to the sixth US President, John Quincy Adams.
My favorite part of her story is the elegy she wrote after she herself tallied the electoral votes which made her husband the 2nd president:
“The sun is dressed in all its beams
To give you glory.
You have this day to declare yourself
the head of a nation.”
Wife and mother to a president – only Barbara Bush can say the same.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — December 15, 2007 @ 12:29 am - December 15, 2007
Let’s not forget Page Smith’s hefty biography of Adams, first published in 1962.
Comment by Brett — December 16, 2007 @ 1:03 am - December 16, 2007
[...] PBS has done produced some remarkable documentaries (I blogged about their docudrama on John Adams here). Their history documentaries are often quite good, but it seems that on current events, they tend [...]
Pingback by GayPatriot » PBS: Left-Wing Bias on the Taxpayer Dime — March 26, 2008 @ 2:04 am - March 26, 2008
And now we have the HBO miniseries!
Comment by GayPatriotWest — March 26, 2008 @ 2:05 am - March 26, 2008