Abigail & John Adams: Exploring Early U.S. History Through the Life of an American Power Couple

Course Summary

In 1776, Abigail Adams urged her husband John to “remember the ladies” by offering them legal protection, rather than leaving their fate in the hands of their husbands. This course follows Abigail Adams’s directive by exploring the lives of women and men during the late colonial period in British North America, the American Revolution, the early years of nation formation in the United States, and John Adams’s presidency. Abigail and John’s lived experiences and their involvement in public service provide a lens for examining the social and political changes that gripped the land now known as the United States during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This course builds on the book Abigail & John by David Bruce Smith (with illustrations by Clarice Smith) and is intended for elementary and middle school instructors.

This course has been designed with the generous support of the Grateful American Foundation.

Course Dates: November 8 - December 17, 2021 

Professional Development Hours: 35

 Course Registration Fee: $125

Humanities In Class Online Course Refund,  Transfer & Cancellation Policy

• Refund Policy: Humanities In Class Online Course registrants occasionally are presented with circumstances that prevent them from participating in registered courses. In order to qualify for a refund of fees, registrants must submit their written request according to the following guidelines:

  • If the cancellation request is received more than fourteen (14) days before the course start date, the registrar will refund the course registration, less a $25 cancellation fee.

  • If the cancellation request is received between seven (7) and fourteen (14) days of the course start date, the registrar will refund fifty percent (50%) of course registration, less a $25 cancellation fee.

  • If the cancellation request is received less than seven (7) days before the course start date, no refund will be given.

• Transfer Policy: Humanities In Class Online Courses are offered during Spring, Summer and Fall sessions. In the event that unforeseen circumstances prevent a registrant from enrolling in a current course offering, they will have the option of transferring the amounts paid to a future, calendared course. 

• Cancellation Policy: In the event that an online course is canceled by the National Humanities Center, registrants will be given the option of transferring their registration to another course or receiving a full refund of their registration fee.