Early American History
Name
Institution
Abstract
Early American history is riddled with numerous achievements by the founding fathers. Their contributions shaped the American political, social, and economic landscape. However, there is great concern that early American history fails to document the achievements of women and native leaders and other marginalized groups such as slaves. The early American history largely focuses on achievements of the central figures such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Through the life histories of Ninigret, Jane Franklin, and Ona Judge in comparison with Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, this paper examines the nature of early American history. It also scrutinizes whether …show more content…
Jane Franklin is not adversely mentioned in the early American history books despite making significant contributions as a woman during the time. When compared to Benjamin Franklin, hers is less significant. Her insignificance in early American history alludes to the overall disregard for women and their importance in the early society. During the time, Jane Franklin was an accomplished woman by virtue of being one of the few women who knew how to read and write. According to Lepore (2013), Jane Franklin’s skill of writing and reading set her apart from the rest of the women. Despite the presence of women who knew how to write, Jane was a step ahead because she could manage to write more than her name and correspond with her famous brother. Jane Franklin had a stronger thirst for reading political and intellectual material compared to women of her time. While she was at a level close to her brother’s in terms of intellectual reasoning, she stayed behind with the “Little Women” while her brother went on to become one of the “Great Men” (Lepore, 2013). The early American history fails to consider the significance of Jane Franklin despite matching her brother in pursuing knowledge. Essentially, the correspondence letters with her brother depicted an elevated level of intelligence. In addition, Jane managed to write her letters while …show more content…
This is showcased by the plight of Ona Judge, a slave woman owned by George Washington and assigned to his wife, Martha Washington. George Washington had more than 300 slaves when he died and more than 52,000 acres of land he had amassed in questionable ways. Ona Judge managed to escape from slavery at George Washington's house in Philadelphia. Essentially, most of Philadelphia advocated for the abolishment of slavery. Washington’s was politically calculative as he perceived an all-out move to capture his lost slave risky because of the unpopularity of slavery in Philadelphia. Still, Washington managed to initiate direct and indirect efforts to capture the lost slave. Although Ona Judge was not captured and lived the rest of her life as a fugitive, her story has strong implications on early American history. It shows how the early founding fathers navigated through personal and political agendas. Ona Judge expected to be free after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 came into law in Philadelphia. However, this was not to be the case. Other fugitive slaves from Haiti reported that George Washington had taken precautions to hinder them from becoming free after six months as stipulated under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. The case of Ona Judge shows the personal and political implications that Washington would suffer. Since Ona was a downer slave who had been promised to Elizabeth Custis, the eldest
Name
Institution
Abstract
Early American history is riddled with numerous achievements by the founding fathers. Their contributions shaped the American political, social, and economic landscape. However, there is great concern that early American history fails to document the achievements of women and native leaders and other marginalized groups such as slaves. The early American history largely focuses on achievements of the central figures such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Through the life histories of Ninigret, Jane Franklin, and Ona Judge in comparison with Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, this paper examines the nature of early American history. It also scrutinizes whether …show more content…
Jane Franklin is not adversely mentioned in the early American history books despite making significant contributions as a woman during the time. When compared to Benjamin Franklin, hers is less significant. Her insignificance in early American history alludes to the overall disregard for women and their importance in the early society. During the time, Jane Franklin was an accomplished woman by virtue of being one of the few women who knew how to read and write. According to Lepore (2013), Jane Franklin’s skill of writing and reading set her apart from the rest of the women. Despite the presence of women who knew how to write, Jane was a step ahead because she could manage to write more than her name and correspond with her famous brother. Jane Franklin had a stronger thirst for reading political and intellectual material compared to women of her time. While she was at a level close to her brother’s in terms of intellectual reasoning, she stayed behind with the “Little Women” while her brother went on to become one of the “Great Men” (Lepore, 2013). The early American history fails to consider the significance of Jane Franklin despite matching her brother in pursuing knowledge. Essentially, the correspondence letters with her brother depicted an elevated level of intelligence. In addition, Jane managed to write her letters while …show more content…
This is showcased by the plight of Ona Judge, a slave woman owned by George Washington and assigned to his wife, Martha Washington. George Washington had more than 300 slaves when he died and more than 52,000 acres of land he had amassed in questionable ways. Ona Judge managed to escape from slavery at George Washington's house in Philadelphia. Essentially, most of Philadelphia advocated for the abolishment of slavery. Washington’s was politically calculative as he perceived an all-out move to capture his lost slave risky because of the unpopularity of slavery in Philadelphia. Still, Washington managed to initiate direct and indirect efforts to capture the lost slave. Although Ona Judge was not captured and lived the rest of her life as a fugitive, her story has strong implications on early American history. It shows how the early founding fathers navigated through personal and political agendas. Ona Judge expected to be free after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 came into law in Philadelphia. However, this was not to be the case. Other fugitive slaves from Haiti reported that George Washington had taken precautions to hinder them from becoming free after six months as stipulated under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. The case of Ona Judge shows the personal and political implications that Washington would suffer. Since Ona was a downer slave who had been promised to Elizabeth Custis, the eldest