John Adams spent many weeks, months, and even years away from Abigail and his growing family in Braintree, Massachusetts, first as a lawyer and then as a member of the Continental Congress and as a diplomat abroad. John and Abigail exchanged frequent letters, though, which was the routine form of long distance communication before the telephone (or e-mail!). John considered Abigail his "reporter," and they wrote about issues ranging from everyday life to the weighty work facing John Adams and the other Founding Fathers. Abigail's more than 2,000 letters chronicle her life raising children alone and managing a farm during the Revolutionary War, but she also left behind an important account of the historical events surrounding America's birth as a nation. She was very knowledgeable about history, and was a gifted observer and writer.