Presidential Love Letters

For Valentine's Day, I thought it would be clever to write my wife a love letter/poem using the words from some of our greatest couples. So I did some research to see what I could come up with. I was pleased to find a variety of resources online that had primary sources and transcripts of letters written from soldiers, presidents and first ladies.

John and Abigail Adams
The first letters I attempted to find were those from John and Abigail Adams. As was the custom in those times, both John and Abigail chose pen names. John was Lysander, a Spartan war hero. Abigail at first was Diana, the Goddess of the moon, but later used the name Portia, the wife of Brutus a great Roman politician. Below is a letter from Abigail to her "Dearest Friend" John, from December 23, 1782.

…should I draw you the picture of my Heart, it would be what I hope you
still would Love; tho it contained nothing new; the early possession you
obtained there; and the absolute power you have ever maintained over it; leaves
not the smallest space unoccupied.

See more letters and more information about John and Abigail below: http://www.libraryonline.com/default.asp?pID=57
My Dearest Friend, Letters of Abigail and John Adams

Abraham Lincoln

Next I found Lincoln. Lincoln is a curious case because unlike Adams, he didn't marry his true love. He missed that opportunity and settled for Mary Todd. His true love was Mary Owens. Here's an excerpt from a letter written to the woman he really wanted to marry, from August 16, 1837. But Lincoln has a strange way of expressing his feelings in this one.

Nothing would make me more miserable than to believe you miserable – nothing
more happy, than to know you were so... ...If it suits you best to not
answer this farewell – a long life and a merry one attend you.

Harry Truman

And though these are not transcribed and tough to read, here are some letters from Harry Truman courting his love.

http://www.history.com/content/valentine/love-letters-from-the-president

Other Presidents

And finally... a Who Said it? Presidential quiz featuring love letters from some our nation's great leaders. http://ww.neh.gov/news/humanities/2009-01/LoveLetters.html

And on a final note concerning The Kennedy's. It is reported that Jackie had burned her letters from celebrity suitors so that her secret affairs would remain a secret.

I'm sure there are plenty more out there, so if this has peaked your interest. Off you go... find more. And please share them here... Happy Valentine's!

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My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams

As a blogger of US History I get a lot of people sending me information hoping I'll promote it here on my blog. Some of it I read, and figure it doesn't apply, others are more appropriate.

A few weeks ago I received an email, from a rep at Harvard University Press... she wrote:

"I thought that you might be interested in the recent HUP book,

MY DEAREST FRIEND: Letters of Abigail and John Adams Edited by Margaret A. Hogan and C. James Taylor of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Soon to be featured in the March 2008 HBO miniseries, these letters not only detail the courtship and long marriage of a prominent presidential couple,they also offer keen observations and articulate commentary on world events at a critical time in American history.

If you think your readers may be interested in learning more about this famous couple, we welcome you to use—for free—the following features that we’ve created for MY DEAREST FRIEND."

And... I do think my readers would be interested. Because this one is very appropriate... for several reasons...

First of all is the fact that I'm reading David McCullough's 'John Adams', which is very entertaining and informative (see "What I'm reading" to the right). I'm not reading it as quickly as I think I should, but I've set a goal to complete it by a certain date, and will do my best to meet that goal. And will surely share my thoughts on Mr. Adams.

The second reason is the upcoming HBO Miniseries on John Adams starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail. Though I don't have HBO I have toyed with the idea of getting it for one month to watch the 7 part miniseries, which starts Sunday, March 16 at 8pm. Don't know if Comcast would do that....

So, 'my readers', I present to you...

MY DEAREST FRIEND: Letters of Abigail and John Adams

Edited by Margaret A. Hogan and C. James Taylor of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Soon to be featured in the March 2008 HBO miniseries, these letters not only detail the courtship and long marriage of a prominent presidential couple,they also offer keen observations and articulate commentary on world events at a critical time in American history.

* http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/ADAMYD.html
* Ten-minute audio interview with co-editor Margaret Hogan about the letters
* Margaret Hogan\'s charming essay on the Adams\' courtship (730 words)
* PDF excerpt from MY DEAREST FRIEND
* Book TV video of three famous couples reading selected letters from

So there you have it...

I inquired to HUP about sending me the book to review it here... I haven't heard back. But would surely be interested. There has been one book I was sent to review called California Justice. You can read that review here. I will be highlighting several of the stories from the book in the future. Coincidentally, my review didn't bring justice to the book. I was busy and owe the publisher another shot...

PS - Thank you to all of those who have signed up for my feed. I created the link late last night and got 14 subscribers after day one. Thanks for reading. Please comment, I'd like to know who my readers are...

PSS - And if you're a publisher.. I'm always up for a good read.

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