Posted in Memory of Reconstruction Women and Gender

When the Daughters of the Confederacy Wanted a Statue Dedicated to “Loyal Mammies”

The United Daughters of the Confederacy were one of the most effective women’s organizations in the South in the early 20th Century. They fostered the…

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Posted in African Americans Emancipation & Reconstruction End of War Refugees Women and Gender

Harriet Jacobs Describes Her Relief Work Among Liberated Former Slaves Near Savannah in 1866

Illustration: Freedpeople in Charleston from Frank Leslie’s April 25, 1865. Harriet Jacobs is today well-known as the author of Incidents in the Life of a…

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Posted in Immigrants Women and Gender

When Louisa May Alcott Endorsed “No Irish Need Apply”

Like many of her background, Louisa May Alcott had strong prejudices against Irish immigrants. While we remember her for Little Women, Alcott was a frequent…

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Posted in Book Reviews Women and Gender

NY Times- ‘Jo Was Everything I Wanted to Be’: 5 Writers on ‘Little Women’

The New York Times has reflections from five women authors on how the book Little Women influenced their work. Julia Alvarez, Virginia Kantra, Anna Quindlen,…

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Posted in Movies Slavery Women and Gender

“Who’s Afraid of Harriet Tubman?”-Not Ms. Magazine

When the film “Harriet” was about to be released, a social media call for a boycott of the film was widely circulated. While the film…

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Posted in Movies Women and Gender

WaPo: “We watched 15 straight hours of ‘Little Women,’ and things got weird”

WaPo writers Caitlin Gibson and Monica Hesse watched a whole bunch of adaptations of “Little Women” over 15 hours and rated them. They started in…

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Posted in Book Reviews Memory of Reconstruction Women and Gender

Book Review: Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson

Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson published by Norton (2007). ​ This book won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and…

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Posted in Movies Women and Gender

“Little Women” “This Movie Is Big” Says New York Times and Others

With the Civil War and Reconstruction Era film Little Women set to open on Christmas Day, the reviews are rolling in. Nearly all are quite…

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Posted in Women and Gender

“Why Little Women Endures” The Sesquicentennial of a Best Seller of the Reconstruction Era

The first volume of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was published in 1868 and the second came out 150 years ago in 1869. The…

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Posted in Movies Women and Gender

Smithsonian: New “Little Women” Brings Aspects of Alcott’s Life to the Screen

Louisa May Alcott’s real life makes an appearance on the screen as it is incorporated into the new movie version of Little Women. The new…

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