Origins, definitions, and social circumstances
The metropolitan sources of the Adamses' views of sensibility
The meanings of sensibility
The theory of gendered sensibility
Social circles and the reformation of female manners
Young American women enter the world
Particular applications
A woman's struggle over sensibility
Sensibility and reform
Abigail's perspective, public versus private
John Adams and the reformation of male manners
The pleasures and pains of public life
Private perpetuation
Raising children with sensibility
A reformed rake?
The question answered
Conclusion
The Americanization of sensibility.