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In the words of women : the Revolutionary War and the birth of the nation, 1765-1799

In the Words of Women brings together the writings-letters, diaries, journals, pamphlets, poems, plays, depositions, and newspaper articles of women who lived between 1765 and 1799. The writings are organized chronologically around events, battles, and developments from before the Revolution, through its prosecution and aftermath. They reflect the thoughts, observations and experiences of women during those tumultuous times, women less well known to the reading public, including patriots and loyalists; the highborn and lowly; Native Americans and blacks, both free and enslaved; the involved and observers; the young and old; and those in between. Brief narrative passages provide historical context, and information about the women as they are introduced enable readers to appreciate their relevance and significance.In the Words of Women brings together the writings-letters, diaries, journals, pamphlets, poems, plays, depositions, and newspaper articles-of women who lived between 1765 and 1799. The writings are organized chronologically around events, battles, and developments from before the Revolution, through its prosecution and aftermath. They reflect the thoughts, observations and experiences of women during those tumultuous times, women less well known to the reading public, including patriots and loyalists; the highborn and lowly; Native Americans and blacks, both free and enslaved; the involved and observers; the young and old; and those in between. Brief narrative passages provide historical context, and information about the women as they are introduced enable readers to appreciate their relevance and significance. In the Words of Women also focuses on topics such as health, everyday life, and travel. The selections not only document existing attitudes, practices, and customs but also changes wrought by the war and independence. This book allows the voices of these women to be heard and readers to make their own inferences and judgments based on women "speaking for themselves.".

The travel journals of Henrietta Marchant Liston : North America & Lower Canada, 1796-1800

Travel writing has a long history, the accounts as varied as the reasons why people travel. Although most travel publications of the eighteenth century were written by men, those by women, perhaps most famously Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, were also widely read. The Travel Journals of Henrietta Marchant Liston: North America & Lower Canada, 1796-1800 consists of the nine journals that Mrs. Liston kept while she and her husband Robert Liston, the minister from Great Britain (1796-1800), resided in Philadelphia, at that time the capital of the United States. Mrs. Liston wrote her journals (which, with one exception, have never been published) for her personal use as an aide-memoire to share with family and friends. To experience this middle-aged woman's adventurous spirit as she and her husband travel as far south as Charleston, South Carolina and as far north as Quebec, Canada-long before the transportation conveniences and superhighways of modern-day travel-can only be termed amazing. Full of zest, her writing abounds with "you-are-there" moments. Mrs. Liston was genuinely curious about the New World: she wanted to learn about the different regions, to interact with the people who lived there, and to visit its natural wonders. She was astonished by the variety of the North American landscape, particularly its flora. Each journal has an introduction to put Mrs. Liston's narrative in historical context. She is an intelligent and discerning guide to the eastern part of North America at a time of territorial expansion, of dispossession of Indian Nations from their territories by settlers, and of international upheavals. She and Robert Liston, a seasoned diplomat, observed and participated in the tumultuous events of the last years of the eighteenth century: the resignation of President George Washington and the orderly transfer of power to the next elected president; the "Quasi War" with France; and the rise of the political party system, to name but a few. Mrs. Liston's description of their friendship with President and Mrs. Washington is clear-eyed as well as deeply appreciative, bringing those historical figures to life. Mrs. Liston's engaging writing will win the hearts of all readers. For more on this topic, please visit the author's website at www.inthewordsofwomen.com.

Selected letters of John Jay and Sarah Livingston Jay : correspondence by or to the first chief justice of the United States and his wife

This collection of letters chronicles the personal lives of founding father John Jay and his wife, Sarah Livingston Jay, in the tumultuous times during and after the American Revolution. The letters showcase Sarah as a devoted wife and mother, who welcomed friends and government officials into her home and helped further her husband's political career. Her intelligence, powers of observation, social skills, political savvy and more than competent management of family affairs, including finances, during her husband's frequent absences, are clearly reflected in her letters. The book includes essays on the Jay and Livingston families, family trees, a chronology of John Jay's life, and information about the character and appearance of both husband and wife. Importantly, there are bridges between the letters where necessary and essays on several topics - the mail, health and medicine, education, religion and slavery - which provide an 18th century context for the reader. The correspondence reveals the abiding love of husband and wife, their concern for their children, the dangers and difficulties of travel, descriptions of the lands they visited and events they witnessed, as well as a sense of the effort it took to survive in the era even with the buffer of wealth. Illustrations include several portraits, the signatures of John and Sarah, the Jays' wax seal and a period map of New York Harbor.

Embodied Knowledge: Women and Science Before Silicon Valley