edith gelles: right.usan swain: right. you're getting a passage ready for us. and you want it to read us from that letter that we talked about earlier -- edith gelles: right. susan swain: -- of the "remember the ladies?" edith gelles: right. well, in this particular letter, abigail was ruminating about conditions in her life and what was going on in the -- her world. and she says, "i long to hear that you have declared an independency." she knew john was on this committee. "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 and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors," which is a bold and remarkable statement for a woman to have made in that era. susan swain: based on the relationship that we see detailed in the letters, would it have been a surprising thing for her to say to john adams? james taylor: no. i don't think so at all. and as i go back to the kitchen table, i am sure that before he rode off to p

edith gelles: de windt. yes. james taylor: yes. yes. edith gelles: she was married at that time. and the son was also an adult. so there were no small children. , susan swain: our last video of abigail's death at peacefield. and if we -- all right, we don't have that. so we have very little bit of time left. so, in bringing this full circle, for people who have been introduced to abigail adams tonight, what's the important thing to know about her? what was her impact or influence on american history? edith gelles: she was influential and particularly as