The idea that "all men are created equal" is a philosophy that guided American revolutionaries during the late 18th century and although women were specifically excluded, those who supported the doctrine believed that women, in their limited intelligence and strength, possessed a sense of morality that surpassed that of any man. Consequently, it fell to women to raise suitable citizens for the new nation in what became known as the principle of republican motherhood. In a letter to her son, John Quincy Adams, Mrs. Adams exercises her power as a mother by strategically arranging an ethics-based argument laced with allusions and optimistic diction to leave her son little room for refutation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayMrs. Adams sets the stage for the rest of his letter in the first paragraph, outlining the context of the letter and restating the decision that allowed the situation to become reality. Although she began with warm wishes for his safety, she quickly changed tactics and in a condescending but matronly tone acknowledged her son's "reluctance" to accompany his father on a trip to France, but stressed that he is "unable to judge". what is the right thing to do. This immediately sent the message that one must accept that she knows what is best and this essentially robbed John Quincy Adams of his sense of decision-making ability, which Mrs. Adams does repeatedly throughout the letter and probably in person as well. In a society where women have so little, Mrs. Adams seems determined to hold tightly to the reins of her power as she pushes her son to follow in his father's diplomatic footsteps. Once established in the letter, the hierarchy of power allowed Mrs. Adams to set strict expectations that she can safely assume will be met by John Quincy Adams. Her demands ranged from making adequate use of her linguistic abilities to achieving a level of success worthy of the benefits provided to her, to being an "eyewitness" of the revolution to honor not only her and John Adams but also the country. Although conflicting in nature, all of these goals, if achieved, serve Abigail's goal of putting him on the path to becoming the political leader she raised him to be. The use of ethos played an important role in allowing Mrs. Adams to maintain her superior position which she supported by allusions and optimistic diction. Halfway through the letter he dropped powerful names like Cicero, Verres, and Mark Antony. Unlike most families of the time, the Adamses made sure their children were properly educated, so those were all names that were not only recognizable to John Quincy Adams but probably quite influential as well. In other words, they were individuals that people aspire to be like and they lived in times somewhat similar to the American Revolution. Ms. Adams used this fact to argue that “these are times a genius would wish to live in.” It is very likely that his son harbored negative feelings towards the revolution. After all, the result is that his father worked and traveled constantly, he too was forced to travel and had to grow up suffering violence and punitive laws imposed by the English. In this section of the letter, he combats negativity by associating legendary leaders with struggles and through the words “genius” and “desire” which both have connotations that evoke ideas that.