Marcus A. Stadelmann, PhD - First Ladies For Dummies

FIGURE 3-3:Martha Washington in retirement.

Mount Vernon became almost a second presidential mansion after Washington left office. Thousands of people, including diplomats from all over Europe, flocked to it to see George and Martha.

George Washington died two years later, and Martha was once again a widow. Martha burned all their correspondence. She didn’t want anyone else to know about her husband’s feelings, fears, and opinions of colleagues. Historians found only two letters hidden in her desk after she died. One was from her husband written after he accepted the offer to become the Commander of the Continental Army. In the letter, George wrote:

“My dearest, I had to accept this. My honor required it. But please, my dear Patsy, don’t be angry with me.”

Washington then went on to explain his reasons for accepting the offer and why he needed her support.

After George Washington died, Martha couldn’t sleep in their bedroom anymore. Instead, she slept in a room in the attic.

Martha was devastated by George’s death. The love of her life was gone. All of her children had passed, and she was ready to go, too. She said after George died:

“It’s over. My life is just waiting now.”

Every day, Martha walked to George’s tomb on Mount Vernon and prayed. She was counting the days until she could be reunited with the love of her life. In 1802, Martha came down with a severe fever, which killed her at the age of 70 on May 22, 1802. Both George and Martha were buried in a tomb at Mount Vernon.

George Washington was the only founding father and president to free his enslaved people. He had appreciated freed blacks (former enslaved people) fighting for him in the Revolutionary War, and this changed his mind on slavery. Martha felt otherwise. She felt slave holding was normal and the way society was and should be structured.

The Washington’s established the tradition of bringing enslaved servants with them. This practice ended with the Taylor administration in 1850.

Chapter 4

IN THIS CHAPTER

Discovering Abigail Adams’s impact on women’s rights and policy

Looking at Martha Jefferson’s too-short life

Understanding Dolley Madison’s influence as heroine and First Lady

The role of First Lady was still being shaped by the women who filled it after Martha Washington. All three ladies discussed in this chapter, Abigail Adams, Martha Jefferson, and Dolley Madison, continued to set precedents for future First Ladies. While Martha Washington (see Chapter 3) focused on being a charming hostess for White House affairs, Abigail Adams was politically outspoken, impacting policy making. She was the first First Lady to have more than a ceremonial role. Dolley Madison combined the two traits. She was one of the most gracious White House hostesses who also wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. On a sadder side, Martha Jefferson established the precedent of wives who passed before their husbands became president still being referred to as First Lady.

Abigail Smith Adams (see Figure 4-1) was born on November 22, 1744, in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Her mother was a descendant from one of the oldest and most prominent families in Massachusetts, the Quincy family. Her father was a minister who had graduated from Harvard University. He was responsible for most of Abigail’s schooling, and early on she was an avid reader, familiarizing herself with the great works of the day. She also fell in love with writing, which resulted in almost 1,200 letters to her husband, John Adams, which gave historians a glimpse of not only political life in the late 18th century but also her political influence on the future president.

Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Reproduction number LC-DIG-hec-13515 (digital file from original negative)

FIGURE 4-1:Abigail Smith Adams.

Abigail was introduced to John Adams by her sister’s fiancé. John Adams at the time was a Harvard-educated lawyer. He was infatuated with her right away, being impressed with her intelligence, and the two got married in a ceremony presided over by her father on October 25, 1764.

Abigail was the first politically active First Lady. She was well educated, articulate, and intelligent. She often discussed political issues with her husband before he made his decisions. She was very influential in policy making and wasn’t afraid to discuss politics with her husband.

Abigail has the distinction of being one of two First Ladies who was married to a president and gave birth to a future president. The other one was Barbara Bush.

Abigail was one of the first feminists in American history. She fought for equal rights for women as early as the late 18th century. In a 1776 letter she sent to John Adams while he was attending the second Continental Congress, which was working on the Declaration of Independence, she wrote:

I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors… . Do not put such power into the hands of the husbands, … Remember that all men would be tyrants if they could… . If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice, or representation.

Abigail was also opposed to slavery. She called slavery antithetical to Christian principles of doing onto others as we would have others do onto us.

Abigail and John Adams had five children, with four surviving into adulthood. Her oldest son and future President John Quincy Adams was born in 1767. John Adams became active in politics, was an advocate for independence from England, and became a delegate to the Continental Congress after the Boston Tea Party in 1773 (see later in this section). He was gone for long periods of time, and during that time, Abigail managed their property and business affairs. Both she and her husband were raised in a culture of civic virtue where the public good takes precedence over self and thus were willing to sacrifice being together. However, the two stayed in touch by literally writing thousands of letters to each other during their lifetimes. Overall, 1,160 letters have survived to this day, and the most famous one is the one Abigail wrote to John while he was serving in the Second Continental Congress and was working on the Declaration of Independence.