Please visit Our Crossstitching Home

Please take a look at my other blog, Our Cross-Stitching Home. I share lots of thoughts about our family life and interests. http://www.ourcrossstitchinghome.blogspot.com/

The Graceful Louisa Adams

This week I have been able to spend a bit of time looking at the first First Ladies. From Martha Washington to Rachel Jackson, each of these ladies faced tremendous pressures and struggles, perhaps none more so than by Louisa Adams. Louisa was the wife of John Quincy Adams. She was born in England to an English mother and American father. This mixed birthright made life very difficult for her in the high-point of America's anti-British mood.

John Quincy was a good man, but not a warm one by any stretch of the imagination. After they were engaged, he left her with a list of books so that she could "improve her mind" while awaiting their wedding!

John Quincy forged an impressive career as an American diplomat before becoming President, and Louisa was able to travel with him throughout much of Europe. However, she would often be left behind as he went on to his next assignment. She had to travel across the Russian winter to catch up with him in France. As if that weren't bad enough, she was leaving behind the grave of her infant daughter, Louisa Catherine. My heart breaks as I think of what Louisa said at the loss of her only daughter, " My heart is buried in Louisa's grave, and my greatest longing is to be laid beside her."

Louisa Adams will go on to bury two adult sons and live through four supremely difficult years in the White House. After John Quincy's only term, they retired to Massachusetts. Political life summoned her husband again as he served in the House of Representatives from 1830 until his death in 1848.

The last years of their marriage seem to have brought them closer together. The loss of their children seems to have driven Louisa deeper into her faith, and my guess is that this mended much of the heartache and coldness of their marriage.

Louisa Adams, pictured here with her harp, brought elegance and a sweet long-suffering spirit to the position of First Lady. Although not as well-known as some of our other First Ladies, her story is a fascinating one.

My Wonderful Scholars

This semester, I have such a wonderful group of young scholars in our Medieval history course. The class meets at 8:00 am--I think this early hour brings out the best students and brings out the best in students. They are punctual, respectful and eager to learn. They do the work I ask them to do on an exemplary level. In short, they are such a blessing to me.

We are working to challenge assumptions about the Medieval and Renaissance eras: the Medieval period brought some tremendous intellectual contributions, and the Renaissance was not an entirely secular movement. We will conclude the course with our look at the Scientific Revolution, paying particular attention to the strength of faith of these great men.

I am grateful for the opportunity to teach this material, and particularly, to teach to this group.

Faith of Our Fathers

This famous painting captures George Washington in a moment of prayer at Valley Forge.
George Washington was a man of faith in the Anglican tradition. His speeches and speech were laced with references to God, Providence, the Creator and Author of all Good. He beseeched his soldiers to attend services when possible and to pray. He requested that Congress send chaplains for the Continental Army. Does this sound like a man who viewed God as a disinterested "Clockmaker" who wound up the world and is watching it, from a distance, wind down?

Many contemporary historians are determined to label all of our Founding Fathers deists or atheists, in short, imposing their own world view and values on the heroes of the past. George Washington has become a battleground, of sorts, between those looking for his faith, and those trying to dismiss it. When will they learn that "Freedom of Religion" does not mean to all of us what it means to them--"freedom from religion"?