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Abigail Adams: Feminist, Partner, First Lady

时间:2016-01-12 16:41:14

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(单词翻译)

Abigail Adams: Feminist1, Partner, First Lady

Abigail Adams was like a modern woman, even though she lived in colonial times.

She strongly supported the American Revolution, women’s rights and education. She worked to get public schooling2 for girls. She was a smart businessperson during a time when women in the U.S. could not even own property.

Abigail Adams and her husband, John Adams, were also strong voices against slavery at a time when owning another person was legal in the U.S. Unlike some of America’s other founders3 — including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson — John and Abigail Adams did not own any slaves.

Journalist and author Cokie Roberts has written several books about women in the early days of the U.S., including “Ladies of Liberty.” She says Abigail Adams is best known for this phrase: “Remember the ladies.”

“When the men were meeting in Philadelphia to think about creating a new country, breaking away from the British, she wrote to her husband and said, ‘Well I suppose we will have to have to have a new code of laws and when you write those laws, remember the ladies, because all men would be tyrants4 if they could.’  And those have become some of the most famous words in the English language, or the American English language. ‘Remember the ladies.’”

Roberts adds that nobody knows exactly what Abigail was arguing for at the time. She thinks Abigail, who was a strong supporter of women’s rights, was probably arguing in favor of legal rights for women.

A life in letters

Abigail Smith was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1744. Her father was a pastor5 and she received a fine education at home -– but not a formal one at a school.

She married John Adams when she was 20 years old. John became a prominent lawyer in Boston.

Historians know a lot about Abigail and John Adams because they wrote each other many letters over the course of their marriage. And, unlike Martha and George Washington, the Adams did not burn their letters. More than 1,100 still survive.

Abigail and John often wrote to each other when they were apart.

First, during the American War of Independence against the British, John left the family farm in Massachusetts and stayed in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was an important part of the Continental6 Congress there.

Journalist Cokie Roberts says Abigail managed the family’s affairs while her husband was gone.

“She was very good at math. We know that because even though women, married women, were not allowed to own property at that time, she bought and sold property all the time. And she made a very handy income which supported the family for long periods of time, when her husband was away and not making any money.”

Abigail and John were apart again when he went to Europe as one of the first U.S. diplomatic ministers.

When John was in Europe, Abigail would see what people needed in America. She asked John to send items such as lace, cloth and handkerchiefs from Europe, then she would sell them at home to make money.

The separations were difficult for the couple. Cokie Roberts says, “John Adams really could not function without her.”

One example: When John was sworn in as president of the United States in 1796, Abigail was still at their home in Massachusetts. She was taking care of the family’s farm, as well as John Adam’s mother, who was dying. 

But John wanted Abigail at his side.

“He wrote her letters every day saying, 'You must come, you must come. I cannot do this without you! Come, I can't do this! You must come!' The letters became more and more and more insistent7. Because he really depended on her so mightily8 to help him make decisions about what was important and what political decisions he should make.”

Eventually, Abigail was able to join her husband. They became the first people to live in the president’s mansion9 in Washington, D.C. – what we call today, the White House.

The house was still being built when they moved in. Abigail wrote that it was cold and drafty.  She hung up the laundry to dry in the East Room. Today, the East Room is where formal dinners and important events are held.

Abigail Adams said her situation as first lady was one of “splendid misery10.”

John lost the presidential election of 1800 to Thomas Jefferson. Then Abigail and John retired11 to their land in Massachusetts. She was 73 years old when she died in 1818.

Legacy12

Three of her daughters and one of her sons died before she did. Two other sons survived her, including John Quincy Adams. He became the sixth president of the United States. However, Abigail did not live to see him elected president. 

Until recently, she was the only woman to be both the wife and mother of a U.S. president. When George W. Bush was elected president in 2000, his mother, Barbara Bush, became only the second woman to have both a husband and a son be president.

Reaching back all those years to the 1700s, what many people say stands out the most about Abigail Adams is her relationship with her husband.

Journalist Cokie Roberts says they were a team.

“The relationship with John was one that was very, very close, and quite romantic.”

Sometimes Abigail Adams was an outspoken13 adviser14 to her husband. Roberts says she had “an abrasive15 style” and there were times when “she could not hold her tongue.” People complained about her, especially those from the opposing political party. Some called her “Presidentess.” The term was not a compliment.

If one is to believe White House lore16, Abigail Adams still appears at the White House ... as a ghost. The White House Historical Association says,  “Abigail Adams hung laundry in the East Room, and contemporary staff can smell wet laundry and the scent17 of lavender.”

Like Martha Washington before her, Abigail Adams set an example of what a political wife and a first lady could be. She was more outspoken than Martha, as well as more modern in her thinking and style. But both were treasured partners for their husbands, the first, and second, presidents of the United States of America.

Words in This Story

insistent – adj. demanding that something happen or someone do something

mightily –adv. very much

prominent –adj. well known and important

endured – v. to experience something painful for a long time

lace – n. a very light and thin cloth made with patterns of holes

handkerchief – n. a small cloth used for wiping your ears, nose, or face

drafty – adj. cold air moving through that makes it feel cold

outspoken –adj. talking freely about what one thinks

abrasive – adj. having a rough, unpleasant quality

she could not hold her tongue – phrase. She was not able, or unable, to control what she said, and said things other's disagreed with.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 feminist mliyh     
adj.主张男女平等的,女权主义的
参考例句:
  • She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
  • From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起,男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。
2 schooling AjAzM6     
n.教育;正规学校教育
参考例句:
  • A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
  • Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。
3 founders 863257b2606659efe292a0bf3114782c     
n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
  • The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句
4 tyrants b6c058541e716c67268f3d018da01b5e     
专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 ); 暴君似的人; (古希腊的)僭主; 严酷的事物
参考例句:
  • The country was ruled by a succession of tyrants. 这个国家接连遭受暴君的统治。
  • The people suffered under foreign tyrants. 人民在异族暴君的统治下受苦受难。
5 pastor h3Ozz     
n.牧师,牧人
参考例句:
  • He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
  • We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师:教会的事是由五位执事管理的。
6 continental Zazyk     
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的
参考例句:
  • A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
  • The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。
7 insistent s6ZxC     
adj.迫切的,坚持的
参考例句:
  • There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
  • He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。
8 mightily ZoXzT6     
ad.强烈地;非常地
参考例句:
  • He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
  • This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后,他似乎轻松了许多。
9 mansion 8BYxn     
n.大厦,大楼;宅第
参考例句:
  • The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
  • The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。
10 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
11 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
12 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
13 outspoken 3mIz7v     
adj.直言无讳的,坦率的,坦白无隐的
参考例句:
  • He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
  • She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。
14 adviser HznziU     
n.劝告者,顾问
参考例句:
  • They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
  • Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
15 abrasive 3yDz3     
adj.使表面磨损的;粗糙的;恼人的
参考例句:
  • His abrasive manner has won him an unenviable notoriety.他生硬粗暴的态度让他声名狼藉。
  • She had abrasions to her wrists where the abrasive rope had scraped her.她的手腕有多出磨伤,那是被粗糙的绳子擦伤的。
16 lore Y0YxW     
n.传说;学问,经验,知识
参考例句:
  • I will seek and question him of his lore.我倒要找上他,向他讨教他的渊博的学问。
  • Early peoples passed on plant and animal lore through legend.早期人类通过传说传递有关植物和动物的知识。
17 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

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