"A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power that knowledge gives.”
—John Adams
Love Letters During the War For Independence is a treasure, for general readers and scholars alike.
Reading personal letters makes history come alive. John and Abigail Adams detail the sacrifices, the deprivations, and the emotions of war and separation providing unique documentation not only of the trials, failures, and triumphs they shared, but of their extraordinary personal relationship.
Beginning during their courtship in 1762 John Adams (1735-1826) and Abigail Smith Adams (1744-1818) exchanged letters while John was in Boston being inoculated against smallpox, and continued doing so throughout John's political career (until 1801).
These warm and informative letters include John's descriptions of the Continental Congress and his impressions of Europe while he served in various diplomatic roles, as well as Abigail's updates about their family, farm, and news of the Revolution's impact on the Boston area.
The Adamses' correspondence gives modern Americans an extraordinarily personal view of our country's founding. Intermingled with comments on the great events of the day--the Battle of Bunker Hill, the inauguration of George Washington as president—are discussions of daily life, stories of neighbors and relatives, complaints about the high cost of living and laments over such family tragedies as a stillborn daughter and the deaths of parents.
John wrote one of these letters, dated 2 November 1800, from the newly-completed "President's House" (later called the White House); in this notable letter he states, "May none but honest and wise Men rule under this roof."
