As Americans commemorate America 250 from coast to coast, many have experienced a renewed interest in first ladies’ history. While a selection of visitors and program attendees of the National First Ladies Library & Museum ask about the first First Lady, Martha Washington, countless others are engaged in the stories of First Lady Abigail Adams. Now when we think about the legacy of Adams, most people first recall her famous ‘remember the ladies’ quote, which she penned in a letter to her husband, the future second president of the United States, John Adams. After this first impression, others who are aware of First Lady Adams may also remember that she famously melted down her own silverware to make bullets for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War or that she was among the first in her local community to be inoculated against smallpox.
What many don’t realize or remember is Abigail Smith Adams was deeply human, a woman in a…
