Abandon Quote by Gordon S. Wood
![“[John] Adams's letters to [his wife] Abigail are wonderful. In his letters, he is loving, humorous, preachy, learned, and saucy. He speaks to her with almost complete abandon, revealing all of his sensuous and vulnerable nature.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/781/gordon-s-wood-13199_abandon_john-adams-s-letters-to-his-wife-abigail_1330879.jpg)
“[John] Adams's letters to [his wife] Abigail are wonderful. In his letters, he is loving, humorous, preachy, learned, and saucy. He speaks to her with almost complete abandon, revealing all of his sensuous and vulnerable nature.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Adams-Jefferson Letters, 2006
Wood describes Adams’s letters as a blend of affection, wit, and intellectual depth, revealing his vulnerable side.
In simple terms: Adams’s letters mix love, humor, and learning.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the multifaceted nature of personal expression.
Themes
historical insight
personal intimacy
literary analysis
Mood
analytical
reflective
Type
historical
literary
When to use this quote
- academic study
- personal reflection
- teaching literature
Key Concepts
epistolary communication
emotional honesty
Questions to Reflect On
- What does this reveal about the public‑private divide?
- How does humor affect seriousness in correspondence?
A Different Perspective
Letters may exaggerate personal traits, not fully representing private life.
![“[John Adams] letters courting Abigail Smith are especially priceless. In one of 1764 he addresses her as "Miss Adorable" and says that "By the same Token that the Bearer hereof satt up with you last night I hereby order you to give him, as many Kisses, and as many Hours of your Company after 9…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f7c/gordon-s-wood-13199_abigail_john-adams-letters-courting-abigail-smit_2513933.jpg)
![“[John] Adams's letters reveal his persistence and determination to win over the Dutch against all odds and to convince them and the other peoples of Europe of the potential greatness of the United States and of the importance of the Revolution to the world.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9e1/gordon-s-wood-13199_against-all-odds_john-adams-s-letters-reveal-his-persiste_3169431.jpg)
![“[John Adams] diary, of course, is even more revealing of his feelings. Both his letters to [his wife] Abigail and his diary tell us what he really thinks about people and events.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d8d/gordon-s-wood-13199_abigail_john-adams-diary-of-course-is-even-more_1971371.jpg)
![“[John's Adams] description of [Benjamin] Franklin in a letter to [his wife] Abigail in 1775 is laudatory. Only when he experiences all the adulation paid to Franklin in Paris does he begin to change his tune.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/775/gordon-s-wood-13199_abigail_john-s-adams-description-of-benjamin-fra_1471899.jpg)
![“[The Massachusetts constitution] resembles the federal Constitution of 1787 more closely than any of the other revolutionary state constitutions. It was also drawn up by a special convention, and it provided for popular ratification - practices that were followed by the drafters of the federal…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ebc/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitution_the-massachusetts-constitution-resembles_34263.jpg)
![“[John] Adams identified himself with the political theories of [James] Harrington, [John] Locke, and [Charles-Louis] Montesquieu, whose ideas of constitutionalism, he believed, were applicable to all peoples everywhere; they were his contribution to what he called "the divine science of politics."” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c71/gordon-s-wood-13199_constitutionalism_john-adams-identified-himself-with-the-p_226327.jpg)
![“[John] Adams was the best and most colorful stylist among the Founders. Although [Tomas] Jefferson is widely regarded as the smoothest writer, Adams is by far the most engaging and imaginative.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/782/gordon-s-wood-13199_colorful_john-adams-was-the-best-and-most-colorfu_244163.jpg)
![“By the time [John Adams] came to write his Defence of the Constitutions of the United States in 1787 he had as dark a view of the American character as that of any critic in our history.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d41/gordon-s-wood-13199_american-character_by-the-time-john-adams-came-to-write-his_314115.jpg)
![“Creating senates, the French critics said, implied that there was another social order besides the people represented in the houses of representatives. [John] Adams actually agreed with that implication and argued that the aristocracy and the people had to have separate houses; this was the only…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9a7/gordon-s-wood-13199_aristocracy_creating-senates-the-french-critics-said_349374.jpg)
![“By 1782 [John Adams] had come to feel for [Benjamin] Franklin "no other sentiments than Contempt or Abhorrence."” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/91d/gordon-s-wood-13199_abhorrence_by-1782-john-adams-had-come-to-feel-for_357591.jpg)
![“I think [John Adams] developed a much deeper suspicion of France and the other European powers than he had earlier. He lost much if not all of the utopian thinking about international politics and diplomacy expressed in his Model Treaty of 1776 and became much more cynical about the world.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ccc/gordon-s-wood-13199_cynical_i-think-john-adams-developed-a-much-deep_372770.jpg)
![“[John] Adams never had an optimistic view of human nature, and his experience in the Congress and abroad only deepened his suspicion that his fellow Americans might not have the character to sustain a republican government.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4dc/gordon-s-wood-13199_adams_john-adams-never-had-an-optimistic-view_386009.jpg)
![“A mutual friend, Benjamin Rush, brought [Tomas Jefferson and John Adams] together in 1812, and they went on to exchange letters for the rest of their lives. But in their correspondence they tended to avoid the most controversial issues, such as slavery.” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/be3/gordon-s-wood-13199_controversial_a-mutual-friend-benjamin-rush-brought-to_487463.jpg)
![“[John] Adams's perception of Europe, and especially France, was clearly different than [Tomas] Jefferson's. For Jefferson, the luxury and sophistication of Europe only made American simplicity and virtue appear dearer. For Adams, by contrast, Europe represented what America was fast becoming - a…” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8c0/gordon-s-wood-13199_america_john-adams-s-perception-of-europe-and-es_579328.jpg)
