This also happened during the vice presidency. When congress was needed, the Vice President would go back to where he lived. Especially during the summer, they would usually lead in the spring and come back in the fall. It was a seasonal thing. Although he did overdo it a little bit during this time. It was not unusual for the president to be away. These were very trying and tent tempestuous years for a brand new nation. Can you give us a sense of the history, what was happening during the adams administration, key policy issues . The major problems were international. You had a political tiffs. You had the creation of Political Parties. We had problems with the french, the british. American Political Parties were divided, profrench, pro british. One of the problems john had was keeping the country out of war. He was successful. I think that is probably the thing that he should be most recognized for during the period. I also find it ironic that he is one of president who kept us out of four war. The u. S. Would have collapsed in a second war with britain. It subverted his career. The politicians of the time were like politicians forever, they enjoyed making the exercise of war. There were very close to war. The population in general was outraged by the piracy, american ships were being being taken on seas. Diplomats were being treated poorly in france in particular. The french revolution happened. A small point for some of you, the president was inaugurated in march. March was the timeframe. You can see things like the washington, d. C. Selecting him at the capital. John marshall was selected. I want to go to 1798 with the passage of the alien and sedition act. What is the view of both adamses on this . Some people thought we were about to be overrun by french revolutionaries and the a were influencing people in america. There were rumors that cities would be burned. It was terrorism they were anticipating. For example, the opposition party, the Democratic Republican Party was very enthusiastic about the french and some of the ideals of the french revolution. Jefferson in particular. This is where they begin to go in different directions. Also, some of the press is very vehement in their criticism of the administration. So they muzzled the press and said that this is probably the thing that john adams is most criticized for. Abigail, i believe, supported john. Abigail was even more vehement during i think she is even more conservative than john during that time. The upshot of this, the people who were breaking the alien and sedition acts you could be jailed. It was said that the press made things up. He had no standards. It was not the they were supporting the french, but they were making up stories that were not the truth europe adams was very seriously worried about this. Jefferson that were not the truth. Adams was very seriously worried about this. Jefferson felt that the states should be passing the alien and sedition laws. He was very much in favor of the states. At that time, people did not have the same or about suppressing the press that we have today. It was in the heat of the moment. Rex right. Stephen from chicago. They say history repeats itself. I was wondering if there any president s and first ladies or first couples that most resemble or are analogous of the adams is of the adamses . Is that the relationship standard . I hope you will take that question. [laughter] there was no one else like abigail and john. First of all, we dont have the insight into anybody elses lives. These letters were recently revealed. Lyndon johnsons love letters to lady bird were revealed. But there is nothing like the abigail and john exchange. [laughter] it is when they are situated in such a important time and there were so many players in so many stages. That is what sets them apart. This is from twitter. People came by, but not so much during the presidency. There is a time when john is really quite ancient. And it is some time at your abigail has passed. Cadets from west point came and they had a band and they played and marched and they were served punch and john adams gave a talk a patriotic talk to the troops. Occasionally, people would come by. But they did not entertain in the sense of politically entertaining. It was family for the most part. At mount vernon and the washingtons, they seem to be constantly be welcoming people to their house. People wanted to be close to the president. Social standards would different than. And standards of hospitality were different. If someone came to your door, you just didnt turn them away. Although they might like to have done so. They continue to read letters during the time they were separated . She did. When she is with john, it isnt that shes at writing letters. She is writing letters to other people. While he was president , two of their children were in europe on a diplomatic mission. So there are a lot of letters between Thomas Boylston and John Quincy Adams to their parents, especially to abigail, and she writes to her sister. She writes wonderful letters to her sisters who were back in acid usage and New Hampshire. Who were back in massachusetts and New Hampshire. I have been much diverted with little occurrence and it shows how little founded in nature the so much posted notion of liberty and equality is. Neighbor paxon came in and requested to speak to me. His errand was to inform me that, if james went to school, it would rick at the school because the other lads refused to go. Why, mr. Paxton . Has the boy misbehaved . There was no problem at that time. They refused to go to school with a black wife. It continues on in this vein saying that they allowed him to play at the dance and they would still go. And she closes this section saying, the boy is a free man as much as any of the young men. And as because his face is black he is not to be denied instruction. Is this the way we would have done to others as we would have done to us . She is hoping to influence his thinking. How concerned was he with rights and equalitys at his point in his presidency . It is a little different thing. This is jean who she is talking about, who it is who is an adams servant. James was a special person to abigail. One abigail goes to philadelphia a few months after this, john goes dont bring james. He didnt want blacks in philadelphia as his servant. Not really clear why, but i think he sensed that they could be corrupted. Her were much fewer blacks in massachusetts. And there were more blacks and slaves in philadelphia. He said dont have them dont have him come beyond new york. He says, you have a beat him. I think she taught him to read. I dont know that she was instructing john adams so much on this as that she was showing her love and affection for james as an individual regardless of his race. Here is something from our viewers. It looks like she is quoting a letter from john to abigail. Do you have any thoughts on that thats on that . It is a wonderful quote. They had no idea there would be a war. They may have suspected there would be a war. They had no idea of its duration or that it would separate the colonies. We would have to go back and view it from their point of view. He is saying we dont know what is going to happen. We said at the outset that she was criticized by the press who sometimes used the phrase to describe her as mrs. President. What is the context of that reference . The context is the spirit is these. Press at the time. He was the american minister to great attend. She was accustomed to happen she was accustomed to having those relations with the press. Did she complain to Family Members about this . Was she hurt by the way she was treated in the press . I think she was more defensive about her husband. Abigail did not have great ambition for herself, but she had great ambition for john and for boys. But particularly for John Quincy Adams. And she was very defensive of them. I think this is one of the reasons why the relationship with jefferson is so difficult because she had really loved Thomas Jefferson as a friend and she believed jefferson turned on her husband. Rex how did support er . She went there. She was with him all of the time. When he needed her, she was there. Was there an avenue for her to respond to the press . Not that i can think of. Her avenues to responding to the press was that she was in favor of the sedition laws. She liked the idea of curtailing the press. Lets take our next phone call from oka raton, florida. Good program. Thank you for taking my call. I am a member of the press. For two colors tonight kind to callers tonight kind of insinuated that she was not a good matter. I believe john quincy was a leading abolitionist and here we are following American History. Whether it is the kkk doing their thing in the south today, the john birch society, the tea party now which is 97 caucasian, can we at least give abigail throw her a bouquet of roses and say that she might have influenced john quincy in terms of the color of a mans skin should not be placed john quincy lived with her until he was 11 years old. Then he went to europe with john. She did not see him again until he was 17 or 18. So he became a man. Under the tutelage of his father. But she was very influential in the first 11 years. I balk at this tendency to blame the mother every time something goes wrong with the children. Circumstances happen. There are genes. There is possibly a genetic disposition to alcoholism in that family. Abigails brother died of it and there were apparently other Family Members. A revolution happened when her children grew up. They grew up in wartime. That can be very damaging to childrens psyches. The year 1800 was a very, very difficult year for the adamses. A campaign for reelection hard fought. Thomas jefferson, he lost that good the year that he moved to the white house. And they also lose theirs they also lost their son. Lets talk about the decision to run for office again. Did abigail support this . We dont have as much as we had in the decision for the previous election where they agonized over it. It went back and forth. There are letters should i or shouldnt i . I dont have as much of that for the second term. Part of it was, because by this time the Political Parties were so strong, he felt he didnt want the other party in. He wanted to follow through with what he was doing. Even though there were several bad things happening around or to the adams family during that time, actually, in 1800, he had one of his great successes. The convention with the french that ended the undeclared war. I would also emphasize that the Political Parties were not written into the constitution. And washington and adams both and many of the people around them did not anticipate Political Parties. They thought they had a constitution. They had a government. Everybody would agree to it would be harmonious. It did not work out that way. And it was a surprise to them. It was a surprise to adams that there was so much dissension during his administration. They lived the last four months of his administration as occupants of the white house. It looks pretty miserable. What was life like in the mansion for the adamses . It was pretty miserable. They didnt have heat. They had to gather wood in that area. The mansion was not finished when they moved in. Abigail describes georgetown as a swamp. The city was not yet built. They moved in before there was a proper white house. Also, i think it affected the way she entertained. It affected her entire role as for slater first lady. Its limited what she could do in that drafty, cold, incomplete house. It must have been shared misery by the members of congress who were arriving in the city. Most of them lived in rooming houses and boarding houses. It was seasonal. Congress came and went. There werent a lot of people who lived yearround in washington at that time. We have this graphic we have been showing of laundry being hung inside the white house. Did that really happen . I dont know here in i dont either. It sounds like abigail [indiscernible] it would not have been a good place to drive to dry laundry because it was drafty and cold. We talked about charles dying. Anymore on how that affected her and the death of the sun in that turbulent year . It was a terrible heartache for her and for him. He did write to jefferson in later years that it was the greatest grief of my life. Jan from boise. Thank you for putting on this series. I am curious about what role religion played in her life given that her father was a pastor. My sense is that john was raised with more calvinist bent, but was more unitary as an older man. What about abigail . Thank you for that question. Abigail was a very religious woman. She was so religious that, in times of turbulence, when things went wrong in her life, she thought it was a case of punishment. There was an epidemic urine for years when john was over there was an epidemic during the years when john was away. She truly believe that life was providential. Her letters continually reference the bible. I think that, when things got added in her life, she became got bad in her life, she became more religious and more and serve it is religion and more conservative religion. We continue our series about the first ladys. When john adams realized he lost the presidency, how did he take it . How did abigail take it . By the time the electoral vote was counted, they very well knew that he would not be elected. I think they were disappointed. One of the things that johnson throughout his public life was that he would always retire, that he would always go back the farm and retire. He loved the farm. In that sense, it wasnt so bad. But i think it was the defeat of the ideas and what some people refer to as the revolution of 1800, because it was such a revelation it was such a dramatic change in the other party coming in. He did not attend the in migration. Some thought he was being spiteful. He had to catch an early touch an early stage to get back. Part of it was a man who, in a sense, he felt the trade him and defeated him. I think that was probably the hardest thing to get the couple thats been so many years apart and the development of their country and now had this opportunity to live together, how long did they live together in the white house years . Abigail lived to 1818. He lived together for 18 years. How was it for them . They were right deal it for them and very difficult they were idyllic for them and very difficult in some ways. Abigail refused to visit her daughter because she said i cant leave john. During that time, her daughter had a mastectomy in 1811 without anesthesia. That is so hard to think of. She ultimately died two years later. It was a time of satisfaction and peace and also very great disruptions in their lives. They had problems with grandchildren and children and constant drama going on. One grandson went and fought in the revolution in venezuela and they had to bail him out. Or not bail him out. John refused to bail him out there they had some Financial Difficulties during there was a bank failure that their son had invested in. But this is when it sounds like downtown abbey of me downtown abbey. The daughter had a terrible husband and they were terribly worried about her. From the perspective of your lifes work and the letters, they were together. They start writing letters at that point . They stopped writing letters to each other. But they wrote letters to others. Was more prolific . John quincy adams is frequently away on diplomatic assignments or would later be secretary of state. He was in washington and a senator and at sort of thing. Abigail has a sister who lives in New Hampshire at that time. I think mary krantz is her favorite, her older sister. They lived allegedly nearby so there was not a lot of correspondence. She was close to her granddaughter caroline. So there is correspondence between her and this young girl. When john quincy goes to europe, he meets his wife. What was the relationship between the two adams women . I think lisa cochran was quite shocked by the culture he knew in length after having had a rather genteel upbringing in england and entrance and was quite shocked by the people and the customs. Even trichet tendency. Even church attendance. When she went to the old house, she said it was like going to noahs ark. We have a closing video, a return to peace field. Abigail enjoyed 17 years of retirement here at sealed with her husband john adams. Here, the old couple could dote on their children and grandchildren and enjoy the peace and tranquility that this place offer them throughout their lives. The president that the president s bedroom was inviting, sunny and right. Abigail enjoyed many hours in this room writing to her friends, writing to her emily, enjoying the time with her husband. On october 27, 1818, abigail passed away from typhoid fever. She was 74 years old and john adams had lost his dearest friend. The only way he could find comfort was in the 10. He would pen a letter to Thomas Jefferson, leading jefferson know that he had lost a dear friend and he would say to his family, if only i could lie down beside her and die, too. Can you talk about john adams life in the years after abigail died . John was surrounded by family. So he was not isolated. He had always is hostess and caretaker a niece who had lived with them for most of her life. Grandchildren came and children came. There was always traffic through the house and people came and militia came from boston, as you said. So there was a lot going on during those years. He was quite palsy. He couldnt write his own letters. He kept this incredible correspondence with jefferson in those years. Culminating with the two of them finally coming to peace and dying together on the 50th anniversary of the declaration of independence, july 4, which is really quite an amazing piece of American History. There is a question here about here is a question about whether or not the bloodline is still living. Is there an Addams Family somewhere . Why dont you respond to that. There are several that the Massachusetts Historical Society of the Adams Memorial association. I have more than 100 members. We frequently get questions from people thinking and believing that they are related or a descendent of john and abigail. Some of them might be, but many more descendents that are possible. The name gets lost. Women got married, so the adams name gets lost. Last caller. Cal