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Introduction

Written from Philadelphia as the First Continental Congress continued its deliberations, this letter finds John Adams reflecting on the seriousness of the debates and the shared resolve among the colonies. It replies to Abigail’s August 14 letter and conveys both the weight of the discussions and his steady confidence in her management at home.

Letter Text

Your last letter afforded me much comfort, and I rejoice to learn that you and the children enjoy good health. The cares you describe, though many, are borne with a fortitude that does you honor, and I am sensible that my absence increases your burden. Yet I trust you will persevere, as I must here, in the station to which duty has called us.

The Congress proceeds with a gravity suited to the magnitude of our concerns. There is much debate, and a diversity of sentiments, yet I perceive among the members a prevailing disposition to seek measures that may secure the rights of the colonies without unnecessary violence. Whether our efforts will prevail time must determine, but I am persuaded that the cause in which we are engaged is just. Amidst these labors, my thoughts often return to Braintree, and to the domestic scene which your letters so kindly keep before me.

HAL 1776 Commentary

This letter offers one of John Adams’s earliest assessments of the Continental Congress as a functioning political body. While cautious in tone, it reveals a growing confidence that collective action among the colonies is both possible and necessary. Paired with Abigail’s steady reports from home, the exchange underscores how revolutionary decision-making depended not only on public debate, but on private sacrifice sustained across distance.

Source

Founders Online, National Archives.
John Adams to Abigail Adams, 28 August 1774.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-01-02-0030