Читать книгу First Ladies For Dummies - Marcus A. Stadelmann, Marcus A. Stadelmann PhD - Страница 57

After most of Massachusetts had been liberated from the British by 1776 and the Declaration of Independence, which John Adams helped edit, was signed in March of 1776, John Adams was sent to England in 1777 as a diplomat. Abigail raised their children, ran the family farm, and managed the couple’s finances by herself for almost seven years. Abigail finally joined her husband after six years of separation and then went with him to France after he had been appointed U.S. minister to France. Between 1784 and 1788, she lived with her husband in both France and England.

Back then, Congress didn’t provide funding for running a diplomatic residence, and being minister almost ruined the Adams family. The couple had to pay for the expected social events held in their London and Paris homes out of their own pocket.

Abigail was happy to return home in 1788, and after John Adams was elected Vice President of the United States, she moved with him to New York, the first capital of the United States, and later Philadelphia after the capital moved. In Philadelphia, she became close friends with Marth Washington and hosted formal dinners every Wednesday for members of Congress and foreign dignitaries.

In 1794, her health began to decline, and she moved back to Massachusetts. She and John corresponded almost daily by letters discussing both national and local politics.