Upload
dodat
View
219
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
xiii
Contents
COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE, 1763–1773
To Isaac Smith Jr., March 16, 1763“No small pleasure” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
To John Adams, August 11, 1763“A tye more binding” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
To John Adams, September 12, 1763“Cast in the same mould” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
To Cotton Tufts, April 2, 1764Smallpox Inoculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
To John Adams, April 7, 1764“Follow his prescriptions” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
To John Adams, April 16, 1764“Shall not I make my Letters very cheep” . . . . . . . . . . 8
To John Adams, April 19–20, 1764“Thou hast the curiosity of a Girl” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
To John Adams, May 9, 1764Welcome Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
To John Adams, October 4, 1764“You may take me” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
To Hannah Storer Green, post July 14, 1765“Your Diana become a Mamma” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
To Mary Smith Cranch, January 31, 1767Domesticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
To John Adams, September 13, 1767“Come pappa come home” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
To Isaac Smith Jr., April 20, 1771“Women . . . inherit an Eaquel Share of curiosity” . . . . 17
To Mercy Otis Warren, July 16, 1773“Requesting a correspondence” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 13 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xiv CONteNtS
REVOLUTION, 1773–1777
To Mercy Otis Warren, December 5–11, 1773“Tea that bainfull weed” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
To John Adams, December 30, 1773“How many snow banks devide thee and me” . . . . . . 27
To Mercy Otis Warren, c. February 25, 1774“So many terrors” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
To John Adams, August 19, 1774Rollin’s Ancient History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
To John Adams, September 14–16, 1774“A little clashing of parties” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
To John Adams, October 16, 1774“If the Sword be drawn” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
To Catharine Sawbridge Macaulay, November–December 1774“The cause of America” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
To Mercy Otis Warren, c. February 3, 1775“The die is cast” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
To Mercy Otis Warren, May 2, 1775“We have had several allarms” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
To John Adams, May 24, 1775Siege of Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
To John Adams, June 18–20, 1775The Battle of Bunker Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
To John Adams, June 25, 1775“Continual Expectation of Hostilities” . . . . . . . . . . . 49
To John Adams, July 5, 1775“Danger they say makes people valient” . . . . . . . . . . . 52
To John Adams, July 12, 1775The Hayden Affair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
To John Adams, July 16, 1775Meeting General Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
To John Adams, August 10–11, 1775Death of John’s Brother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 14 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xv
To John Adams, September 8–10, 1775“Our House is an hospital”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
To John Adams, September 17, 1775“In Weymouth it is very sickly” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
To John Adams, September 25, 1775“A heavy Heart” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
To John Adams, October 1, 1775Death of Abigail’s Mother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
To John Adams, October 9, 1775“The keen Edg of Sorrow” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
To John Adams, October 21, 1775“The sickness has abated” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
To John Adams, November 5, 1775Benjamin Franklin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
To John Adams, November 27, 1775A New Form of Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
To Mercy Otis Warren, January 1776“A most painfull Seperation” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
To John Adams, March 2–10, 1776Fortification of Dorchester Heights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
To John Adams, March 16–18, 1776End of the Siege of Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
To John Adams, March 31–April 5, 1776“Remember the Ladies” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
To Mercy Otis Warren, April 27, 1776“A List of Female Grievances” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
To John Adams, June 17, 1776Visit to a Warship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
To John Adams, July 13–14, 1776The Declaration of Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
To John Adams, July 21–22, 1776The Declaration Read in Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
To John Adams, August 14, 1776“God Bless the united States of America” . . . . . . . . . 104
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 15 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xvi CONteNtS
To John Adams, August 31–September 2, 1776Safely Inoculated for Smallpox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
To John Adams, September 20, 1776“Domestick affairs require your presence” . . . . . . . . . 107
To John Adams, September 23, 1776“My Pen is my only pleasure” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
To Mercy Otis Warren, January 1777Generals Lee and Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
To John Adams, March 8–10, 1777Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
To John Adams, April 17, 1777“Mar, I never saw any body grow so fat” . . . . . . . . . . 115
To John Adams, May 6–9, 1777Counterfeit Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
To John Adams, June 15, 1777Fearing an Attack on Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
To John Adams, July 9, 1777Fears for a Stillbirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
To John Adams, July 10–11, 1777Beginning of Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
To John Adams, July 16, 1777“Numberd with its ancestors” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
To Mercy Otis Warren, August 14–16, 1777“Were I a man I must be in the Feild” . . . . . . . . . . . 125
To John Adams, October 25, 1777British Surrender at Saratoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
To James Lovell, c. December 15, 1777Commissioner to France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
THE YEARS ABROAD, 1778–1788
To Hannah Quincy Lincoln Storer, c. March 1, 1778“I consented to the Seperation” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
To John Adams, March 8, 1778“I have travelled with you” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 16 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xvii
To John Adams, May 18, 1778“Difficult as the Day is” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
To John Quincy Adams, June 10, 1778First Letter to Her Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
To James Lovell, June 12, 1778Fear That John Was Captured . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
To John Adams, c. July 15, 1778Renting Out the Farm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
To John Thaxter Jr., September 2–3, 1778“I hear the alarm Guns fired” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
To John Quincy Adams, September 29, 1778“Write me a Letter en Francois” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
To James Lovell, February–March 1779“The Freedom I take in Scribling” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
To Abigail Adams 2nd, c. February 11, 1779“Letters . . . from your papa” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
To John Adams, June 8, 1779Conditions at Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
To James Lovell, June 18–26, 1779“I am not in a very good humour” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
To John Adams, November 14, 1779John Leaves for France Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
To James Lovell, November 18, 1779“Why was I born with so much sensibility” . . . . . . . . 159
To James Lovell, December 13, 1779“Any important and interesting matters” . . . . . . . . . 160
To John Lowell, December 27, 1779“My wants are circumscribed” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
To John Quincy Adams, January 19, 1780“Times in which a Genious would wish to live” . . . . . 162
To Charles Adams, January 19, 1780“Make yourself Master of what you undertake” . . . . . 164
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 17 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xviii CONteNtS
To Mercy Otis Warren, February 28, 1780Lord Chesterfield’s Letters to His Son . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
To Elbridge Gerry, March 13, 1780“Not without honour save in his own country” . . . . . 168
To John Quincy Adams, March 20–May 8, 1780“The Subject of Self-knowledge” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
To John Adams, April 15, 1780Importation Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
To John Adams, June 13, 1780Death of Sister-in-Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
To John Adams, October 8, 1780“Could you bring the olive Branch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
To John Adams, November 13–24, 1780Minister to the Dutch Republic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
To John Adams, January 15, 1781“The infamous Arnold” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
To John Quincy Adams, January 21, 1781“You must not be a superficial observer” . . . . . . . . . . 189
To John Quincy Adams and Charles Adams, February 8, 1781“Have you learned to skate finely?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
To John Adams, April 23, 1781“Our own American affairs” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
To James Lovell, May 10, 1781Stolen Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
To Charles Adams, May 26, 1781“You will be spoilt” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
To John Quincy Adams, May 26, 1781On Studying History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
To John Adams, May 27, 1781Dr. Thomas Welsh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
To James Lovell, July 14, 1781“We will begin a New Score” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 18 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xix
To Elbridge Gerry, July 20, 1781A Friend in Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
To John Adams, August 1, 1781“Falsehood and fraud” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
To James Lovell, c. September 26, 1781“Necessary to keep a Watchfull Eye over you” . . . . . . . 207
To John Adams, September 29, 1781John Quincy and Charles Leave Their Father . . . . . . 209
To John Adams, December 9, 1781“My list of Grievences” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
To James Lovell, January 8, 1782“Shall . . . Slander impeach and abuse” . . . . . . . . . 215
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw, February–March 1782Charles Arrives Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
To John Adams, April 10, 1782John Sick in Holland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
To John Adams, July 17–18, 1782“Reduced my purse pretty low” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
To John Adams, September 5, 1782Request to Join John in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
To John Adams, October 8, 1782“Permit me . . . to renew that Companionship” . . . 230
To John Adams, October 25, 1782An Anniversary Letter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
To John Quincy Adams, November 13, 1782“You have been a great traveller” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
To John Adams, December 23, 1782Royall Tyler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
To John Adams, April 7, 1783“They submit to my prohibition” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
To Royall Tyler, June 14, 1783“Hints . . . which might Serve your interest” . . . . . 245
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 19 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xx CONteNtS
To John Adams, June 20, 1783“I do not wish you to accept an Embassy” . . . . . . . . . 247
To John Adams, September 20, 1783Death of Abigail’s Father, William Smith . . . . . . . . . 252
To John Adams, October 19, 1783“No Courtship subsists” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
To John Quincy Adams, November 20, 1783“After two years silence” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
To John Adams, December 15, 1783“Your pressing invitation” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
To John Quincy Adams, December 26, 1783Observations on Governments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
To John Adams, January 3, 1784Preparations to Sail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
To John Adams, February 11, 1784“You call me to follow you” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
To John Adams, May 25, 1784“I . . . have engaged My passage” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
To Mary Smith Cranch, July 6–30, 1784Ship Diary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
To John Adams, July 23, 1784Landed in England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw, July 28–30, 1784London . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
To John Adams, July 30, 1784Reunited with John Quincy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
To Elizabeth Cranch, September 5, 1784Auteuil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
To Lucy Cranch, September 5, 1784Paris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
To Mary Smith Cranch, September 5, 1784Housekeeping in France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 20 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xxi
To Elizabeth Cranch, December 3–13, 1784Official Dinners and Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw, December 14, 1784“Paris is a Horrid dirty City” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
To Royall Tyler, January 4, 1785French Manners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw, January 11, 1785Visit to an Orphanage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
To Cotton Tufts, April 26–May 10, 1785Commission to London . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
To Mary Smith Cranch, c. May 5–10, 1785“Who should I have to Love me then?”. . . . . . . . . . . . 346
To Mercy Otis Warren, May 10, 1785Lafayette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
To Thomas Jefferson, June 6, 1785English Newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
To Mary Smith Cranch, June 24–28, 1785Presentation at Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw, c. August 15, 1785“Polite circles are much alike” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
To Lucy Cranch, August 27, 1785Samuel Richardson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
To Elizabeth Cranch, September 2, 1785“I was one continued shudder” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
To Lucy Quincy Tufts, September 3, 1785Acrobatics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
To John Quincy Adams, September 6, 1785“There are so many Bones of contention” . . . . . . . . . . 372
To Thomas Jefferson, October 7, 1785Purchasing Tablecloths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
To Charles Adams, c. February 16, 1786On Studying American History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 21 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xxii CONteNtS
To John Quincy Adams, February 16, 1786William Stephens Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
To Mary Smith Cranch, March 21, 1786Royall Tyler’s Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
To Elizabeth Cranch, April 2, 1786“Ladies Route” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
To Isaac Smith Sr., April 8, 1786Tribute for Barbary Pirates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
To Mary Smith Cranch, June 13, 1786Abigail 2nd Is Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
To Thomas Jefferson, July 23, 1786“He has taken my daughter from me” . . . . . . . . . . . 398
To Mary Smith Cranch, September 12, 1786Holland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
To John Quincy Adams, November 28– December 3, 1786Shays’s Rebellion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
To John Adams, December 23, 1786“I think very often of your being alone” . . . . . . . . . . 407
To John Quincy Adams, January 17, 1787“Be attentive to excercise” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
To Mary Smith Cranch, January 20, 1787Bath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
To Thomas Jefferson, January 29, 1787“The Tumults in my Native state” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
To Thomas Boylston Adams, March 15, 1787“Join the military company” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
To Lucy Cranch, April 26–May 6, 1787“I am a Grandmamma!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw, May 2–6, 1787A Defence of the Constitutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
To Thomas Jefferson, June 26, 1787Polly Jefferson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 22 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xxiii
To Thomas Jefferson, June 27, 1787Sally Hemings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
To Cotton Tufts, July 4, 1787Purchasing Peacefield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
To Thomas Jefferson, July 6, 1787Polly Jefferson’s Travel Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
To Mary Smith Cranch, July 16, 1787“Neither be an Idle or a useless Spectator”. . . . . . . . . 429
To Thomas Jefferson, September 10, 1787“Sterling metal in the political crusible” . . . . . . . . . . 434
To Mary Smith Cranch, September 15, 1787South West England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
To Cotton Tufts, November 6, 1787Repairs to Peacefield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
To Thomas Jefferson, December 5, 1787“Mrs A excepts green” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
To Mary Smith Cranch, February 10, 1788Death of Brother William Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
To Thomas Jefferson, February 21, 1788Taking Leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
To John Adams, March 23, 1788The Constitution Is Ratified. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Diary of Her Return Voyage to America, March 30–May 1, 1788 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
VICE PRESIDENT’S LADY, 1788–1796
To Abigail Adams Smith, July 7, 1788Return to Braintree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
To John Adams, December 3, 1788Birth of John Adams Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
To John Adams, December 15, 1788“All our votes . . . for vice President” . . . . . . . . . . . 460
To John Adams, May 1, 1789Inauguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 23 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xxiv CONteNtS
To John Adams, May 31, 1789Joining John in New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
To Mary Smith Cranch, June 28, 1789Journey to New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
To Mary Smith Cranch, July 12, 1789Patronage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
To Mary Smith Cranch, August 9, 1789President Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
To Mary Smith Cranch, January 5–10, 1790“All distinction you know is unpopular” . . . . . . . . . . 477
To Cotton Tufts, May 30, 1790“Great anxiety for the Pressident” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
To John Quincy Adams, July 11, 1790Birthday Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
To Mary Smith Cranch, August 8, 1790Birth of Thomas Hollis Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
To John Quincy Adams, August 20, 1790Advice on Marrying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
To Mary Smith Cranch, August 29, 1790“Removal to Philadelphia” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
To Cotton Tufts, September 6, 1790Renting Peacefield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
To John Quincy Adams, November 7, 1790“Common Fame reports that you are attachd” . . . . . 489
To Mary Smith Cranch, December 12–14, 1790“All my troubles” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
To Abigail Adams Smith, January 25, 1791Colonel Smith’s Absence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
To Cotton Tufts, March 11, 1791Summer at Braintree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
To William Stephens Smith, March 16, 1791Appointment as Supervisor of Revenue . . . . . . . . . . . 497
To Martha Washington, June 29, 1791“Thank you . . . for your Friendly Letter” . . . . . . . . 498
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 24 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xxv
To Mary Smith Cranch, October 30, 1791“The Bustle of Removal” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
To John Quincy Adams, February 5, 1792The Smiths Move to England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
To Mary Smith Cranch, April 20, 1792“A devision of the . . . states” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
To John Adams, December 4, 1792Second Presidential Election . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
To Abigail Adams Smith, February 28, 1793Request to Move Nearer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
To John Adams, November 28, 1793Yellow Fever Epidemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
To John Adams, December 28, 1793Citizen Genet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
To John Adams, December 31, 1793“I never can be an uninterested Spectator” . . . . . . . . 511
To John Adams, January 18, 1794Critiquing John Quincy’s Barneveld . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
To Abigail Adams Smith, March 10, 1794“Be cautious of foreigners” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516
To John Adams, March 26, 1794“My Buisness is much impeeded” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
To John Adams, April 18, 1794War with Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
To John Adams, May 27, 1794“I will not say that all my Geese are swan” . . . . . . . . 521
To John Adams, December 6, 1794“What I think of France” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
To John Adams, January 4, 1795“The Education of Females” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
To Thomas Boylston Adams, January 10, 1795Weddings and Romances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
To John Adams, January 16, 1795Naturalization Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 25 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xxvi CONteNtS
To Thomas Boylston Adams, February 11, 1795Thomas and John Quincy in Holland . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
To Abigail Adams Smith, August 14, 1795“Separated from my children”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
To John Quincy Adams, September 15, 1795The Jay Treaty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
To John Quincy Adams, May 20, 1796John Quincy in Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
To John Quincy Adams, August 10, 1796On Delaying Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
To Thomas Boylston Adams, August 16, 1796“Hold Yourself free, for an American wife” . . . . . . . 542
To Thomas Boylston Adams, September 25, 1796Washington’s Farewell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
To John Adams, December 7, 1796Third Presidential Election. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
To Elbridge Gerry, December 28, 1796“Mix commissiration with your congratulations” . . . 547
FIRST LADY, 1797–1801
To John Adams, January 1, 1797A Dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
To John Adams, January 15, 1797“Mr Jeffersons Heart” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
To John Adams, January 28, 1797Colonel Smith’s Financial Speculation . . . . . . . . . . . 556
To Charles Adams, February 5, 1797The New Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
To John Adams, February 8, 1797The Announcement of Election Results . . . . . . . . . . . 561
To John Adams, February 13, 1797“Because his Face is Black” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
To Mercy Otis Warren, March 4, 1797“Offences will come” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 26 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xxvii
To John Adams, March 12, 1797On the Inaugural Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
To John Adams, April 17, 1797Joining John in Philadelphia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
To John Adams, April 23, 1797Deaths of Mother-in-Law and Niece . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
To Mary Smith Cranch, May 16, 1797Joining the President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
To Mary Smith Cranch, May 24, 1797“The unbecomeing . . . conduct of France” . . . . . . . 571
To Mary Smith Cranch, June 6–8, 1797“I expected to be vilified and abused” . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
To John Quincy Adams, June 15, 1797John Quincy Appointed Minister to Berlin . . . . . . . . 575
To John Quincy Adams, June 23–24, 1797Commission to France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
To Cotton Tufts, July 12, 1797Expectation of War with France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580
To Mercy Otis Warren, October 1, 1797“Your kind invitation” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
To Mary Smith Cranch, October 31, 1797John Quincy’s Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
To John Quincy Adams, November 3, 1797“I sincerely congratulate you” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584
To Mary Smith Cranch, November 15, 1797Colonel Smith’s Absence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587
To Louisa Catherine Adams, November 24, 1797A New Daughter-in-Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
To Mary Smith Cranch, November 28, 1797Letters from Colonel Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
To Mary Smith Cranch, February 6, 1798Colonel Smith Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 27 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xxviii CONteNtS
To William Smith, February 6, 1798Presidential Appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
To Cotton Tufts, February 6, 1798Investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
To Mary Smith Cranch, February 15, 1798Celebration of Washington’s Birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . 599
To Mary Smith Cranch, March 5, 1798“Dispatches have arrived” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601
To Mary Smith Cranch, March 14, 1798Fashion Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
To Mary Smith Cranch, March 20, 1798Publishing Dispatches from France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604
To Mary Smith Cranch, March 27, 1798“Renewed insults” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606
To John Quincy Adams, March 29, 1798“We hear nothing of our Envoys” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608
To Thomas Boylston Adams, April 4, 1798Single Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609
To Mary Smith Cranch, April 13, 1798“Sold to the French” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
To Esther Black, April 15, 1798Caring for an Orphan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
To Cotton Tufts, April 16, 1798Building a Library at Peacefield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615
To John Quincy Adams, April 21, 1798“The Hydra Monster of Jacobinism” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616
To Mary Smith Cranch, April 26, 1798Hail, Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619
To Mary Smith Cranch, May 10, 1798“An incendary Letter” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621
To Mary Smith Cranch, May 13, 1798“The President is most worn down” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624
To Cotton Tufts, May 25, 1798Congress’s Summer Recess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 28 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xxix
To John Quincy Adams, May 26, 1798“A System of demoralizing the World” . . . . . . . . . . . 625
To Mary Smith Cranch, May 26, 1798“Proofs of a conspiracy” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627
To Thomas Welsh Jr., c. June 4, 1798A Secretary for John Quincy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630
To Mary Smith Cranch, June 5, 1798Meetings with Talleyrand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631
To John Quincy Adams, June 12, 1798John Quincy’s Investments Fail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631
To Mary Smith Cranch, June 19, 1798“A Letter from Talleyrand” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, June 22, 1798“Mr. Gerrys remaining in France” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, July 7, 1798Medical Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638
To Cotton Tufts, July 10, 1798General Washington Called Upon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
To Thomas Boylston Adams, July 20, 1798Preparing for War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643
To John Quincy Adams, November 15, 1798Recovered from Illness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645
To John Adams, November 29, 1798Thanksgiving Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648
To John Quincy Adams, December 2, 1798John Quincy’s Investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649
To John Adams, December 15, 1798“Living without Femals” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652
To Thomas Boylston Adams, January 20, 1799Welcome Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653
To John Adams, January 25, 1799“The integrity of Mr. Gerrys Heart” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654
To John Quincy Adams, February 1, 1799“A Statement of this buisness” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 29 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xxx CONteNtS
To John Quincy Adams, February 10, 1799“I Blush for my Country!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 659
To John Adams, February 27–28, 1799“They wisht the old woman had been there” . . . . . . . . 660
To John Quincy Adams, June 12, 1799“Our National affairs prosper” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, July 19, 1799Clothing Her Grandsons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
To Mary Smith Cranch, October 31, 1799Fears for Louisa Catherine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 666
To Mary Smith Cranch, December 11, 1799Pickering Opposes Peace with France . . . . . . . . . . . . 668
To Mary Smith Cranch, December 22–23, 1799Death of George Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670
To Mary Smith Cranch, December 30–31, 1799“The propriety of sending the Envoys” . . . . . . . . . . . . 672
To Catherine Nuth Johnson, January 19, 1800Presidential Appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, February 4, 1800Fears for Her Grandchildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
To John Quincy Adams, April 27, 1800Sedition Indictments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679
To Cotton Tufts, April 30, 1800Home Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682
To Mary Smith Cranch, May 3, 1800Leaving Philadelphia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
To Abigail Adams Smith, May 4–5, 1800Hamilton’s “scheems” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
To Abigail Adams Smith, May 12, 1800Changes to the Cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686
To John Quincy Adams, May 15, 1800“A Change in the Chief Majestracy” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 30 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xxxi
To John Adams, May 19, 1800“I must recommend the Warm Bath” . . . . . . . . . . . . 690
To Mary Smith Cranch, May 26, 1800“Col. Smiths situation” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
To Catherine Nuth Johnson, August 20, 1800Furnishing the President’s House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
To John Quincy Adams, September 1, 1800“I now advise you to return” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
To William Stephens Smith, September 6, 1800Charles’s Alcoholism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
To Mary Smith Cranch, November 10, 1800Last Visit to Charles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
To Mary Smith Cranch, November 21, 1800Journey to Washington, D.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
To Abigail Adams Smith, November 21, 1800The New Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706
To Sarah Smith Adams, December 8, 1800Death of Charles Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708
To Mary Smith Cranch, December 8, 1800“Afflictions of this kind” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
To Thomas Boylston Adams, December 13, 1800“We retire from public Life” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
To Mary Smith Cranch, December 21–27, 1800Mount Vernon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712
To Thomas Boylston Adams, December 25, 1800Appointments Under the New Presidency . . . . . . . . . 715
To Mary Smith Cranch, January 15, 1801“Of public Life he takes a final farewell” . . . . . . . . . 718
To John Quincy Adams, January 29, 1801Marshall Appointed Chief Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
To Mary Smith Cranch, February 7, 1801“He is not a believer in the Christian system” . . . . . . 724
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 31 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xxxii CONteNtS
To John Adams, February 21, 1801Convention of 1800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
RETIREMENT, 1801–1818
To Thomas Boylston Adams, March 22, 1801“He knew not the Character, he thus abused” . . . . . . 731
To John Quincy Adams, May 30, 1801“A Spirit of party” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732
To John Quincy Adams, September 13, 1801John Quincy in America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737
To Hannah Phillips Cushing, February 3, 1802Judiciary Act of 1802 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738
To Thomas Boylston Adams, February 28, 1802“My pin money” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739
To Thomas Boylston Adams, December 13, 1802Rumors of Thomas Marrying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741
To Mercy Otis Warren, January 16, 1803“Private confidence has been betrayed” . . . . . . . . . . . 743
To Thomas Boylston Adams, April 26, 1803Financial Ruin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
To Thomas Boylston Adams, May 8, 1803“Your Brother is to Be the purchaser” . . . . . . . . . . . . 747
To Thomas Jefferson, May 20, 1804Death of Polly Jefferson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
To Thomas Jefferson, July 1, 1804James Callender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
To Thomas Jefferson, August 18, 1804Rescinding John Quincy’s Appointment . . . . . . . . . . 752
To Thomas Jefferson, October 25, 1804Closing a Correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755
To Louisa Catherine Adams, December 8, 1804John Quincy’s Health and Appearance . . . . . . . . . . . 757
To John Quincy Adams, December 18, 1804“You had an apparent Stiffness of temper” . . . . . . . . 759
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 32 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xxxiii
To John Quincy Adams, December 30, 1804George Washington Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
To John Quincy and Louisa Catherine Adams, November 29, 1805Grandsons George and John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763
To Louisa Catherine Adams, January 19, 1806“Seperations of all kinds from Children” . . . . . . . . . . 764
To Louisa Catherine Adams, February 15, 1806Death of a Friend’s Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766
To John Quincy Adams, March 5, 1806Francisco de Miranda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 767
To John Quincy Adams, March 24, 1806“Depends much upon his personal appearence” . . . . . 769
To Mercy Otis Warren, March 9, 1807“What does mr Adams think of Napolean?” . . . . . . . 770
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, June 10, 1807Family News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773
To John Quincy and Louisa Catherine Adams, October 25, 1807Grandsons Sent to School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775
To Abigail Adams Smith, January 14, 1808“Your departure was so sudden” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
To Louisa Catherine Adams, April 4, 1808Grandson William Smith’s Prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778
To Caroline Amelia Smith, May 28, 1808“A novel called the Wild Irish Girl” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780
To Abigail Adams Smith, June 19, 1808John Quincy Loses His Senate Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 781
To Abigail Adams Smith, December 8, 1808“For having chosen an infidel president” . . . . . . . . . . 784
To Abigail Adams Smith, April 10, 1809John Abused in the Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 786
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, June 5, 1809Education for Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 33 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xxxiv CONteNtS
To Abigail Adams Smith, June 19, 1809Against Preserving Her Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, July 18, 1809John Quincy Appointed Minister to Russia . . . . . . . . 793
To John Quincy Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams, August 5, 1809John Quincy Sails for Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795
To Mercy Otis Warren, December 31, 1809Mercy Otis Warren’s History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
To Louisa Catherine Adams, January 12, 1810“Some of the flying reports of the day” . . . . . . . . . . . . 797
To Louisa Catherine Adams, March 6, 1810“Difficulties you will no doubt encounter” . . . . . . . . . 799
To James Madison, August 1, 1810Request to Recall John Quincy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
To Catherine Nuth Johnson, September 19, 1810Reception at the Russian Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802
To Susanna Boylston Adams, October 25, 1810“Your Grandfather misses your singing” . . . . . . . . . . 803
To John Quincy Adams, January 26, 1811Death of Louisa Catherine’s Sister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804
To John Quincy Adams, February 22, 1811Frequent Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 806
To Caroline Amelia Smith, February 26, 1811“Juno yet lives” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, February 28, 1811On Her Own Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810
To John Quincy Adams, March 4, 1811Appointment to the Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813
To Louisa Catherine Adams, March 4, 1811“Honorably back to his Native Country” . . . . . . . . . 815
To Abigail Adams Smith, March 10, 1811“A great Blessing to this Nation” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 34 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xxxv
To Catherine Nuth Johnson, March 30, 1811Secretary of State Robert Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
To Caroline Amelia Smith, April 18, 1811Family History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821
To Louisa Catherine Adams, April 28, 1811“A cancer in her Breast” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, July 10–11, 1811Abigail 2nd Consults Doctors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825
To Abigail Louisa Adams, July 23, 1811“Necessary . . . to procure you a living” . . . . . . . . . 827
To William Stephens Smith, July 23, 1811Opinion of the Doctor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828
To Catherine Nuth Johnson, July 31, 1811Louisa Catherine’s Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830
To William Stephens Smith, August 28, 1811Consulting with More Doctors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832
To Catherine Nuth Johnson, September 22, 1811John Quincy to Remain in Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834
To John Quincy Adams, September 24, 1811Sicknesses and Deaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836
To Benjamin Rush, October 15, 1811“Submit to an operation” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 839
To William Cranch, October 17, 1811Death of Richard Cranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, October 22, 1811Death of Mary Smith Cranch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, November 8, 1811Abigail 2nd’s Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843
To John Quincy Adams, November 17, 1811Death of Catherine Nuth Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 846
To John Adams 2nd, December 8, 1811“Your Sister was Baptized” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 850
To Mercy Otis Warren, December 14, 1811“After Such an Operation” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 852
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 35 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xxxvi CONteNtS
To John Quincy Adams, January 5, 1812Battle of Tippecanoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 853
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, July 17– August 4, 1812“Pheby is too infirm” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856
To John Quincy Adams, July 29, 1812The War of 1812 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857
To John Quincy Adams, December 30, 1812“We glory in our Infant Navy” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859
To Louisa Catherine Adams, January 30, 1813Death of Baby Granddaughter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 862
To John Quincy Adams, February 25, 1813War News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 863
To John Quincy Adams, April 23, 1813John Quincy to Negotiate Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865
To Mercy Otis Warren, June 20, 1813“I fear She will never again enjoy health” . . . . . . . . . 868
To John Quincy Adams, July 1, 1813Opinions of the War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869
To Louisa Catherine Adams, July 24, 1813“Great calls upon your fortitude” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873
To Lucy Cranch Greenleaf, c. July 1813“She is indeed a very sick woman” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 875
To Mercy Otis Warren, August 8, 1813“A Schirrous Cancer Seated in the Breast” . . . . . . . . 875
To George Washington Adams and John Adams 2nd, August 15, 1813Death of Abigail 2nd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877
To John Quincy Adams, August 30, 1813Obituary for Abigail 2nd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877
To John Quincy Adams, September 13, 1813“A melancholy Letter” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881
To Thomas Jefferson, September 20, 1813“You called upon me to talk of myself” . . . . . . . . . . . 883
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 36 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xxxvii
To François Adriaan van der Kemp, February 3, 1814“Your portrait of female excellence” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 884
To John Quincy Adams, September 7, 1814The Burning of Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885
To John Quincy Adams, October 18, 1814“I See not any chance for peace” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 887
To Caroline Smith De Windt, October 23, 1814Death of Mercy Otis Warren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890
To Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody, February 26, 1815Battle of New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 891
To Thomas Baker Johnson, March 3, 1815Peace with Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893
To John Quincy Adams, March 8, 1815Minister to Great Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 894
To Stephen Peabody, April 11, 1815Death of Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody . . . . . . . . . . 896
To Louisa Catherine Adams, April 14, 1815“I am left alone” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897
To Louisa Catherine Adams, May 9, 1815George and John Join Their Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899
To Dolley Madison, May 14, 1815Requested Appointment for Grandson . . . . . . . . . . . 902
To John Quincy Adams, May 20, 1815“This little history of their Characters” . . . . . . . . . . . 903
To François Adriaan van der Kemp, May 26, 1815“By way of amusement” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906
To Abigail Adams Shaw, June 6, 1815Gilbert Stuart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908
To Louisa Catherine Adams, September 2, 1815English Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910
To John Quincy Adams, December 2, 1815“Mr Munroe will be our next president” . . . . . . . . . . 911
To John Quincy Adams, December 24, 1815Death of Cotton Tufts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 37 1/5/16 2:50 PM
xxxviii CONteNtS
Will of Abigail Adams, January 18, 1816. . . . . . . . . . . . . 914
To John Quincy Adams, February 10, 1816Portraits by Stuart and Morse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 917
To Richard Rush, February 26, 1816“How inadequate the Sallery was” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919
To Louisa Catherine Adams, March 20, 1816“We jointly advised her” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921
To Charles Francis Adams, March 28, 1816Learning Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 924
To John Quincy Adams, May 5–9, 1816Theology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 924
To John Adams 2nd, May 21, 1816Marriage of Susanna Boylston Adams . . . . . . . . . . . 927
To John Quincy Adams, June 29, 1816Death of William Stephens Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 929
To John Quincy Adams, December 5, 1816John Quincy Appointed Secretary of State . . . . . . . . . 932
To Thomas Jefferson, December 15, 1816Antoine Destutt de Tracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933
To Richard Rush, March 24, 1817“An increase of the Sallery” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 934
To William Cranch, March 26, 1817Seeking an Appointment for a Grandson . . . . . . . . . 935
To Thomas Jefferson, April 29, 1817“One of your tormentors?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935
To John Quincy Adams, August 10, 1817John Quincy in America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 936
To Harriet Welsh, August 18, 1817John Quincy Arrives Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 937
To Harriet Welsh, October 1, 1817Death of Thomas Greenleaf Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938
To Julia Stockton Rush, October 15, 1817“No Small personal gratification” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 38 1/5/16 2:50 PM
CONteNtS xxxix
To Harriet Welsh, December 1, 1817“I am Aged wrinkled & decayed” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941
To Louisa Catherine Adams, December 12, 1817Family News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 942
To John Quincy Adams, December 14, 1817Stuart’s Portrait of Abigail 2nd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 945
To Harriet Welsh, December 31, 1817“A record of presidential ceremony” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 946
To François Adriaan van der Kemp, January 24, 1818“Letters of mine to publish?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 948
To Harriet Welsh, January 24, 1818“I have not any ambition to appear in print” . . . . . 949
To Louisa Catherine Adams, February 27, 1818“The point of Ettiquette” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 950
To Caroline Smith De Windt, March 22, 1818“A sweeter incense” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 952
To John Quincy Adams, June 23, 1818“Speak to the Secretary of the Navy” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 954
To Louisa Catherine Adams, August 21, 1818“I wish you to come” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 954
Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 959
List of Correspondents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 985
Note on the Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1001
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1016
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1150
_9781598534658_Abigail_Adams_Letters_791215.indb 39 1/5/16 2:50 PM