Abigail Adams (1744–1818) was both the wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, as well as a historic figure in her own right. During the Revolutionary era, Abigail and John Adams were often separated while John...
Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814) served in the Massachusetts General Court, the provincial congress, and committee of safety, and as chairman of the state committee of supply before he attended the Continental Congress in 1776–1780 and 1783–1785. A signer of the Declaration of Independence, Gerry refused to sign the Constitution because he feared that it invested too much authority in the central government. He was a member of Congress from 1789 to 1793, a two-term Massachusetts governor, and vice president under James Madison. The eponymous term...
Massachusetts native Mercy Otis Warren (1728–1814) was the sister of James Otis and the wife of James Warren. She was also active in the patriot cause during the Revolution. Her home was a regular meeting place for Revolutionary leaders, and John and Abigail Adams were among her circle of friends. Warren’s play The Adulateur, published anonymously in 1772, was a scathing attack on Britain’s treatment of America. She followed up with a series of similar (and also anonymous) political pieces, before publishing a book of poetry under...
John Adams (1735–1826) served as a leader in the American Revolution and as the nation’s second president. Born in Braintree, Massachusetts, Adams attended Harvard College and began practicing law. In 1764, he married Abigail Smith, beginning a long and successful marriage and intellectual relationship. In the 1760s, Adams became a leader in the American resistance against parliamentary acts and British rule. From 1774 to 1777, Adams served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses and nominated George Washington as...
Joseph Warren (1741–1775) was a Massachusetts physician turned Revolutionary leader. Warren befriended John Adams in the 1760s and in the 1770s emerged as a vocal critic of British rule. Following the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) of 1774, Warren helped draft the Suffolk Resolves. In April 1775 he sent Paul Revere and William Dawes on their famous ride to warn of the impending arrival of the British. On June 14, 1775, Warren was named a major general in the army, but he was killed just three days later in the Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed...
