“I’ve always felt that a person’s intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting points of view he can entertain simultaneously on the same topic.”

As wife of our second president and mother of our sixth, you would expect Abigail Adams to be one smart First Lady. She wrote incredible letters and managed her family and farm, often on her own since her husband was absent for long periods of time on political trips. But I remain amazed at her forward thinking attitudes about educating women and women’s place in the new society. I’m just starting Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie Bober so hopefully that will provide some answers to the independent thoughts of a woman born in 1744. Bober’s book is listed for young readers but is wonderfully written for adults too.