The annual Friendsgiving episode is now available!
Nov. 25, 2018

2.095 – Abigail Adams

2.095 – Abigail Adams

Year(s) Discussed: 1744-1818

This special episode is all about the life and times of Abigail Smith Adams, the learned woman from Weymouth who became the second First Lady of the United States. Returning to the show to share her insight on Abigail is Presidential and First Lady historian Feather Schwartz Foster. Join us as we explore her fascinating life and discuss what legacy she leaves as First Lady and a historical figure in her own right.

Special thanks to Shelly, Faye, Karen, and Alex for providing the intro quotes for this episode!

To find out more about Feather’s work and to check out her history blog, go to her website at http://www.featherfoster.com

  • Adams, Abigail, and John Adams. “To Mary Smith Cranch, 12 January 1767,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified June 13, 2018, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-01-02-0046. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Adams Family Correspondence, vol. 1, December 1761 – May 1776, ed. Lyman H. Butterfield. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1963, pp. 57–59.] [Last Accessed: 26 Oct 2018]
  • Cappon, Lester J, ed. The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams. Chapel Hill, NC and London: University of North Carolina Press, 1987 [1959].
  • Holton, Woody. Abigail Adams. New York and London: Free Press, 2009.
  • Landry, Jerry. The Presidencies of the United States. 2018. http://presidencies.blubrry.com
  • Roberts, Cokie. Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
  • Seale, William. The President’s House: A History, Volume One. Washington, DC: White House Historical Association, 1986.
  • Withey, Lynne. Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams. New York & London: Simon & Schuster, 2002 [1981].

Featured Image: “Abigail Adams” by Gilbert Stuart (c. 1810-1815), courtesy of Wikipedia
Transition Music: “String Concerto in G Major [RV 532]”, Antonio Vivaldi, courtesy of Wikipedia