Adams Presidential Center

05/28/2026

🎓🇺🇸 Celebrating Service, Honoring Impact 🇺🇸🎓

This Memorial Day week, as we honor those who gave their lives in service to our nation, we are also proud to highlight the power of service in our communities today.

In this video, Adams Civic Impact Award recipient and graduating senior Emily Chen reflects on her experience with community service—what inspired her, what she learned, and the impact she hopes to make moving forward.

Developed in partnership with Quincy Public Schools, the Adams Civic Impact Award honors the legacy of John Adams, Abigail Adams, Louis Catherine Adams and John Quincy Adams by recognizing graduating seniors who demonstrate a deep commitment to civic responsibility through meaningful community service—going beyond expectations and reflecting on the impact of their contributions on both themselves and their community.

Emily’s story is a powerful reminder that service is not only about what we give, but how we grow—and how we help strengthen the communities around us.

👏 Congratulations, Emily, and to all of this year’s recipients: Elmeria Cheung, Angelina Lin, Lili Chen, Shayed Zaman and Bushra Shah.

05/27/2026

🎓🇺🇸 Celebrating Service, Honoring Impact 🇺🇸🎓

This week, as we recognize Memorial Day and honor those who gave their lives in service to our nation, we are also proud to celebrate a new generation committed to serving their communities.

In partnership with Quincy Public Schools, the Adams Presidential Center recently awarded the Adams Civic Impact Award to outstanding graduating seniors. This award honors the legacy of John Adams, Abigail Adams, Louisa Catherine Adams and John Quincy Adams by recognizing students who demonstrate a deep commitment to civic responsibility through meaningful community service—going beyond expectations and reflecting thoughtfully on the impact of their contributions.

At its core, this award celebrates the idea that service takes many forms. While Memorial Day reminds us of the ultimate sacrifice made in defense of our nation, it also calls us to reflect on how each of us can contribute to the common good.

These students embody that spirit—showing that a dedication to community, civic engagement, and service remains as vital today as it was in the time of the Adams family.

👏 Congratulations to this year’s recipients—and thank you for leading by example.

05/25/2026

🇺🇸 This Memorial Day, we honor those who gave their lives in service to our nation. 🇺🇸

From the earliest days of the revolution, leaders like John Adams understood that the freedoms we cherish come at a profound cost. In his writings, Adams reflected on the sacrifices required to secure and sustain liberty—sacrifices made not only by statesmen, but by the many who served and fought for a cause greater than themselves.

On this day of remembrance, we pause to honor the courage, service, and ultimate sacrifice of those who have defended our nation across generations.

Their legacy endures in the freedoms we uphold and the responsibilities we carry forward.

05/21/2026

Revolutionary Spaces and the Adams Presidential Center at the Old State House ready to kick off an exciting conversation centering on two influential voices of the Revolutionary era: Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren with Liz Covart, host of the podcast Ben Franklin’s World, Massachusetts Historical Society historian Sara Georgini and Nancy Rubin Stuart, author of The Muse of the Revolution.

05/21/2026

Today, six extraordinary students (3 Quincy High School Seniors, 3 North Quincy High School Seniors) were recognized for their exceptional commitment to civic responsibility through meaningful community service. The inaugural Adams Civic Impact Awards in partnership with Quincy Public Schools were presented to Emily Chen, Elmeria Cheung, Angelina Lin, Lily Chen, Shayed Zaman, and Bushra Shah. Congratulations to all for making a difference in their community! “To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do.” John Adams 🇺🇸❤️

05/19/2026

Great event this week at Revolutionary Spaces’ Old State House. See details below.

Join Revolutionary Spaces and the Adams Presidential Center at the Old State House for a conversation on these two influential women.

05/15/2026

Today, we remember and honor Louisa Catherine Adams, who passed away on May 15, 1852. Congress adjourned on May 18, 1852 for Louisa Catherine Adams’s funeral, according her an honor never before offered a first lady

As the wife of President John Quincy Adams and the first First Lady born outside the United States, Louisa led an extraordinary life marked by resilience, intellect, and a deep sense of duty. Her journey—from the courts of Europe to the heart of American political life—was filled with both triumph and hardship.

Often overshadowed by the men around her, Louisa was a powerful voice in her own right. She navigated the complexities of politics, motherhood, and diplomacy with courage and grace, leaving behind letters and memoirs that continue to illuminate the role of women in early American history.

Let us remember Louisa today not only as a First Lady, but as a woman of profound strength, wit, and wisdom.

05/13/2026

At our recent panel, Adams Speaker Series: 250th Anniversary of Abigail Adams’s “Remember the Ladies” Letter, panelists Liz Covart, Ph.D., and Diana Carlin, Ph.D., explored the origins of John and Abigail’s relationship and what made it so “saucy.”

05/10/2026

🌸 Happy Mother’s Day from the Adams Presidential Center 🌸

Today, we honor the mothers who shape families, strengthen communities, and inspire future generations.

Few embody this legacy more powerfully than Abigail Adams. As a mother, she instilled in her children a deep commitment to learning, character, and public service—guiding John Quincy Adams to become a lifelong champion of education, diplomacy, and civic responsibility.

Through her letters, Abigail offered wisdom that still resonates today—reminding her children to think critically, act with integrity, and contribute meaningfully to the world around them.

This Mother’s Day, we celebrate not only the care and strength of mothers, but the enduring influence they have in shaping the future.

💐 To all mothers and caregivers—thank you.

05/07/2026

📜 On May 7, 1775, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband during the earliest days of the American Revolution.

With John Adams away at the Second Continental Congress, Abigail Adams remained in Massachusetts—just miles from unfolding conflict.

Her letter offers a powerful glimpse into the realities of the Revolutionary War beyond the battlefield: the uncertainty, the resilience, and the quiet strength required on the home front. Through her words, we see how she kept John informed, supported his work, and managed the challenges of wartime life.

💬 “The Day—perhaps the decisive Day is come…”

In moments like these, Abigail’s voice reminds us that the American Revolution was not only fought by soldiers and statesmen, but also sustained by those at home.

📖 Read the full letter: https://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/archive/doc?id=L17750507aa



Source: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 7 May 1775, Adams Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

[Supplied words] appear blue in square brackets. They have been added to clarify, correct, or complete passages appearing in the documents.

05/05/2026

What did it really mean to serve the public in the early United States?

In a recent blog from the Massachusetts Historical Society, Gwen Fries explores how John Quincy Adams approached one of the most fundamental—yet often overlooked—aspects of leadership: caring for his constituents.

Drawing from his remarkable diaries, the post reveals how Adams saw himself not just as a statesman, but as a listener, advocate, and tireless servant—spending his days hearing concerns, delivering letters, and following through on even the smallest requests.

It’s a powerful reminder that public service isn’t always about grand speeches or historic moments—it’s often about showing up, listening, and doing the work.

📖 Read more: https://www.masshist.org/beehiveblog/2026/03/caring-for-constituents-a-how-to-by-john-quincy-adams/

Caring for Constituents: A How-To by John Quincy Adams March 16, 2026 By Gwen Fries, Adams Papers John Quincy Adams was a public servant for more than fifty years. When we think of him, it’s easy to fall into a highlights reel of his life—partying with princes as a diplomat, advancing the cause ...