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Adams Family Correspondence, Volume 12
ISBN: 9780674286207
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / Harvard University Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: History ; Language & Literature;

Volume 12 of Adams Family Correspondence , with 276 documents spanning from March 1797 through April 1798, opens with the inauguration of John Adams as president and closes just after details of the XYZ affair are made public in America. Through private networks of correspondence, the Adamses reveal both their individual concerns for the well-being of the nation and the depth of their public and political engagement with the republic. Abigail's letters to friend and foe demonstrate the important role she played as an unofficial member of the administration. John Quincy and Thomas Boylston's letters from The Hague, Paris, London, and finally Berlin offer keen observations about the political turmoil in France and its consequences, the shifting European landscape as a result of the war, and court life in Berlin following the coronation of Frederick William III.

In the midst of crisis, the family's domestic life and personal connections challenged and sustained them. The marriage of John Quincy and Louisa Catherine Johnson in London in July 1797 gave the family cause for celebration, while John's appointment of John Quincy as U.S. minister to Prussia created a minor rift as the scrupulous younger Adams struggled with concerns about nepotism. Visits between the elder Adamses and their children Nabby and Charles in New York provided welcome distractions, even as John and Abigail worried about Nabby's domestic situation. With the characteristic candor and perception expected from the Adamses, this volume again features forthright commentary from one family at the center of it all.

Sara Martin is Series Editor of the Adams Family Correspondence at the Massachusetts Historical Society.Taylor C. James :

C. James Taylor is Editor in Chief of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.Millikan Neal E. :

Neal E. Millikan is Assistant Editor of the Papers of George Washington and former Assistant Editor of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.Mathews Amanda A. :

Amanda A. Mathews is Assistant Editor for the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.Woodward Hobson :

Hobson Woodward is Associate Editor for Production of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Sikes Sara B. :

Sara B. Sikes is Associate Editor for Digital Projects of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Lint Gregg L. :

Gregg L. Lint is Series Editor of the Papers of John Adams at the Massachusetts Historical Society.Georgini Sara :

Sara Georgini is Assistant Editor of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.