First Lady Abigail Smith Adams (1744–1818) was a gifted observer and prolific letter writer. She composed thousands of letters about politics, Federalist ideas, and her life during and after the American Revolution.

“These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed,” she wrote. Resourceful and inquisitive, her reflections became an essential archive of history. “My pen is always freer than my tongue,” she admitted.

Her husband, John Adams, the second President of the United States, adored her mind. “A delicious letter from you is worth a dozen of mine,” he told her.

Born in the seaport of Massachusetts, Adams was a strong advocate of women’s rights. “Remember the ladies,” she urged, arguing that educated mothers raised intelligent children. “Learning is not attained by chance,” she said. “It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.”

A remarkable woman, far ahead of her time, she influenced her husband and her son, John Quincy Adams, who became president six years after her death.