Abigail Adams-America 250

Abigail and the spirit of liberty

On May 22, 1775—250 years ago—Abigail Adams wrote a letter to a London bookseller, Edward Dilly. She penned one of her best quotes as she sought to win Dilly over to the side of the Americans in their armed conflict with England.

“The Spirit that prevails among Men of all degrees, all ages and sex’es is the Spirit of Liberty. For this they are determined to risk all their property and their lives ‘nor shrink unnerv’d before a tyrants face.’” Abigail Adams

Abigail wrote these words in the aftermath of the first shots of the war, which were fired at the Battle of Lexington a month earlier on April 19, 1775. By this time, militias of patriots patrolled the countryside while the town of Boston was shutdown and occupied by the British military. As a result, the Adamses could not access John’s law practice in Boston. She had become a “farmeress” while her husband was away at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where he was a “statesman.”

“I hope in time to have the Reputation of being as good a Farmeress as my partner has of being a good Statesmen,” she wrote her husband a year later on April 11, 1776.

By then, George Washington had driven the redcoats out of Boston and the armed conflict was centered on New York. Abigail and John were apart during most of the war. As the manager of their farms, she became the primary breadwinner as her husband gave up his law practice to serve in the Continental Congress.

Enjoy this short video about Abigail Adams and her broad perspective on the concept of liberty.