Abigail Adams "Remember the Ladies"

Before America declared its independence, one woman dared to ask a question that would echo across centuries.

As revolution ignites throughout the colonies, Abigail Adams watches history unfold from the home front, where every letter, every sacrifice, and every act of quiet courage carries the weight of a nation yet to be born. While her husband, John Adams, helps shape a new government, Abigail begins to realize that the fight for liberty belongs not only to the men on the battlefield, but also to the women whose faith, resilience, and conviction are changing history from the shadows.

Set against the turmoil of the American Revolution, Abigail Adams: Remember the Ladies is a sweeping cinematic audio drama filled with political intrigue, heartfelt relationships, and an unforgettable call for justice that still resonates today.

Featuring acclaimed voice talent including Rachel Hendrix (October Baby) as Abigail Adams, Jonathan Stoddard (Crossroad Springs) as John Adams, Debby Gerber (Matlock, Glee, Beyond Belief) as Agent 355, Alex Kendrick (Lifemark, Overcomer, War Room) as George Washington, Carly LePore (Heartland, 'Tis So Sweet) as Mercy Otis Warren, Ryan O'Quinn (Paul's Promise, Scrooge) as Governor Tryon, and Shari Rigby (Overcomer, Wildflower) as Mrs. Smith.

Created with immersive Dolby® Atmos sound design, a sweeping original orchestral score, and cinematic storytelling, Defiant Ones transports listeners into the heart of the American Revolution like never before.

Premiering on The Washington Times.

Created by Beautifully Flawed Productions in partnership with The Washington Times, the Tea Party Patriots Foundation, and The Women In My World.

Before America was born, women were already fighting for her.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:35

Oh, Boston, winter is coming. Its bite is deep and relentless.

SPEAKER_05 0:41

My dear friend Abigail, I do believe it is already here. They say 1775 will be our worst winter yet.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

But what of our soldiers? The headlines from Cambridge, Massachusetts read: the Siege of Boston is underway, and General Washington's Continental Army surrounds the city.

SPEAKER_12 1:04

Gentlemen, I, General Washington, implore you that we begin today as one. And if Providence should favor this cause, history will remember this moment. It is easy to be brave in comfort. But when the icy elements chill us to the bone, the fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our situation is truly distressing. But liberty will never be denied to those who fight when it cost everything. Men, you have not been called here as soldiers of fortune, but as defenders of something far greater than yourselves. You stand here not as men of Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, or Pennsylvania, but as one people. The eyes of your country are upon you. The hopes of your families rest in your hands. We are not the strongest force, nor the most prepared. But we remain steadfast, and a cause born in liberty, carried by courage and entrusted to God, cannot be easily defeated. Men, are you with me?

SPEAKER_02 2:20

Mercy, Otis Warren.

SPEAKER_05 2:21

I do hope you were mistaken about it being our worst winter yet. Abigail, war is nearer than we know. Yet there is still hope. Have you read this account?

SPEAKER_02 2:32

A society of patriotic ladies at Edenton was led by Penelope Barker and 51 women.

SPEAKER_05 2:38

Signed with their own names. They made a formal public pledge to boycott British goods. Abigail, have you read On the Death of the Reverend Mr. George Whitefield? 1770.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

Why, yes, Mercy. Written by Phyllis Wheatley, an enslaved young woman and yet a servant to God. Her poems read as both a eulogy and a sermon. That she has printed it all is its own act of defiance.

SPEAKER_05 3:04

But liberty was not only being written, it is being guarded in Massachusetts. Prudence right stands watch with other women.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

The ground is already shifting. Women are beginning to move where no one thinks to look. The streets of New York, whisper of spies.

SPEAKER_20 3:22

Ours, not theirs.

SPEAKER_02 3:27

Rebellion once a murmur, now beats in the hearts of brave men and women. History will remember the generals. It will carve the names of men into marble and ink. But it is the defiant ones. The women resolute who helped carry the revolution through fire and fear. Colonists dare to dream of freedom. And a chorus of women answer that call. The bravest women, patriots, prophets, poets, and spies, who shape a rebellion with courage. They spin cloth and defiance, boycott British teeth, whisper secrets through guarded streets, and dare to imagine a nation free of monarchy and fear.

SPEAKER_16 4:39

What is your name?

SPEAKER_04 4:40

The cold will not take me. My name is not yours to know. Not for my life, nor for those who came before me. Or those who will come after. How fitting. They call us invisible, but it is the unseen that turns the course of nations.

SPEAKER_16 5:11

Go quickly, and trust that God himself rides beside you.

SPEAKER_07 5:36

Men keep your eyes sharp. Stay alert. Another long night in New York, governor trial. Right. Cold enough to freeze bone. Good night, men.

SPEAKER_11 5:50

Oh, who goes there? Evening, miss. You're far from home at this hour.

SPEAKER_04 5:56

Some of us do not sleep, while others guard our freedom.

SPEAKER_11 6:01

Who might you be?

SPEAKER_04 6:03

I am but a lady. No one you'll remember.

SPEAKER_11 6:07

Here! Hey, stop! Get back here. What is that you're holding? Reward for information leading to the capture of any spy in service of the continental army. Could she have been nah? Governor Tryon says rebellion would burn itself out. He doesn't concern himself with women.

SPEAKER_02 6:47

Half the world, women. I was not meant to be taught to read or write, at least. Not as the boys were.

SPEAKER_09 7:00

Master William Smith. Please spell the word house. H O U. Abigail, what are you doing here?

SPEAKER_02 7:13

I wish to hear you spelling words.

SPEAKER_09 7:15

Girls have no use for such things. Run along, Miss Abigail. I'm not here to tutor you.

SPEAKER_20 7:21

And why is that, Master Farwell?

SPEAKER_09 7:24

Girls are not as clever.

unknown 7:25

Ugh.

SPEAKER_09 7:25

Miss Abigail, run along now. If your parents desire your instruction, they will inform me. H O U.

SPEAKER_19 7:38

House. H O U S E.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

You You are two years my junior, and I am not afraid of you.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

I, but I am a head taller. And I strike the harder.

SPEAKER_09 7:49

Ow!

SPEAKER_08 7:52

Enough!

SPEAKER_19 7:55

Grandpapa!

SPEAKER_08 7:57

Sir, forgive the disruption. Young Miss Abigail keeps teacher.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

There are moments, small as they seem, that alter the course of a life. This was one. My dearest John, I wish you would ever write me a letter half as long as I write you. It is cold here in Boston, and the nights are long without you. My love, I try to be strong. But I must confess, I have my moments of fear when I see the British troops fill the streets. Oh, Abigail, cowardice makes a neat page. Courage makes a messy one. There was a time when courage seemed a simpler thing. When the great questions of a woman's life were not of war, but of love.

SPEAKER_19 8:55

Ouch! Mary, stop. It hurts. Let me brush your hair. You need to look like a young lady. He is a fine match.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

Clever and plainly devoted to you.

SPEAKER_20 9:09

Abigail, what do you know of love and marriage? You're 15. Well, forgive me. I did not know that at 18 you had attained the wisdom of Venus herself.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

My dear. Yes, mother. Mr. Cranch has arrived and he has brought a guest. We shall be down directly. Very well.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

If you saddle me with some dull, tiresome fellow, I shall revolt.

SPEAKER_19 9:38

You may expect a mouse in your bed by morning. I did not know he was meant to bring company.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Mary! Abigail, this is Mr. John Adams.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

A pleasure, sir.

SPEAKER_06 9:55

The pleasure is mine.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

He looks bored. Or boring. Or both. Mr. Adams, would you like to see our garden? It's quite time consuming. I mean the roses.

SPEAKER_06 10:11

Ah, the roses. Certainly.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

Do you read, Mr. Adams?

SPEAKER_06 10:25

Why, yes, of course. Constantly. Though little beyond the Lord Harvard. Then you must be well prepared. I intend to pass it once. I am not fond of second attempts.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

I've heard many great men have had to attempt it multiple times.

SPEAKER_06 10:42

How old are you, Miss Smith?

SPEAKER_02 10:45

Fifteen.

SPEAKER_06 10:47

I hope you will not think me discourteous. But I imagine your time may be better spent than entertaining me, Miss Smith. With your leave, I should like to sit by the pond and read.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

I often read in this very place myself. Very well then. Good day to you, Mr. Adams.

SPEAKER_06 11:05

Good day, Miss Smith.

unknown 11:12

Mr.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

Adams struck me as insufferable and a little full of himself. I was quite relieved to be rid of him. And yet, as I walked away, I found myself unable to keep from smiling.

unknown 11:28

Mr.

SPEAKER_02 11:28

Cranch visited Mary over the course of that year. Though he did not again bring Mr. Adams with him, he brought others in his stead. Gentlemen of varying temper and accomplishment, none so arrogant as Mr. Adams, and a few were even quite agreeable.

SPEAKER_16 11:44

I count it a pleasure to meet you, Miss Smith. I have long wished for the opportunity to meet you.

SPEAKER_02 11:50

The longer Mr. Adams' absence continued, the more I found myself wondering at it. Had my company proved so distasteful that he resolved never again to cross the Smith threshold. Or worse, had he been so entirely bored by a girl of 15 that he fled to his books rather than endure the conversation a second time. Whatever the truth, it pricked my pride.

SPEAKER_03 12:19

Abigail, your thoughts have carried you off again. Why is Mr.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

Adams not returned for a visit? I hope I do not give him offense.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Mr. Adams was intent on passing the bar, which he has done, and currently he is an apprentice with the prestigious firm Putnam, Putnam, and Putnam.

SPEAKER_02 12:36

Pray, did he pass the bar at his first attempt?

SPEAKER_00 12:39

Why, yes, he did.

SPEAKER_02 12:41

And I have no doubt he will be a great man someday.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Oh, you may be certain of it. John Adams is a man of intention. He means to be both wealthy and well regarded.

SPEAKER_03 12:52

Do not most men covet such things?

SPEAKER_00 12:54

I do, my dear. But not at any cost. Mr. Adams is a man of ambition. I can only hope he will yet fall in love and discover that life holds more than law books and civil cases.

SPEAKER_03 13:07

Cupid's arrow shall find him one day and alter his priorities. I would wager upon it.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

Mary, why do you look at me so? Mary, Mr. Cranch is here with Mr. Adams and too. Sister, you did not tell Mr. Adams, did you? I do not know what you speak of.

SPEAKER_03 13:42

Mr. Crange did indeed repeat your concerns, Mr. Adams.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

Oh no.

SPEAKER_03 13:49

The man is quite arrogant enough to suppose I have been dining for him. Have you not? It has been a year and you still make mention of him.

SPEAKER_04 14:03

The night is long, but the dawn remembers. I noticed a black petticoat in between the two white ones. The British are near.

SPEAKER_18 14:13

That they are. Uh a spool thread for you. Thank you kindly. A coin for your trouble.

SPEAKER_07 14:23

Torches up.

SPEAKER_18 14:24

Now, through the door into the church. Pray hard. Or pretend to. It may be the only shield you've got.

SPEAKER_10 14:36

When fear chases you, remember who goes before you. When shadows gather, remember who lights the way.

SPEAKER_04 14:46

And if we must The Faceless have walked these shadows for centuries. Long before me, and long after. In quiet rooms, across distant colonies, in homes, in cities. In the spaces no one thought the luck they have listened, watched, and moved, when called. Not one woman, but many. Ladies of courage. Hidden in plain sight. Chosen and marked by the very hand of God.

SPEAKER_10 15:22

When shadows gather, remember who lights the way. Let's go.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

Storm found you. It always does.

SPEAKER_08 15:56

How sweet does sound?

SPEAKER_19 16:02

Lord, you lean how fall fresh like me.

SPEAKER_11 16:11

I was losing.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

God be with you. John Adams, if only I could be with you again in the garden of our youth. Mr. Adams, how lovely to see you again.

SPEAKER_06 16:42

Yes, I am pleased to see you as well.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Thank you kindly.

SPEAKER_06 16:50

Miss Smith and Mr. Cranch said they would join us in due time. I suspect they were on the same calendar as our Lord.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

SPEAKER_06 17:03

Precisely.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

John Adams smiled at me, and for the first time, he appeared different. Softer, almost austere. I hear you pass the bar at your first attempt, no less.

SPEAKER_06 17:20

Yes, madam, one attempt.

SPEAKER_02 17:22

And you are engaged with Putnam, Putnam, and Putnam?

SPEAKER_06 17:26

Hmm. You have been keeping yourself abreast of my activities.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

I no. Not in any improper sense, sir. Only in my conversations with Mr. Cranch. Your name has been mentioned. I confess I find it most vexing that Harvard does not admit women to the study of law.

SPEAKER_06 17:48

Why do you suppose that is?

SPEAKER_02 17:50

No doubt men are determined to keep women from the study of law.

SPEAKER_06 17:55

And why should they want that?

SPEAKER_02 17:57

Why, we would shame you in a courtroom.

SPEAKER_06 18:00

How so?

SPEAKER_02 18:01

We have the superior intellect better suited for arguing.

SPEAKER_06 18:04

Ah, I see. However, Miss Smith, men know when to quit an argument.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

Well, Mr. Adams, women know when not to start one at all.

SPEAKER_06 18:15

Ah, yes, I can see the point. However, in lieu of arguing, what is there for a lawyer to do then?

SPEAKER_02 18:23

Know the law as you would the back of your hand. Enter every case as though it were already one.

SPEAKER_06 18:28

You see yourself as a man's equal, Miss Smith?

SPEAKER_02 18:32

I believe most women to be the intellectual equal of most men. There are, of course, physical differences that cannot be denied.

SPEAKER_06 18:41

Of course not. And I thank God for it.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

I went from sparring with John in conversation to eagerly awaiting his letters. I have been left to care for our children and the farm. What I would give to spar with you now. But more than anything, hear your adoration for me.

SPEAKER_06 19:24

Yours in both affection and admiration. John.

SPEAKER_02 19:38

But those years seem so far gone now. And now it's 1776. There is no more pretending this is not war for such a time as this. If my voice can go no further than these walls, then carry it for me. I long to hear that you have declared an independency, and by the way, in the new code of laws, which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. If they would build a new nation, they must not forget those who helped hold it together. Mother? Nearly finished, my love. Will father read your letters soon? If Providence is kind, and the post is swifter than the wind. Does God hear letters? My sweet Nabby, he hears what is honest, whether whispered or written.

SPEAKER_14 21:32

Oh. Go home, John Adams. Even Providence rested a day.

SPEAKER_06 21:38

Ben Franklin.

SPEAKER_14 21:39

Providence wasn't fighting Parliament. Liberty requires a spine. But take care if we're to win our independence, we must first survive our own exhaustion. Rest well, sir. Tomorrow we shall either secure freedom from the crown or invent an entirely new reason to depart.

SPEAKER_06 22:03

Good night, sir. Philadelphia, though far, cannot silence my prayers for you nor my plea for the remembrance of the ladies. Ah, Abigail. Even the crown itself would tremble before your pen.

SPEAKER_05 22:39

You write as though the ink burns, Abigail. Some days it does, Mercy. I too have put my thoughts to print. I may not set the type, but I choose the words that will be remembered.

SPEAKER_02 22:50

On the rights and duties of citizens. You are the voice of history, my dear friend.

SPEAKER_05 22:57

Men will call it petticoat politics. Let them. Mercy, I am no orator. My words are b domestic. Then we will send them into every home. Make kitchens in the pulpits. I pray the Lord make our words weighty and our pride light.

SPEAKER_02 23:15

And they quickly fall into John's hands, and others would know change is needed. History will not be quiet.

SPEAKER_04 23:38

But the dawn remembers.

SPEAKER_11 23:40

You brought the paper and spool?

SPEAKER_04 23:43

Yes. As promised.

SPEAKER_10 23:49

Run.

SPEAKER_07 23:56

No, no, no.

SPEAKER_04 23:59

They have collie.

SPEAKER_07 24:02

Who else runs your errands, boy? Remove him. He will come with us. Oh God.

SPEAKER_04 24:12

Keep him safe. Let's go.

SPEAKER_06 24:29

We are so close, my love. I wish you were here to stand with me as we fight for freedom. You would certainly be an equal to many.

SPEAKER_02 24:45

We speak of liberty as though it belongs to all, and yet it is carried by many who are never named. Women who write, who watch, who move where no one thinks to look. They call us invisible. And yet it is often the unseen that turns the course of nations. Let freedom be our offering, and righteousness its reward. Faith is the fiercest rebellion.

SPEAKER_15 25:26

Defiant Ones, a podcast presentation by Beautifully Flawed Productions in partnership with the Washington Times, Tea Party Patriots Foundation, and the Women of My World, starring Rachel Hendricks, Jonathan Stoddard, Debbie Gerber, and Alex Kendrick. Featuring Alison Bailey, Phil Baker, Kellen Boyle, Grayson Dyer, Kim Farrell, James Gelbreth, Donnie Hollister, Billy Hollowell, Nathan Johnson, Harley Lepore, Ryan O'Quinn, Tim Perez Ross, Katie Kenney Phillips, Sherry Rigby, Lottie Shooty, Aaron Sin, Jackson Trent, and Matt Wheatman. Inspired by the book Defiant Lines by Heather Blanton. Written by Claire Ureadley and Sherry Rigby. Directed by Sherry Rigby. Producers Billy Hollowell, Claire Ureda Lee, Julia Riley, Katie Kenney Phillips, and Sherry Rigby. Casting by Donna and Lottie Shootie. Immersive audio mix by Kim Farrell and Jade Dickey. Original score composed by Luke Snyder. Production mix by Dan Riveros.