• Episode 52: ‘Screaming Among Her Fellows’
    Jun 18 2024

    Catharine Maria Sedgwick to Eliza Cabot Follen, February 18, 1828. In which Sedgwick writes to her dear friend Cabot Follen about the need for a new minister, pieces she has recently read and written, and an exquisite Valentine.

    Featuring Dr. Patricia Kalayjian and Dr. Lucinda Damon-Bach of The Catharine Maria Sedgwick Online Letters project. Dr. Kalayjian is a Professor Emerita of Interdisciplinary Studies at California State University and the editor and project director of the Sedgwick Online Letters project. Dr. Damon-Bach is an editor of the project and a professor of English at Salem State University.

    Find the official transcript here.

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    45 mins
  • Episode 51: "O Women of America!"
    May 22 2024

    Woman's Political Future - An Address by Frances E. W. Harper to the Chicago World's Fair, 20 May 1893. In which Harper champions morality, civil rights, and civic duty in Jim Crow America.

    Featuring Chole Porche, Ph.D. candidate in the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia.

    Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant is a production of R2 Studios, part of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

    Find the official transcript here.

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    35 mins
  • Episode 50: The Feathers are the only Tolerable Ones
    Apr 16 2024

    Martha Washington to Eleanor Parke Custis, c. February 1797. In which Washington warns her granddaughter that her dress may not arrive from Philadelphia in time for a Virginia ball.

    Featuring Dr. Alexandra Garrett, Assistant Professor of History, St. Michael's College.

    Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant is a production of R2 Studios, part of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

    Find the official transcript here.

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    39 mins
  • Episode 49: Deposition of Phillis Tatton
    Mar 19 2024

    Deposition of Phillis Tatton, 3rd November 1837
    In which Phillis Hinkley Saunders Tatton appeared before the County of Probate in the state of Connecticut in an attempt to secure a pension for her late husband’s service during the American Revolutionary War.

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    43 mins
  • Episode 48: Political Subjects are too often at Variance
    Feb 21 2024

    Elizabeth Willing Powel to Elizabeth Parke Custis, February 28, 1816. In which Powel advises Martha Washington's pro-French granddaughter to avoid talking about politics with pro-British family members. 

    Featuring Samantha Snyder, Research Librarian & Manager of Library Fellowships at the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, and Dr. Cassandra Good, associate professor of History at Marymount University and author of First Family: George Washington's Heirs and the Making of America (2023). 

    Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant is a production of R2 Studios at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. 

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    34 mins
  • Episode 47: To Persevere In Grace & Faith
    Jan 16 2024

    Phillis Wheatley to Obour Tanner, October 30, 1773 in which Wheatley discusses faith, her book, and a trip to England. 

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    39 mins
  • Episode 46: The Ambassadress Is Nothing But Blunt
    Dec 19 2023

    Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 16 Febuary 1786. In which Abigail reports from London to her son on dining with wealthy South Carolinians and the tribulations of her daughter Nabby in matters of the heart. Featuring Dr. Miriam Liebman of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 

    Note: The quoted letters referenced in this episode are available as follows:

    Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 16 February 1786. Adams Papers, Digital Edition. Massachusetts Historical Society. 

    Abigail Adams to John Adams, 22 September 1774. Adams Papers, Digital Edition. Massachusetts Historical Society. 

    Abigail Adams to John Adams, 31 March - 5 April 1776. Adams Papers, Digital Edition. Massachusetts Historical Society. 

    Abigail Adams to John Adams, 23 December 1782. Adams Papers, Digital Edition. Massachusetts Historical Society. 

    Abigail Adams to Mary Smith Cranch, 15 August 1785. Adams Papers, Digital Edition. Massachusetts Historical Society. 

    Abigail Adams to Elizabeth Shaw, 4 March 1786. Adams Papers, Digital Edition. Massachusetts Historical Society. 

    Abigail Adams to John Adams, 23 May 1794. Adams Papers, Digital Edition. Massachusetts Historical Society. 

     

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    35 mins
  • Episode 45: You Must Not Complain Of My Silence
    Nov 21 2023

    Elizabeth Mason to Mary Barnes Mason, 3 March 1811. In which Elizabeth attempts to update her daughter Mary on the latest news from home while her family distracts her. 

     

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    35 mins