If Abigail Adams were alive today, I have no doubt that she would be pleased that a woman is running for President of the United States and is one of the front-runners in the race. Whether or not she agreed with Hilary Clinton’s politics, she would have loved the fact that she is allowed to run for the nation’s highest office.
Abigail often gave John political advice, most of which he heeded. However, he laughed at her notion that women should be able to vote. Here is an excerpt from the letter she wrote to him discussing the possibility of declaring independence from Great Britain:
“I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And in the new code of laws, which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors…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.”
In a later letter, she wrote:
“I can not say that I think you very generous to the Ladies, for whilst you are proclaiming peace and good will to Men, Emancipating all Nations, you insist upon retaining an absolute power over Wives.”
Pat McCarthy
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