A Review of American Revolutionary Women
Charles Ekers, in his book, the 3rd edition, 2000, about women and revolution in America, gives an account of Abigail. She is a mother, an activist, and a wife who selflessly sacrificed herself and her life to participate in building the American nation. The author depicts a woman who is engaged in campaigns to encourage women to pursue education and acts as a role model on the role of women in the revolution of America. Her character is not only crucial in the revolution but also the new republic. Abigail Adam’s life provides a large window on the community that shows birth and maturation of cultures of the people of America. The author further portrays how the actions of such personalities and ideas have influenced American history as well as political life.
Abigail Adams is not just the most substantial representation of a woman’s voice concerning the revolution in the United States. She is also an essential adviser to her husband. She is the first lady who lived in what later came to be a critical and historic house, the white house. She is born in Massachusetts as an intelligent lady who is plagued by poor health while she is a child.
Abigail acquires extensive education by reading and later writes about her sister’s husband. She acknowledges that her sister’s husband contributed so much to her school. Adams says that the knowledge she has on poetry and distinguishing their merits came from Richard, who is her sister’s husband.
When her mother is concerned about the strong opinions and nature of work written by Adam’s, her grandmother assured her that she is going to be the best just the way, the wild colts become the best horses.
Besides teaching and guiding her, her sister’s husband also introduces her to his friend, who is a lawyer but going through a hard life. The friend is john, Adams. Despite their age difference, john and Abigail become dear friends. They later get married and bears several children. The demise of their two daughters as infants hits the couple. However, their son rose to prominence and served as president just like his father.
The author depicts Adam as a strong woman who learns to single handily maintain her family upon her husband’s engagement and absence. She is an independent woman and uses the farm to keep herself busy when her husband in revolutionary politics. The delegated duties make her husband be away from the town for a long time, and this makes them write letters to each other. It is through this correspondence that the author uses to portray the influence that Abigail had on the nation and the impact on the opinions that her husband had. She is depicted reminding her husband not to forget women when looking at liberties and rights for the new and young nation
Adams skillfully manages the family business, and this gives her husband ample time to use his energy in politics. She educates their children while her husband works hard to ensure that the nations get independence from Great Britain. She is so determined to the extent that, when the law cuts importation and use of the textiles from Britain, she spins and weaves her fabric for making clothes for her family
. Abigail’s husband is appointed as a diplomat to Europe, and this brings a long series of separation with his family. Since the travel through the Atlantic Ocean is very risky due to the capture of American ships along the ocean, they agree that it is not good to risk the lives of their children and theirs in the sea traveling. After his first appointment, Abigail’s husband is again sent to France and travels with his son, leaving Abigail with the other children in Massachusetts. However, they later catch up when they decide to travel and go to France. They move to London where her husband is made a minister and comes back to the U.S. After returning, Abigail does not enjoy family life since her husband is immediately elected the vice president and does not join him to the capital.
Her husband is later elected the president of the U.S., where Abigail becomes a prominent advisor to him. However, he loses the reelection bid, and they all go back to Massachusetts to live as a family. This is where the lives and Adams die of health issues.
The author depicts a woman who is concerned about the welfare of women. She writes about their troubles while also advocating for the married woman to be allowed to own properties. She wants more opportunities for women, specifically on the side of education. She has a strong belief that women should not submit to any law that does not take care of their interests. She also encourages women not to be contented with the role of companionship to their husbands. She points out that women have a more significant role to play in influencing the lives of their or husbands and also the children.
Regarding slavery, the author depicts a woman who believes that slavery is wrong and evil. She argues that laws that denied other people’s freedom were terrible. This is about a situation where a black youth had visited her house requesting to be taught, and the neighbors objected to it when she decided that the young boy should be informed.
In my view, the book is aimed more at professional historians. The excerpt of the letters between Adams and her husband quoted in this book gives the historians the perspective of the government and the law. For example, the message from Abigail telling the husband about the nature of man and dangers that exist in a government where power is not restricted. This an insight to historians to understand the government of those days. This challenges historians to look at the evolution of law, people, and also governments.
The historians can also learn a lot from the book and the letter of Adams and human rights. We are living in a dynamic world where government changes, people come into power, rights of the people are also evolving. It would be the interest of a historian to try and make a comparison of human rights during those times and the world that we are living in today.
Within the text, the author has also captured the belief held by Adams Abigail about slavery. She disliked slavery and regarded it as evil. Therefore, the book is useful for historians to try and find out why she had a dislike for slavery. In what ways it was carried out and the impact it had on the people of America and the people were the victims.
Another reason why the book is appropriate to professional is that it helps historians in understanding the role of women in revolution. In many societies in the world, women are seen as less compared to men. However, the book enables the histories to have an insight into the role Abigail played in the country. After a thorough understanding of the role, then historians can make a comparison between then and now to understand the position of the women in the current modern world that we are living in today.
The book is also suitable for professional historians since they can use the incidences explained in the book to analyze colonialism in the history of the USA. Within the text, historians can grasp the nature of the country under colonialism and how it affected the communities. Apart from that, they can analyze how people were able to attain the independence and formation of new America. It is suitable for historians to make a comparison of the time people were under colonial control and today that people have the power to control their affairs. The historians are also to look at the leaders of those times of Adams and the leaders whom we have in the contemporary USA.
The book is generally excellent and exciting. It enables the readers to get the angle of women in power during those. However, I believe that, to a small extent, the author has exaggerated some aspects of the women represented in the book. He has portrayed Adams as a perfect lady who is very strong all the time. It is by nature that people at times are strong, and other times they are down.
The book’s narrative structure also compels the readers to get its dominant theme. This is from the biographical data. However, the revitalizing effect of the revolution on the personality of Adams and her actions is unmistakable. I think more perspectives can do more than remembering Adams and her life.
Conclusion
The book is excellent. It gives an account of women’s role in society during those times and what we can learn from them. Apart from that, we can learn that women have a role to play in leadership and not only being at home doing private functions. The historians can use the historical data about government and law captured regarding those times and make a comprehensive analysis of the with governments and the contemporary laws.
Work cited
Akers, Charles W., and Charles W. Akers. Abigail Adams, an American Woman. Addison-Wesley, 2000.