First Lady Profile #9~Abigail Adams

Abigail was the support and 'dearest friend' who helped John reach the greatest heights. She will be remembered for this and also for her own strengths. Self-reliant, she raised her family and managed the farm for the many years that John was away during and after the war. Brave and caring, she inspired her family and friends to stand up for their beliefs, and found time to comfort them in time of need. Spirited and witty, she brought cheer to all around her.--Kem Knapp Sawyer

-Fortunately, there is a wealth of knowledge about Abigail Adams.  She and John wrote many letters during their frequent absences from each other.  These letters were saved (unlike the letters between George and Martha Washington, which were destroyed), thus giving us a wonderful picture of history:

Abigail started writing at a young age, and she never stopped.  She used her pen to reflect on-and influence-the course of history.--Kem Knapp Sawyer

FACTS:
-Abigail was born in November of 1744 in Weymouth, Massachusetts.  Her father was a minister and a farmer.
-She wanted to go to school but was sick a lot as a child and girls didn't have the same schooling opportunities as boys.  Her mom taught her the basics and she educated herself by reading many of the books from her father's library.
-She married John Adams on October 25th, 1764.  She was 19 and John was 28.
-Abigail had 6 children: Abigail (Nabby), John Quincy, Susanna (who only lived 13 months), Charles, Thomas and a baby that was born stillborn.

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.~Abigail Adams

-She was a strong woman who took care of her children and managed the farm during John's many absences in service to their country.
-Abigail actually watched the Battle of Bunker Hill from their farm and wrote about it to her husband.
-She was her husband's confidant and principal adviser as he helped shape the country by being a part of the Constitutional Conventions, being a foreign minister, the vice president and finally the 2nd President of the United States.
-She was a fierce advocate for the rights of women and African Americans.  Both she and John were against slavery and never owned slaves.
-She died on October 28, 1818 and sadly never got to see her oldest son become the 6th President of the United States.

First Lady Links:
-National First Ladies Library
-C-Span Series on First Ladies

My Abigail Adams Books:
-First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women--Susan Swain C-Span
-America's First Ladies--Diana Dixon Healy
-First Ladies--Betty Boyd Caroli
-First Ladies of the White House--Nancy J. Skarmeas
-John Adams--David McCullough

Reference Material that I checked out from the library:
-Abigail Adams--Kem Knapp Sawyer
-Abigail Adams--Alexandra Wallner
-John and Abigail Adams (PBS Video)
-Abigail Adams: a Revolutionary Woman--Jacqueline Ching

Previous Profiles:
-Martha Washington
-Dolley Madison
-Louisa Adams
-Julia Grant
-Lucretia Garfield
-Frances Cleveland
-Edith Roosevelt
-Eleanor Roosevelt

KC Royals #TakeTheCrown and win the World Series Against the Mets!

The Royals took the crown and beat the Mets 7-2 on Sunday to win their first World Series since Ronald Reagan was President. Not having had a championship season since 1985, the KC team were in last year’s World Series but came up short against the San Francisco Giants.~Dominic Patten

-I'm not a big baseball fan, but when your whole city gets excited about something, it is hard not to get excited too.

-I bought my Royals' shirts to wear at work, and started watching the games.

-So many of the postseason games were exciting as I watched them be down by runs and then come back to win in the end.

-It was electrifying tonight to see the game go into extra innings, and then for them to pull it off and become World Series champs.

-Congrats KC Royals!!! Congrats Salvador on winning MVP!!

-And the above photo makes the win even sweeter!!

2015 Book List

There were some great movies at the end of last year, based on amazing books.  American Sniper and Unbroken were both so good, I knew I needed to read the books.  I finished Unbroken, and I plan on reading American Sniper.

Here are the books I've read so far:

1) Top Secret Twenty-one--Janet Evanovich
2) America's Suicide--Michael H Davison
3) The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation--Gene Roberts
4) Selma and the Voting Rights Act--David Aretha
5) The Murder of Emmett Till--David Aretha
6) A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.--Clayborne Carson
7) Unbroken: A World War II Book of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption--Laura Hillenbrand
8) Churchill--Paul Johnson
9) Freedom Summer--David Aretha
10) Marching in Birmingham--William J. Boerst
11) The King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement--Taylor Branch
12) James Madison--Jeremy Roberts
13) The Finish: The Killing of Osama bin Laden--Mark Bowden
14) John Quincy Adams--Debbie Levy
15) The Conscience of a Conservative--Barry Goldwater
16) Gandhi: A Pictorial Biography--Gerald Gold
17) No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden--Mark Owen
18) Lost and Found: Finding Hope in the Detours of Life--Sarah Jakes
19) True Love--Jennifer Lopez
20) I am Malala: The Girl who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban--Malala Yousafzai
21) Martha Dandridge Custis Washington--Charnan Simon
22) Skinnygirl Solutions--Bethenny Frankel
23) I Suck at Relationships So you don't Have To: 10 Rules for Not Screwing Up for Your Happily Ever After--Bethenny Frankel
24) The Lost Girls: The True Story of the Cleveland Abductions and the Incredible Rescue of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus--John Glatt
25) The Attack on the USS Cole in Yemen on October 12, 2000--Betty Burnett
26) Lady Washington--Dorothy Clarke Wilson
27) Lost and Found: The True Story of Jaycee Lee Dugard and the Abduction that Shocked the World--John Glatt
28) Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland--Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus
29) 41: A Portrait of My Father--George W. Bush
30) Practice to Deceive--Ann Rule
31) Slavery of Faith: The Untold Story of the Peoples Temple from the Eyes of a Thirteen Year Old, Her Escape from Jonestown at 20 and Life 30 Years Later--Leslie Wagner-Wilson
32) Praying God's Word: Devotional Journal--Beth Moore
33) The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln--Kate Clifford Larson
34) Martha Washington: An American Life--Patricia Brady
35) Yes Please--Amy Poehler
36) Abigail Adams--Kem Knapp Sawyer
37) Abigail Adams--Alexandra Wallner
38) Abigail Adams: A Revolutionary Woman--Jacqueline Ching
39) Dolley Madison: First Lady--Barbara Witteman
40) Dolley Madison: Her Life, Letters and Legacy--Holly Shulman
41) Dolley Madison: America's First Lady--Myra Weatherly
42) George Washington--Michael Burgan
43) George Washington--Heather Lehr Wagner
44) George Washington: An American Life--Laurie Calkhoven
45) John Adams: Patriot, Diplomat and Statesman--Miriam Gross
46) Thomas Jefferson--Jacqueline Ching
47) A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation--Catherine Allgor
48) Faith of the First Ladies--Jerry MacGregor
49) Women of the American Revolution--Mary Rodd Furbee
50) And the Good News Is: Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side--Dana Perino
51) Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People--Tim Reiterman

Previously:
2014 Book List
2013 Book List
2012 Book List
2011 Book List
2010 Book List
2008 Book List