The Revolution’s democratizing impulse was not extended to women by male lawmakers.

Evidence

“I long to hear that you have declared an independency, and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies,” Abigail Adams had written to her husband in Congress. “Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could.” John Adams scorned her appeal. “As to your extraordinary Code of Laws, I cannot but laugh,” he replied. “We have been told that our Struggle has loosened the bands of Government everywhere. That Children and Apprentices were disobedient—that schools and Colledges were grown turbulent—that Indians slighted their Guardians and Negroes grew insolent to their Masters.” With her letter suggesting that the democratizing impulse had spread to include women’s rights, he spoke for male lawmakers, “Depend upon it, We know better than to repeal our Masculine systems.” — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 272

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to foundational values of equality and freedom — how the founding generation drew the boundary of rights-bearing citizenship. Connects to modern debates on who counts as a rights-holder and to the course theme of competing understandings of equality.
• SHARE: The Abigail-John Adams exchange on women’s rights is a canonical moment someone teaching or studying the foundings’ boundary-drawing would want verbatim for discussion of who is inside the circle of liberty.