ALLIANCE – She may not have been a president, but she had the ear of several.

Abigail Adams will be the topic of the “Forgotten Fathers” lecture series inside the Rodman Auditorium at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16 – Presidents’ Day – when Sid Zufall presents “Abigail Adams: The Intellectual and Moral Compass of John Adams.”

Registration is required to attend

Abigail Adams, of course, was the wife of John Adams, a leading voice for independence and later the nation’s second president. The couple’s relationship as well as the events leading up to birth of the United States has been well documented through the voluminous correspondence they shared throughout their lives.

Of course, she was also the mother of the sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams.

In all, however, her influence reached every one of the first six presidents, as she corresponded with each one from George Washington to Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.

Zufall’s program explains how as the wife of President John Adams, she was an intellectual partner who advised him on matters of governance, diplomacy, and liberty, famously urging him to “remember the ladies” as the new nation took shape.

Throughout her life, Abigail Adams was an advocate for education, moral leadership, and civic virtue that resonated well beyond her own household and her legacy endures as a reminder that the American founding was shaped not only in halls of power, but also through sharp intellect, moral conviction, and fearless advocacy from behind the scenes.

Other topics of the series include:

March 16 – “Mercy Otis Warren: The Lady of Liberty”

April 13 – “James Otis Jr.” The Forgotten Flame of American Liberty”

May 11 – “Joseph Warren: Doctor of Democracy”

June 15 – “John Hancock: The Signature of Liberty”

June 29 – “John Shreve and John Stark: Alliance’s Connection to the Revolutionary War” presented by Jack Weber.

The lecture series is part of the America 250 events being sponsored by the Alliance Historical Society, which will also use the display case near the children’s area to exhibit items from its collection throughout most of the year. In February, the theme is “Alliance Works: Innovations, Business & Work.”