Abigail Adams Lesson for Kids: Biography & Facts

About Abigail Adams, Wife of the 2nd U.S. President

In the late 18th century, smallpox was a fearsome and deadly disease that ravaged communities worldwide, with no known cure. Edward Jenner, an English physician and scientist, observed that milkmaids who previously had caught cowpox did not catch smallpox. From this observation, Jenner hypothesized that the milder cowpox virus could possibly confer immunity against the more deadly smallpox virus. Acting on his hypothesis, Jenner conducted an experiment in 1796 by inoculating an eight-year-old bo

Abigail Adams’ poignant letters reveal the reality of raising a family amidst sickness, amusement, and grief at the start of the American Revolution. Her October 21, 1775, letter to her husband, John Adams, covers many topics of family life. She wrote that “our little ones are well” but also how “it makes my heart ake” to witness her father’s grief after her mother's death. She also hoped that John could procure needles and cloth for her because “They are in such demand that we are really distre