Mrs. Adams
I realise it may not have happened like that but still, it gives one pause to think.
Living in the US exposes our family to more US historical references.
Understandably, residing in one of the original colonies acquaints us with early American historical events.
So we hadn’t been here long before Husband-Will purchased HBO’s series on John Adams, based upon David McCullough’s book.
If the depiction is accurate, it reveals just how fragile and vulnerable our country’s fledgling government was.
But that isn’t the only revelation to ponder.
If true, this production brings to light just how valuable an asset Abigail Adams was to her husband’s administration—an original colonial feminist, as it were. Without her, he’d have been doomed to pompous failure. More than an administrative strength, though, she single-handedly seemed to hold the family together during her husband’s lengthy absences.
And that isn’t the only revelation to ponder.
You see, John Adams was a farmer.
A farmer from Massachusetts.
A farmer from the north who wouldn’t have held slaves.
A farmer who traveled extensively across America and Europe during the formation of the country.
Now, with the farmer being gone, who was going to oversee those crops?
Certainly it was stout-hearted-colonial-New England-wife, Abigail.
No motorised tillers.
No convenient pesticides.
No suitably modern tools.
Just fortitude draped in a lot of 18th century skirt.
Amazing.
Such were the revelations to ponder as I bypassed rentable motorised tillers and laid hand to hoe to till our own soil. Trying to tap into my own teeny reserves of stout-hearted colonial-esque fortitude. Giving the now de-grassed earth an initial rugged turn preparing it for spring cultivation. Certainly couldn’t do it in yards of skirted material.
With Daughter-Kate’s help on the shovel, we even managed to lay a simple brick path, reminiscent of colonial days…a small token of appreciation to Mrs. Adams.
Having read the book, and knowing David McCullough is pretty reliable about his research and interpretation, I’m pretty sure Abigail was as amazing as depicted. According to McCullough, she also carried on a pretty lively letter writing relationship with Thomas Jefferson. I thought the movie did a good job of showing her strength without making the mistake that most historical pieces make of having her overstep the boundaries of a woman of her day.
What I found interesting that the movie didn’t stress enough (time restraints I’m sure) was how incredibly irresponsible Thomas Jefferson was about handling his own affairs, especially his finances. McCullough uses that to contrast it with the Adams’ New England frugality, but I’d love to see a book on Jefferson from McCullough’s point of view (I don’t think he was particularly fond of Jefferson’s “FFV” posturing when he didn’t have the cash to back it up.)
23 Sep 2008 at 7:29 am
Nice job. I like the brick path. I have dug up so many bricks in my garden area that I should make one my self!
Now, If I could only get something to grow up there!
23 Sep 2008 at 8:51 am
I love history and had not seen this movie…will have to check it out. I used to work in a museum as a living interpreter, loved it but it paid so little that paying the rent was difficult! Nice brick work, lol, want to come finish my half finished brick project? *grin
23 Sep 2008 at 10:17 am
I loved your post, very entertaining!
I will have to see if that HBO series is available on dvd. If so, I’ll add it to my netflix queu, as it’s something I know Hubby and I would both enjoy. Thanks for the tip, and great going on the tilling and pathway. Seriously, wow!
23 Sep 2008 at 7:54 pm
Ohhhh, I’d LOVE this series. I’m going to look into it for myself. Good for you for finding the fortitude to dig without a tiller. I hate tillers myself, and prefer hand digging when I must dig. That’s a pretty impressive size of gardening space!
23 Sep 2008 at 9:33 pm
that thinking about old times overcomes me every time I hear about the amazing things women used to (had to really!) do at the time. I am still marvelling at the thought that a young woman in southern germany had to make sure that she had spun and woven all the cloth she needed to provide garments and bedlinen for her new household before she was allowed to marry! with the narrow looms of the time that was about 60 m of linen cloth! ok, the weaving tended to be outhoused - but imagine having to spin all that yarn! I’d still be a spinster - working away on my wheel:))
another example would be the trecks from east to west in your own country - hearing or reading about that makes me appreciate what an easy life I have today!
25 Sep 2008 at 10:15 am