John Adams’s April 14, 1776, reply to his wife Abigail’s more famous “Remember the Ladies” letter reflects the prevailing attitudes on gender of the period. John and Abigail Adams were separated at the time their letters were written. She was managing their family and estates in war-torn Massachusetts, and he was in Philadelphia, engaged in spirited debates on patriotism and public policy. The pair exchanged many letters during their separation. These show that Abigail Adams was frank in her opinions on the war effort and political debates of the day. They also show that John Adams and his wife regarded one another as intellectual equals and that their relationship was built on a foundation of mutual trust and regard. Nevertheless, in reply to his wife’s insistence that the political rights of women be considered and protected, her husband was dismissive. Adams’s reply testifies to the boundaries of the democratic spirit in the American Revolution and shows that modern conceptions of gender equality were hardly considered during the founding of the new republic.