John & Abigail & Smallpox

Explicit content warning

02/11/20 • 41 min

6 Listeners

We dig into the separate smallpox inoculations of John and Abigail Adams and the heartfelt and hilarious love letters this supercouple exchanged during their quarantines, along with some background on Lady Mary Montagu's bold introduction of the smallpox inoculation from Turkey to England.

(A note: This is our very first episode, and we were still finding our rhythm and voice. You're welcome to start here, but you might want to start with Season 2 or newer episodes for a better sense of how we've evolved!)

Sources:

Founders Online - letters between John & Abigail Adams

Time Magazine: How One Daring Woman Introduced the Idea of Smallpox Inoculation to England by Thomas Hager

The Story of Smallpox in Massachusetts by Samuel Bayard Woodward, M.D.

Inspired by my post "Love in the Time of Smallpox"

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sources:

Founders Online - letters between John & Abigail Adams

Time Magazine: How One Daring Woman Introduced the Idea of Smallpox Inoculation to England by Thomas Hager

The Story of Smallpox in Massachusetts by Samuel Bayard Woodward, M.D.

Inspired by my post "Love in the Time of Smallpox"

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Introducing Season 1 of Plodding Through The Presidents with presidential history blogger Howard Dorre and his wife Jessica Dorre.

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Jefferson's Broken Heart and Wrist

1 Recommendations

We explore Thomas Jefferson's dangerous liaison in Paris with the talented artist Maria Cosway and her monkey-like husband Richard Cosway - a love story that resulted in two broken hearts, one permanently damaged wrist, and one epic 4000-word love letter written as a dialogue between Jefferson's head and heart.

(A note: This is one of our very first episodes, and we were still finding our rhythm and voice. If you're new to the podcast, you might want to start with Season 2 or newer episodes for a better sense of how we've evolved!)

Sources:

Founders Online - Jefferson's Head and the Heart letter to Maria Cosway

Mr. Jefferson's Women by Jon Kukla

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham

Jefferson and the Rights of Man by Dumas Malone

Jefferson: A Revealing Biography by Page Smith

John Adams by David McCullough

Richard Cosway, “The Macaroni Miniature Painter” from The Art Amateur, Vol. 8, No. 2 (January 1883)

Inspired by my post "Thomas Jefferson's Head, Heart, and Wrist"

I won't link directly to the "don't say I didn't warn you" painting of Leda and the Swan, but it's up to you if you want to Google Leda and the Swan by François Boucher 1740. (Don't do it.)

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices