John Adams
John Adams was one of America’s founding fathers, a leader who became the country’s first Vice-President and it second President. During the bulk of the letters contained in the volume, he is a representative in the Massachusetts delegations to the Continental Congress during the period in which debate raged over declaring independence from England. He was instrumental in the process of editing Thomas Jefferson’s drafts of the Declaration of Independence.
Abigail Adams
Abigail is John’s headstrong, educated, literate, opinionated, and loyal wife and confidante. While these letters offer a first-hand glimpse into the creation of a brand new country, they are also very intense love letters in the truest sense of the term. Not erotic by any means, these letters reveal a passion for each other that transcends mere physical attraction; it becomes quite clear that they are genuine examples of the very concept of soul mates.
John Hancock
The man with the famous signature presides as President of the Continental Congress is described by John as “amiable.”
Thomas Paine
John writes to Abigail to deliver the news that the writer of “Common Sense” and “The Forester” are one and the same. This was before Paine’s reputation as the key chronicler of the revolutionary spirit had become well-known, but at least one man—General Lee—tells John that Paine has “genius in his eyes.”
George Washington
Abigail is so moved by the presence of General Washington that she is compelled to look to the poetry to describe her full impression:
“Mark his majestic fabric; he’s a temple Sacred by birth, and built by hands divine; His soul’s the deity that lodges there; Nor is the pile unworthy of the god.”
By contrast, her remarks regarding the very same General Lee who recognized the brilliance of Paine early are far earthier: “General Lee looks like a careless, hardy veteran, and by his appearance brought to my mind his namesake, Charles the Twelfth, of Sweden.” Note that she also goes on to say that his physical appearance does not do his talent for writing nearly the justice it deserves.
Benjamin Franklin
John’s observations on Franklin will perhaps come as a great surprise to many who have been raised on the mythology of July, 1776. Although flattering in his depictions as overall a great and talented individual, Adams has only this to say regarding Franklin’s actual involvement in crafting the official declaration of America’s independence from British tyranny: “He has had but little share, further than to cooperate and to assist.”
General Gage
If there is an overarching villain of the correspondence, it is likely the British General Gage. Both John and Abigail repeatedly reference him in villainous terms, though often as a results of hearsay rather than documented malevolence.
