Abigail Adams

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the well-researched and well-documented biography, "Abigail Adams: An American Woman" written by Charles W. Akers, presenting a multifaceted portrait of Abigail Adams. The paper contends that the book is scholarly, yet written with the lay audience in mind; the text is presented chronologically and with compelling narrative that exposes Adams's persona and opinions. Attesting to its relevance to academia and historiography, the paper claims that Akers's biography is almost entirely based on primary source material, namely, the two thousand letters Adams had written during the course of her life and the Adams family manuscripts.

From the Paper:

"Abigail Adams is therefore an excellent historical reference work that can provide a foundation for studying life in revolutionary America in general. Abigail Adams represents a specific stratum of American life: the upper-class, white, Protestant, New England, and female perspective. In the early chapters of the biography, Akers offers a thorough family background of Abigail so that the reader can place her in context of not only her society and times but also of her unique upbringing. Her father William Smith was a church minister in rural Massachusetts and in spite of his piety refused the evangelical trends sweeping across the colonies known as the Great Awakening. William Smith's moderate views on religion undoubtedly influenced his daughter Abigail, who throughout her life would exhibit moderation in her opinions on most social and political issues. Although she was a staunch revolutionary, highly critical of the old European powers and strongly in favor of American independence, Abigail Adams was no radical. For instance, her brand of feminism included deference to traditional roles of women as wives and mothers."

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