Abigail Adams: An American Woman

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade October 2001

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Akers, Charles W. Abigail Adams: An American Woman. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. 2000. 219 Pages.

I must admit that before reading Abigail Adams' biography, written by Charles W.

Akers, I thought Abigail Adams was just another wife of one of the many presidents of the United States. Upon reading I was fascinated to learn the intricate position that she held in American history. Not only did I learn how she was thrust into a position of leadership and abandonment at such a tender age, but also that she lived through one of the roughest times for a woman - the birth of an Amercan nation.

Akers expresses through the eyes of Abigail Adams in the 200 or so pages the excitements and disappointments of living at the end of a monarchial rule and the beginning of a new democratic society. It is through the several extant letters and the correspondence of her family and friends that Akers shows Abigail's influence in the creation of the new nation and on her husband's political direction.

Akers divides the book into three main topics: Abigail's life, John Adams, and the Revolutionary War. With these divisions he is able to portray how Abigial played a key role in the outcome of these areas.

In my opinion Akers' purpose in writing the book is to show that Abigail's thirst for knowledge and her desire to better her education molded her into a first lady. Abigail was carefull in her choice of company and patrons since she formed her character by watching others.

At times I felt like I was reading the biography of John Adams instead of Abigail. I would have enjoyed more of a direct focus on Abigail's life; however, I understand that John had a major effect on the...