Abigail Adams’ 1776 Smallpox Inoculation as Demonstration of Women’s Increased Independence in the American Revolution

Abstract

This thesis analyzes Abigail Adams’ efforts to inoculate herself and her children against smallpox in July 1776. She pursued the procedure independently, only informing her husband John Adams after the fact. Some scholarship maintains the lack of notice to John Adams was due to anger at his lack of response to her “Remember the ladies” letter of March 1776, but this thesis concludes that other contextual factors affected her decision. Adams’ early life grounded her in scientific inquiry as well as a religious outlook that allowed her to pursue medical procedures while still believing in providence to make them succeed. Adams participated in a network of New England women left without male heads of household early in the American Revolution, exchanging domestic information and mutual support. Men’s absence from home resulted in a larger sphere of action for women who developed confidence in the running of their households. Because George Washington inoculated the Continental Army, more colonial men than women received inoculation, but Adams’ unique circumstances of literacy, wealth, exposure to medical doctors, and trust in science all led to her July 1776 decision. Adams’ actions are a case study indicative of the larger trend of women gaining confidence, competence, and forms of independence during the American Revolution.