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The Quotable Abigail Adams
John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that her letters “give me more entertainment than all the speeches I hear. There is more good Thoughts, fine strokes and Mother Wit in them than I hear in the whole Week. An Ounce of Mother Wit is worth a Pound of Clergy.” The Quotable Abigail Adams invites you to enjoy Abigail Adams’s wit and wisdom on a wide range of subjects, drawn from writings throughout her lifetime. Abigail shared her penetrating and often humorous observations with correspondents ranging from friends and neighbors to family members to heads of state, offering lively opinions on human nature, politics, culture, and family life. Selected and arranged by topic, these quotations provide an entertaining introduction to the thought and character of America’s founding mother. They are accompanied by a biographical introduction, source notes, chronology, and a comprehensive index, making this book the primary resource for those meeting this remarkable woman for the first time as well as for her longtime admirers. “The Service of this Government is not a Bed of Roses, in any department of it.” “A Nation which does not respect itself, cannot expect to receive it from others.” “Gentlemen are not half as particular as the Ladies are in their details.” “No woman of sense will ever make her Husband an object of Ridicule; for in proportion as she lowers him she lessens herself.” “A woman may forgive the man she loves an indiscretion, but never a neglect.” “There is no musick sweeter in the Ears of parents, than the well earned praises of their children.” “Better is a little contentment than great Treasure; and trouble therewith.” “Time, which improves youth, every year furrows the brow of age."
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Abigail Adams
56books65followersAbigail Adams was the wife and closest advisor ofJohn Adams,the second president of the United States, and the mother ofJohn Quincy Adams,the sixth president of the United States. She was a founder of the United States, and was both the first second lady and second first lady of the United States, although such titles were not used at the time. She andBarbara Bushare the only two women in American history who were both married to a U.S. president and the mother of a U.S. president.
Adams's life is one of the most documented of the first ladies; many of the letters she wrote to her husband John Adams while he was in Philadelphia as a delegate in the Continental Congress prior and during the American Revolution document the closeness and versatility of their relationship. John Adams frequently sought the advice of Abigail on many matters, and their letters are filled with intellectual discussions on government and politics. Her letters also serve as eyewitness accounts of the American Revolutionary War home front.
Surveys of historians conducted periodically by the Siena College Research Institute since 1982 have consistently found Adams to rank as one of the three most highly regarded first ladies by historians.
Adams's life is one of the most documented of the first ladies; many of the letters she wrote to her husband John Adams while he was in Philadelphia as a delegate in the Continental Congress prior and during the American Revolution document the closeness and versatility of their relationship. John Adams frequently sought the advice of Abigail on many matters, and their letters are filled with intellectual discussions on government and politics. Her letters also serve as eyewitness accounts of the American Revolutionary War home front.
Surveys of historians conducted periodically by the Siena College Research Institute since 1982 have consistently found Adams to rank as one of the three most highly regarded first ladies by historians.
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