A talented commentator and chronicler of events with a broad knowledge of history, Abigail Adams left an important account of many of the events of the nation's founding in her letters. She and her husband corresponded regularly; first when he attended the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia between 1774 and 1783, and again from 1789 to 1800, when she traveled between the family home in Quincy, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, where John Adams was serving as the nation's first vice president before becoming its second president in 1797.
After the presidential term, the Adamses retired to their family home where they spent the next 17 years. In 1825, John Quincy Adams, the couple's eldest son, moved into the White House, succeeding James Monroe to serve as the nation's sixth president.
- Architecture and Interior Design for 20th Century America, 1935-1955 contains a series of photographs of the Adams home in Quincy, Massachusetts, including the bedroom where John and John Quincy Adams were born and the younger Adams's commode. To find them, search the collection on Adams.
- In 1800, President John Adams approved an act of Congress providing for the establishment of the Library of Congress. The Adams building, initially known as the Library Annex, was completed in 1939 and renamed in honor of the second president in 1980. Search the collection Washington as It Was, 1923-1959 on Adams to find more images of the building and its construction.
- Search on Adams in Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789 and Words and Deeds in American History to find more material documenting the historical contributions of this family.
- A number of books containing the correspondence of Abigail Adams have been published: to locate these titles go to the Library of Congress Online Catalog, select "Search by Name" then enter the term Adams, Abigail.
