What follows are some musings about John, Abigail, and what constitutes greatness.
John Adams was the son of a shoemaker and yet he became the engine that pushed the establishment of a country ruled by self-government. He was the mind behind the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the 3 branches of government outlined in the US Constitution. It was he who first suggested that the general of a continental army (that did not yet exist) be none other than George Washington. It was John Adams who, against the wishes of his cabinet, party, and popular sentiment, made peace with France--preventing a needless war that may have prevented the Louisiana Purchase from ever happening. He did so at the risk of a second term as president. He was a political hero and I am still wondering why the Adams Monument is still missing from the National Mall.
In addition to a list of great achievements, the man I read about was virtuous. He was, above all, true to his principles. Abigail even more so. They were impeccably honest and tireless workers. They were frugal and lived within their means. (At his death, Adams' net worth was around $100,000 while Jefferson's debts exceeded that amount.) John and Abigail did not get puffed up in their own eyes when they held high profile offices. After leaving the presidency, John took a public stagecoach home to Peacefield and became "Farmer John." Literally. He was building rock walls and tending to crops well into old age. Abigail took care of her family with love and work. What they missed most from public office was the chance to do good.
God - John and Abigail remained devout in their faith.
"He who loves the Workman and his work, and does what he can to preserve and improve it, shall be accepted of Him." - John Adams, nearing the end of his life
"I pray to heaven to bestow the best of blessing on this house an all that shall hereafter inhabit. May none but the honest and wise men ever rule under this roof." - John Adams in a letter to Abigail from the President's House
"It would be unbecoming the representatives of this nation to assemble for the first time in this solemn temple without looking up to the Supreme Ruler of the universe, and imploring his blessing.
May this territory be the resident of virtue and happiness! In this city may that piety and virtue, that wisdom and magnanimity, that constancy and self-government, which adorned the great character whose name it bears, be forever held in veneration! Here, and throughout our country, may simple manners, pure morals, and true religion flourish forever!" -John Adams, in a public benediction before Congress for the Capitol, the Federal District, and the City of Washington.
ABIGAIL -has become a personal hero of mine. I would dearly like to meet her someday. In the meantime, I will try to become more like her. Here is what others said about Abigail upon her death:
"The whole of her life has been filled up doing good" - John Adams
"My mother...was a minister of blessing to all human being within her sphere of action...She had no feelings but of kindness and beneficence. Yet her mind was as firm as her temper was mild and gentle. She...has been to me more than mother. She has been a spirit from above watching over me for good, and contributing by my mere consciousness of her existence, to the comfort of my life...Never have I known another human being, the perpetual object of whose life, was so unremittingly to do good." - John Quincy Adams (while serving as US President)
"Though her attainments were great, and she had lived in the highest walks of society and was fitted for the lofty departments in which she acted, her elevation had never filled her soul with pride, or led her for a moment to forget the feelings and the claims of others."- Rev. Peter Whitney
MARRIAGE-I admire how devoted John and Abigail were to each other. They were friends and companions. He described her as the great steadying force in his life. She was his "ballast." Her obituary notice in Boston's Columbian Centinel summarizes what she meant for John.
"Possessing at every period of life, the unlimited confidence, as well as affection of her husband, she was admitted at all times to share largely of his thoughts. While, on the one hand, the activity of her mind, and its thorough knowledge of all branches of domestic economy, enabled her almost wholly to relieve him from the cares incident to the concerns of private life; on the other, she was a friend whom it was his delight to consult in every perplexity of public affairs; and whose counsels never failed to partake of that happy harmony which prevailed in her character; in which intuitive judgment was blended with consummate prudence; the spirit of conciliation, with the spirit of her station, and the refinement of her sex. In the storm, as well as the smooth sea of life, her virtues were ever the object of his trust and veneration."I want to be the wife to Chris that Abigail was to John.
VIRTUE-A motto by which John and Abigail lived could have been the inscription John wrote for the sarcophagus of Henry Adams, the first Adams to arrive in Massachusetts in 1638:
"This stone...[has] been placed in this yard by a great, great, grandson from a veneration of the piety, humility, simplicity, prudence, frugality, industry and perseverance of his ancestors in hopes of recommending an affirmation of their virtues to their posterity."The virtues that led the lives of John and Abigail ought to be the same that govern ours.
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