How the three inaugural First Ladies defined the role for future generations, and carved a space for women in America
America's first First Ladies-Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Dolley ...Madison-had the challenging task of playing a pivotal role in defining the nature of the American presidency to a fledgling nation and to the world. In First Ladies of the Republic, Jeanne Abrams breaks new ground by examining their lives as a group. From their visions for the future of the burgeoning new nation and its political structure, to ideas about family life and matrimony, these three women had a profound influence on one another's views as they created the new role of presidential spouse.
Martha, Abigail and Dolley walked the fine line between bringing dignity to their lives as presidential wives, and supporting their husbands' presidential agendas, while at the same time, distancing themselves from the behavior, customs and ceremonies that reflected the courtly styles of European royalty that were inimical to the values of the new republic. In the face of personal challenges, public scrutiny, and sometimes vocal criticism, they worked to project a persona that inspired approval and confidence, and helped burnish their husbands' presidential reputations.
The position of First Lady was not officially authorized or defined, and the place of women in society was more restricted than it is today. These capable and path-breaking women not only shaped their own roles as prominent Americans and "First Ladies," but also defined a role for women in public and private life in America.
Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in early twentieth-century America. Reducing the sputum vector of contagion by changing public behavior initially focused on anti-spitting campaigns. ...According to most Progressive Era health experts, "promiscuous" spitting was a prime culprit in spreading the disease. Beginning in 1896 in New York, towns and cities throughout America passed anti-spitting legislation, sometimes creating tensions between individual liberty and the need to protect public health, and often highlighting class issues. Progressives viewed anti-spitting legislation in a favorable light because they advocated improving the health and well-being of Americans using state-of-the-art medical knowledge and because they often advocated the use of law and the coercive power of the state to impose order on society.
Before the advent of modern antibiotics, one's life could be abruptly shattered by contagion and death, and debility from infectious diseases and epidemics was commonplace for early Americans, ...regardless of social status. Concerns over health affected the founding fathers and their families as it did slaves, merchants, immigrants, and everyone else in North America. As both victims of illness and national leaders, the Founders occupied a unique position regarding the development of public health in America.Revolutionary Medicinerefocuses the study of the lives of George and Martha Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John and Abigail Adams, and James and Dolley Madison away from the usual lens of politics to the unique perspective of sickness, health, and medicine in their era.For the founders, republican ideals fostered a reciprocal connection between individual health and the health of the nation. Studying the encounters of these American founders with illness and disease, as well as their viewpoints about good health, not only provides us with a richer and more nuanced insight into their lives, but also opens a window into the practice of medicine in the eighteenth century, which is at once intimate, personal, and first hand. Perhaps most importantly, today's American public health initiatives have their roots in the work of America's founders, for they recognized early on that government had compelling reasons to shoulder some new responsibilities with respect to ensuring the health and well-being of its citizenry.The state of medicine and public healthcare today is still a work in progress, but these founders played a significant role in beginning the conversation that shaped the contours of its development.Jeanne E. Abramsis Professor at Penrose Library and the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Denver. She is the author ofJewish Women Pioneering the Frontier Trail: A History in the American West(NYU Press 2006) andDr. Charles David Spivak: A Jewish Immigrant and the American Tuberculosis Movement, as well as numerous articles in the fields of American, Jewish and medical history which have appeared in scholarly journals and popular magazines.
Part biography, part medical history, and part study of Jewish life in turn-of-the-century America, Jeanne Abrams's book tells the story of Dr. Charles David Spivak - a Jewish immigrant from Russia ...who became one of the leaders of the American Tuberculosis Movement. Born in Russia in 1861, Spivak immigrated to the United States in 1882 and received his medical degree from Philadelphia's Jefferson Medical College by 1890. In 1896, his wife's poor health brought them to Colorado. Determined to find a cure, Spivak became one of the most charismatic and well-known leaders in the American Tuberculosis Movement. His role as director of Denver's Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society sanatorium allowed his personal philosophies to strongly influence policies. His unique blend of Yiddishkeit, socialism, and secularism - along with his belief in treating the "whole" patient - became a model for integrating medical, social, and rehabilitation services that was copied across the country. Not only a national leader in the crusade against tuberculosis but also a luminary in the American Jewish community, Dr. Charles Spivak was a physician, humanitarian, writer, linguist, journalist, administrator, social worker, ethnic broker, and medical, public health, and social crusader. Abrams's biography will be a welcome addition to anyone interested in the history of medicine, Jewish life in America, or Colorado history.
The image of the West looms large in the American imagination. Yet the history of American Jewry and particularly of American Jewish women - has been heavily weighted toward the East. Jewish Women ...Pioneering the Frontier Trail rectifies this omission as the first full book to trace the history and contributions of Jewish women in the American West.In many ways, the Jewish experience in the West was distinct. Given the still-forming social landscape, beginning with the 1848 Gold Rush, Jews were able to integrate more fully into local communities than they had in the East. Jewish women in the West took advantage of the unsettled nature of the region to open new doors for themselves in the public sphere in ways often not yet possible elsewhere in the country. Women were crucial to the survival of early communities, and made distinct contributions not only in shaping Jewish communal life but outside the Jewish community as well. Western Jewish women's level of involvement at the vanguard of social welfare and progressive reform, commerce, politics, and higher education and the professions is striking given their relatively small numbers.This engaging work - full of stories from the memoirs and records of Jewish pioneer women - illuminates the pivotal role these women played in settling America's Western frontier.
The University of Denver’s Libraries’ Special Collections, which include the Beck Archives of Rocky Mountain Jewish History, have made a concerted effort to encourage faculty to incorporate the use ...of primary sources into their undergraduate curricula. Teaching teams, consisting of special collections curators, reference and instruction librarians, and faculty members, used both digital and physical primary resources to engage students. These efforts led to the DU project’s being named the recipient of the 2018 Primary Source Award for Teaching from the Center of Research Libraries. This article details the project and highlights the Beck Archives items, which were especially effective as teaching materials.
What makes Jeanne E. Abram's biography, and the life it chronicles, so enchanting is the representation of the exuberant blossoming of Spivak's cultural and social persona as it is intertwined with ...his professional career...Her skills as an archivist and historian are readily evident in the well-documented and detailed picture of a complex and fascinating individual whose life story will now be better known. She has created a warm, engaging and accessible biography that should be required reading material for any student of American Jewish history.— Abraham Fuks, AJS reviews
Part biography, part medical history, and part study of Jewish life in turn-of-the-century America, Jeanne Abrams's book tells the story of Dr. Charles David Spivak - a Jewish immigrant from Russia who became one of the leaders of the American Tuberculosis Movement. Born in Russia in 1861, Spivak immigrated to the United States in 1882 and received his medical degree from Philadelphia's Jefferson Medical College by 1890. In 1896, his wife's poor health brought them to Colorado. Determined to find a cure, Spivak became one of the most charismatic and well-known leaders in the American Tuberculosis Movement. His role as director of Denver's Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society sanatorium allowed his personal philosophies to strongly influence policies. His unique blend of Yiddishkeit, socialism, and secularism - along with his belief in treating the whole patient - became a model for integrating medical, social, and rehabilitation services that was copied across the country. Not only a national leader in the crusade against tuberculosis but also a luminary in the American Jewish community, Dr. Charles Spivak was a physician, humanitarian, writer, linguist, journalist, administrator, social worker, ethnic broker, and medical, public health, and social crusader. Abrams's biography will be a welcome addition to anyone interested in the history of medicine, Jewish life in America, or Colorado history.
Denver Inside and Out Abrams, Jeanne; Brenner, Betty Jo; Childers, Michael ...
06/2011
eBook
Denver turned 150 just a few years ago--not too shabby for a city so down on its luck in 1868 that Cheyenne boosters deemed it "too dead to bury." Still, most of the city's history is a recent ...memory: Denver's entire story spans just two human lifetimes.
InDenver Inside and Out, eleven authors illustrate how pioneers built enduring educational, medical, and transportation systems; how Denver's social and political climate contributed to the elevation of women; how Denver residents wrestled with-and exploited-the city's natural features; and how diverse cultural groups became an essential part of the city's fabric. By showing how the city rose far above its humble roots, the authors illuminate the many ways that Denver residents have never stopped imagining a great city.
Published in time for the opening of the new History Colorado Center in Denver in 2012,Denver Inside and Outhints at some of the social, economic, legal, and environmental issues that Denverites will have to consider over the next 150 years.Finalist for the 2012 Colorado Book Awards
BY THE SPRING OF 1786, THE ADAMSES HAD BECOME increasingly restless living in England, and despite John’s concerted efforts, they were resigned to the lack of American diplomatic progress. To make ...matters worse, according to Abigail since the joint commission of American ministers expired in May, nothing could be finalized until the new key players were put into place. In strict confidence she shared with her sister Mary details of the many impenetrable obstacles that had confronted John in Europe, and she noted with palpable frustration that “whoever has any thing to do with courts, must have patience.”¹ By that
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