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Image Credit: Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society, John Adams, Benjamin Blyth, 1766; Abigail Adams, Benjamin Blyth, 1766 |
John and Abigail Adams’ Historic Letters Travel to Vassar
During the month of April, Vassar will play host to an extraordinary series of educational programs in conjunction with a unique exhibition,My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams. From the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, a selection of the correspondence between John Adams, one of America’s Founding Fathers and the nation’s second President, and Abigail Adams, who was far ahead of her time as a perceptive political spouse and partner, will be on display at Special Collections in the Vassar Libraries. This event marks the first time that many of these letters have left Massachusetts.
Augmenting the exhibition will be several lectures, some limited to the Vassar community and others open to the general public, which will tap the considerable expertise of both Vassar and the Massachusetts Historical Society to illuminate further the history reflected in the exhibit. In addition, My Dearest Friend will feature an important component of outreach to the greater Hudson Valley, as selected area high school history teachers and students will be seeing the exhibit and hearing from experts. A classic example of the Vassar tradition of “going to the source,” My Dearest Friend offers a matchless window on a critical period in American history — and on a marriage of two hearts and minds that resonates as strongly today as it did then.
For a full schedule and for inquiries contact the Office of Regional Programs at programs@vassar.edu.