New Books in Early Modern History

Donna Tesiero, "A Revolutionary Woman: Elizabeth Freeman and the Abolition of Slavery in the North" (McFarland, 2024)


Listen Later

At the end of the American Revolution, Elizabeth Freeman was an enslaved widow and mother living in Massachusetts. Hearing the words of the new Massachusetts state constitution which declared liberty and equality for all, she sought the help of a young lawyer named Theodore Sedgwick, later Speaker of the House and one of America's leading Federalist politicians. The lawsuit that she and Sedgwick pursued would bring freedom to her and her daughter, as well as thousands of other enslaved people.

After leaving her enslaver's family to work for the family of Theodore Sedgwick, she effectively became the foster mother to his seven children when his wife Pamela became a chronic invalid, enabling Sedgwick to pursue his political career. Two of his sons would credit her with saving their lives. His daughter Catharine Maria Sedgwick, one of the most famous female novelists of the early decades of the nineteenth century, would make her the model for one of her most celebrated heroines. A Revolutionary Woman: Elizabeth Freeman and the Abolition of Slavery in the North (McFarland, 2024) details Elizabeth Freeman's life and the far-reaching influence of her battle for freedom.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

New Books in Early Modern HistoryBy New Books Network

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

6 ratings


More shows like New Books in Early Modern History

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,412 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,969 Listeners

History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,193 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

293 Listeners

Odd Lots by Bloomberg

Odd Lots

1,789 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

3,047 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

13,109 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,335 Listeners

Gone Medieval by History Hit

Gone Medieval

1,764 Listeners

Not Just the Tudors by History Hit

Not Just the Tudors

1,982 Listeners

Ones and Tooze by Foreign  Policy

Ones and Tooze

346 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,289 Listeners

The Foreign Affairs Interview by Foreign Affairs Magazine

The Foreign Affairs Interview

422 Listeners

Empire by Goalhanger

Empire

2,107 Listeners

Past Present Future by David Runciman

Past Present Future

321 Listeners