John Adams
“I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy.”
John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams, 1780 (Adams Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society)
Documented source
Attribution
John Adams
Source
John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams, 1780 (Adams Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society)
In full
“I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy.”
Status
Public domain in the United States
Every quote here is traced to a documented source. How we verify →
About this line
Adams wrote it from Paris, far from the family and the philosophy he loved, doing the grim necessary work of a new republic — so that the generations after him could afford the beautiful, useless things. A father’s generational trade, spelled out in a private letter.
Why we carry this line
The spelling was correct for Adams’ time. But the sentiment was even more correct, no matter the year it was said. Timeless. One generation’s grind buying the next one’s freedom — got me.
Objects carrying this line
More from this authorJohn Adams →