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John Adams and Abigail Adams Letter Revision

In her letter to John Quincy Adams, Abigail Adams employs multiple examples of rhetorical speech to advise and influence Mr. Adams. Her rhetoric helps the advice look better and stand out to the reader. She makes connections to important people from the past, causing her advice to sound like a “rallying cry” that should spur John Quincy Adams to action.  She also compliments Mr. Adams throughout the letter, which is a good way to influence someone: flatter them and they will follow. Her rhetorical style is almost in the style of propaganda, as she talks about the,” calamities in your own native land” in the latter part of her letter. This style of speech and her prophesising that the people would leave a legacy for generations yet unborn just further encourages the young Adams to push for the cause that his people push for: independence.

            One example of the rhetorical strategies that Mrs. Adams uses to advise her son is comparing their situation to the situation of famous writer, Cicero. Cicero began to write his famous and inflammatory writings to speak out against the tyranny of Roman leaders, and was praised for it. Abigail Adams wants the same for her son John Q. Adams: she wants him to be a Cicero for the American people, so she compares them in her letter to make the connection. This is seen in line 30,” Would Cicero have shone so distinguished an orator if he had not been roused, kindled, and inflamed by the tyranny of Catiline, Verres, and Marc Antony?” She further pushes this point by comparing the struggle that Cicero went through with the “calamities” of his time to the British repression of the Americans. Line 43 demonstrates this,”…it is your lot, my son, to be an eyewitness of these calamities in your own native land.” This comparison of repression and problems that the two men went through in their respective times was an effective rhetorical strategy as it challenged Adams to rise to the greatness that Cicero reached. It also helped “guilt” him, for if he did nothing, he would seem like a coward who did not realise his full potential.

            Another rhetorical strategy utilised in the letter by Mrs. Adams is speaking well about and complimenting John Q. Adams and his upbringing. This style of speech would influence him and “guilt” him into acting a certain way. This is seen in line 22,”… under the eye of a tender parent, your improvement should bear some proportion to your advantages.” This means that since he has more chances in life, he must not waste them but must instead use them to their full potential. Another example is seen on line 61, where Mrs. Adams uses a form of guilt and compliment at the same time,”…and render your parents supremely happy, particularly your ever affectionate mother.” This line makes the reader, John Q. Adams, feel as if he must “pay back” his parents for the love and everything they had given him.

            One last strategy used in the letter is Mrs. Adams talking about her decisions that she made for Mr. Adams earlier, and reaffirming him in how she was right. This strategy to influence Mr. Adams is seen in the first paragraph,” If I had thought your reluctance arose from proper deliberation, or that you was capable of judgeing(sic) what was most for your benefit…” This shows how Mrs. Adams believed that she knew what was best for Mr. Adams, more so than even he knew.