‘I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And
by the way, in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for
you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and
favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into
the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If
particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to
foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we
have no voice, or Representation.
That your Sex are
Naturally Tyrannical is a Truth so thoroughly established as to admit of no
dispute, but such of you as wish to be happy willingly give up the harsh title
of Master for the more tender and endearing one of Friend. Why, then, not put
it out of the power of the vicious and the Lawless to use us with cruelty and
indignity with impunity? Men of Sense in all Ages abhor those customs which
treat us only as the vassals of your sex; regard us then as Beings placed by
Providence under your protection, and in imitation of the Supreme Being make
use of that power only for our happiness.’
What a powerful stream of wisdom and conviction from the chief
First Lady of our country, Abigail Adams. I so admire her intellect and vigor especially
in a time that it wasn’t invited nor expected from women. She was the equal of
John and any politician of her time. She was the burning conviction that played
out in the soul of John Adams as he participated in the First Continental
Congress and the establishment of our first Constitution (Articles of Confederation),
and the disquieting issue of slavery. Our ‘Founding Fathers’ plea of ‘Don’t Tread
on Me’ was exclusive of women and slaves. You can hear in her spirit the righteous
indignation concerning liberty for all that only people who don’t have it can
truly give voice to and thus, she embodies the true Spirit of Liberty!
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