Ellishistorian joseph leads a talk on the early revolutionary war through the letters of john and Abigail Adams. This is at amherst college. This is part 2 of a twopart lecture. We last saw Abigail Adams giving birth to four children, five really. Over a 12 year period. The question i asked you is, how should we assess her role in the coming of the American Revolution . Sexist ortent is it just the opposite of that, to call attention to the fact that the dominant events in her life are biological, rather than, political . Someone who wants to be true to the experience of women at this time, does that mean you are going to be not interested in the political story . The political story for them is about a lot of things. You know what im getting at here. A couple of comments, if we possibly can. Yes . Where are you from, maryellen . Student west chicago, 30 miles west of chicago. That is really west. Student i am thinking of catherine al gores book. She was a student of mine. Student that makes sense why i enjoyed the book. Tell us what that is. Student its about how people like Abigail Adams and Martha Washington were working in other venues in political ways, whether it be in the parlors, through correspondence. To make these connections and networking connections. Making connections that were helpful to their political careers of their husbands. Oftentimes making unseemly connections for their husbands to make. We read these letters about john, being unseemly to be overtly political and ambitious. But the women behind the scenes sometimes at work, making connections. Prof. Ellis catherines book is mostly about early 19thcentury president ial politics. Student im thinking that appeals to abigail as well. Prof. Ellis its the Dolly Madison principle. Every guy needs a Dolly Madison abigail and dolly. Aint dolly. Abigail is like eleanor roosevelt. Dolly is the one for whom they coined the term first lady. Abigail is never a first lady. Copartner in a sense. In that sense i will tell you for sure, you can conjure her up. If we could just read her letters back to her sisters, on what was most important to her. Her role as a mother. She doesnt think of that as constricting or anything like that. That said, she straddles the click world. The click world. She is reading these newspapers that john is writing. At this time, you cant get direct evidence of how influential she is. Later on you get it. You have to assume that you did not get it before because they were together at the same time. I read that she was herself part of the thought process that he was engaged in. Fact, in letters to certain women abroad there is a historian in britain. Abigail has a different take on british tyranny. It is operatic. The forces of light and the forces of darkness kind of thing. She talks about it. Is adams, the ultimate evil slavery. Slavery, but the british enslavement of us. Four abigail, guess what it is . Rape. Horrorwhat the ultimate would be. She has a feminist perception of what some what british tyranny feels like that is different from his. I do think, noticing that her life is dominated by pregnancy and child rearing is not a disservice to women of the world, to the feminist agenda. Its a recognition that it is a central part of it. Make me feel good about the fact that im not crazy about this. Do you agree or disagree . Yes . Kate. Miniseries wee were watching last night, there was a scene where shes talking about politics. She says, politics is my empty shell. The fact that there is no coffee, and i cant feed my kids. She was living the daily life, but was intelligence enough to make the connections about why this was happening. Prof. Ellis question who is in greater physical danger by the time you get to the middle 1970s . Abigail. Prof. Ellis i think so too. , and Boston Boston is occupied by the british army. Epidemica smallpox that probably already had started, but has now amplified by the presence of troops and unclean conditions. There is a wonderful book called pox americana. Some of you are smiling. It so happens that this war coincides with a huge smallpox epidemic. You have got to believe that they interacted with People Living in people bringing contagion in. The british army contains most guys who immunity. The American Army does not have immunity. One of the biggest things that washington does is to require all soldiers he foregoing online to be inoculated. All soldiers before going online to be an ocular did. Okay, i do think she is at greater risk. There is a scene where she leads john quincy by the hand up pe nns hill. You will be able to see that hill on thursday. To watch the battle of bunker hill in june 1775. Then she writes a letter to john about this. The battle of bunker hill is a big battle, not just in terms of the casualties. The british really lost over half their attack force. The political effects on each side is pronounced. What is the political effect on the americans . Hey, we can beat these guys. If they will just come attack us while we stand behind these breastworks, we can kill a lot of them [laughter] they miss, they over interpret this in terms of the capacity to deal with the british army. We cross the river company. This is now a violent struggle. We cant compromise anymore. At this point, george the third really says, we are going to lay it to these guys. all these wounded people come back into london, and their wives are standing at the dock. And the newspapers read huge casualties on the british side. Guyslike, okay, you started this, we are going to finish it. Its just that moment the play,itory act comes into they close american ports. They confiscate all debt. He goes to the British Ministry and says, i want you to raise an army to include at least 10,000 professional soldiers from prussia. Ssia or they say, prussia is better. That its so you get that is how you get the hessians. 10,000 navy. 42,000, 357 ships. They get ready to sail the largest Expeditionary Force effort across the atlantic. And the next time you ever get one this big is world war i, when we go across. This is a huge force. Its designed to deliver a massive blow and and this silliness once and for all. End this silliness once and for all. It very much comes in the wake of bunker hill. It was probably the most important battle of the war. And it happens before we even declared independence. Okay, where are we . Abigails personal career during this time. In march of 1970 1876 1776, she writes this letter that became famous. She talked about this yesterday afternoon a little bit. I think we should talk about it as much as we possibly can today, too. Hes the remember t ladies letter. Webpages it on in the what pages on indie formal reading . Page 110. Its a letter about a bunch of other things, like biting things of the store, what the markets are like. All of a sudden she says, by the way, piece of advice whenever you get the letter that says, baby. E way look out because something is coming meanshe way [laughter] anybody got that in front of them . Maureen, youve got it . Read the part that says by the way. Student by the way, in the new code of law, i desire for you to remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them then your ancestors. Do not put such a limited power into the hands of the husband. All men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment rebellion and will not hold ourselves downed any loss with which we have no voice or representation. Prof. Ellis that is good. There are other letters after this that usually dont get excited in most and so dont get excited in remote cited in most anthologies. What is it . The despotism of the petticoat . I love that. There are several volleys here that begin. She has a letter that says mercy, maybe you and i ought to write a letter to the massachusetts General Court saying we dont intend to pay taxes because we are being taxed without our consent. Reach someeeded to sort of compromise. John has got to find a way to make this ok. She says we can all agree that women do have a role, an Important Role to play that needs to be acknowledged in terms of education. , the revolution will mean an increase of schools for women. They could call them dame schools. Can we agree on something here . Two agendas going on here. Her agenda and what she was saying, and the context and the Continental Congress in the spring of 1776. Lets take her agenda first. Then i will put into context. Interpretation, plausible to me she is getting. She is kidding. This is banter. If you look at the early letters, they are always bantering. This thing you objected to about his phrase, david. Her. Ay of referring to they play roles here. It toole now is to stick t you. Lets not make too much of this. Theres a great poem called terrence, this is stupid stuff. Lets not take this too seriously. Everybody thinks that abigail is a feminist. Thats fine, but that is not what is going on her these are close peoplee. Playing board games and hes getting the kind of shakedown from her. Yeah, but, i think she is serious. Can you be venturing and can you be bantering and serious at the same time . Yes. Prof. Ellis erin says yes. Do you speak from great experience in this regard . [laughter] erin says what we are seeing here is a wreck and isley modern marriage. Is a recognizably modern marr iage. In which people are bantering, but trying to make a point about the nature of their relationship. If you say there is a serious agreeion to this, and i that there is, having lived through marriage. [laughter] this a direct assault on patriarchy . Patriarchy is the western traditions belief that women are inferior and that meant and that property cannot be held by women in a marriage. And that the household, the male is the leader of the household and finds the identity of everybody in it. And defines the identity of everybody in it. I am sure you can get a fuller definition of patriarchy. Male supremacy, female subordination. Is that what she is saying . I will let you have a go at this. The rest of you, too. I dont know that its so much an attack on patriarchy. I wonder, as i read some of these things, if its some of abigails frustrations. She is at home with young children. There was a scene last night that we watched in the miniseries where she is angrily scrubbing the floor. Prof. Ellis because of smallpox. Student and shes doing it in a passive aggressive way, scrubbing and giving him a face about it. Im wondering if some of the banter is not necessarily an attack on patriarchy, but almost to say, ugh im tired and frustrated with my current role. Not because she does not want to serve in that role prof. Ellis its an earlier version of betty for dan. Im sitting home eating chocolate cherries, but my life is not interesting enough . Wonder aboutmost the things that you read from her, if its not just some of their playfulness, just their relationship. I dont know. Prof. Ellis we agree that there is banter here, but a very serious dimension. The fact that there is banter does not mean she doesnt mean what she says. What im asking you is, is what she says a direct frontal assault on the central assumptions of patriarchy . Which is a more radical feminist position than saying, we want to vote. In the 19th century, the Womens Movement gets taken over by the right to vote. There are other things that we needed to be paid attention to. She is deeper than just give me the vote right . Michael this is a guy named after my son michael ellis. Oh, you are over here. You know that because you are named after my son you are definitely going to get prevalence treatment. I would say there is definitely an assault on patriarchy. Her comparing men into tyrants is an example of that. I would say she is using her closeness to her husband to lobby for women to try and make change. The letter that she writes to as she writesren, this letter is a tell sign to me that she is going further than just banter. Its beyond just talking to her husband. Its, maybe we can foment a movement. She is talking to her buddy, the most literary informed women in america. In which she does not feature john, and he gets upset with her. [laughter] yes,ead it absolutely this is a frontal assault on a need for meaning radical restructuring of American Society in order to you imposing othis ion but the agenda of the American Revolution requires fundamental change in gender relationships. Opening. She is an and shes going to take it. She tries, at least. Prof. Ellis we have to get to michael here. Gets michael the mic. Now dont screw up up, my own sons name is at stake. Student a lot of pressure. I will do my best. [laughter] attack, i agree its an but less a frontal assault and more a flank attack. Prof. Ellis you can send some men to the front and some men to the side, just as you can be bantering and serious at the same time. Student its not like an obvious opening at the front. Prof. Ellis follow up on that. This is good. My son would be so proud of you. Student i am trying really hard. [laughter] does she raise her daughter . On traditionally. Untraditionally. To be a good wife. The fact is, she is a good wife and she marries a shit. Excuse me. [laughter] does she ever try to vote . Though she do what, say, what the woman in france . The feminist. De bouviour. Leave her husband, carveout a life of her own. Abigail is so far ahead of , she tried to act this out now, she would have to become a single alienated person. This would have to be what she decides her life is. She is not going to do that. For her, the reward comes from family, it comes from being a mother and wife. Not from being an active or political person. To attempt tong agendat a feminist because she is rooted she herself is traditional new england wife and mother. She is. Derives thee she bulk of her fulfillment. Allete that is what she says over and over again. Why is she having these ideas . The woman i was try to think of his mary wollstonecraft. Starts readinghe out loud to abigail, later in the 1790s. If you go to the Boston Public Library that is where johns books are. The margin in mary waltzed on crops the margin in mary waltzed on craft understandesthou not humankind. Ist abigail letter reading is a statement about how one womans thinking is being affected by the values being described in the American Revolution. And that what she is saying is, by the way john, all of the arguments you are making about tradition tyranny have implications that you dont seem to understand. Says, uh, i do understand them, now shut up, because we cant take those into account now, if you allow that radical agenda that is implicit in our argument, we are going to kill the revolution in the cradle. What agenda . In theetting letters center of the wind tunnel in philadelphia from former and current slaves. As i said to some outside during the break, they are heartbreaking, because written by those who are not completely literate, but basically saying it seems that the tyranny you describe is present in us as well. And it will not go away until you take slavery on directly. You will be vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy. He does not have to think this himself. This is coming into him on his email account, okay . [laughter] second, a group of people, artisans in philadelphia. Where is philadelphia . Way, we saying, by the are the major sources of support for the revolution in pennsylvania. The quakers are going to sit this thing out. And we cant vote, because we dont own property. Because we are not farmers. And we have this guy speaking for us who is very good, named tom paine. Want to end slavery . We are going to end the property qualification to vote . And of all people, abigail says, by the way, we also need to and patriarchy. And at least begin to recognize that the values we espouse call for an equality between the sexes that is a revolution. Okay, lets do it slowly, lets be responsible about it. But the American Revolution has a powerful radical implication. John,ls job is to say to one of them is, by the way, women. Whats interesting is johns response. We would not have it if we didnt have this family correspondence. John is a conservative revolutionary. You, if you want to have revolutionaries that succeed, you want them to be conservative. Most revolutionaries are radical. Robespierre down the tubes, baby. She prof. Ellis he wants there to be he is a real radical on the issue of american independence. He is ahead of all of the moderates, ok . By the way. Was there a way to avoid this in the 1775. Just before bunker hill. Thee in retrospect only Real Advantage that this story has is time. Hindsight. This is the biggest diplomatic blunder in the history of british statecraft. Lose a northg to american empire, they are going 30,000 to 40,000 casualties, which is a lot to them. It is not going to be fatal. The sun will not set on the British Empire until the 20th century. Their golden days are really still ahead of it. But it is a big loss. It was unnecessary. What do i mean it was a necessary . There is an answer to this problem. It is looking right at them. And they cannot grab it. Tells him what the answer is in the house of lords in the fall of 1774. Admin burke tells them what the answer is in the house of commons, shortly thereafter. This is a nobrainer. Ok,we have to do is say, you guys can tax themselves and legislate for yourself, you stay in the empire economically because it is in your advantage, and youre going to have to pay tariffs, but that is ok because you pay them anyway, but you get the benefit of the market. This is a good deal for you. And you recognize that you are under a protective canopy of the british monarch. Legitimacy of the british monarch. Guess what that is . That is the british commonwealth. They have figured this out when hundred years later. That is the reason why australia and canada stay in the empire. India, for a while. They cant do it. Not in 1775, why . Two reasons. Central to the british mentality is the political talk of blackstone, a Great British jurist, who has said and everybody believes that this is true, it is as true as a principal from aristotle on to the present, and every political late unit whether it is a nation or in empire, there has to be one final, allpowerful source of sovereignty. A place where all critical and controversial questions can go for resolution. Otherwise, chaos. Colonists are proposing