The history of slavery in New England is not well known, but did exist. And while the colonies were rebelling against England and wanting "their" freedom, many New England households had enslaved peoples. In one such household, in western part of the Massachusetts colony, there lived Elizabeth Freeman as a slave. She had already been enslaved in that household there for many years, and as with the unrest and coming rebellion against England, the men in her town - drafted their own "freedom declaration'', which Elizabeth overheard the content. She rightly decides - I also have a right to my freedom. You will hear her amazing story, from Lori Davis, who had done much research on Freeman. Lori describes her quest for freedom, through legal means, and the amazing result of getting her freedom.
About Lori Davis: She is a legal editor by day and a history enthusiast by night. Her podcast Her Half of History covers women’s history in short episodes organized around a theme for each series, like Women Who Seized Power, Women Who Escaped Slavery, Women in Espionage, Women and Their Money, and the subject that consumed most women’s lives: the History of Housework.
Link to Lori's website (which includes podcast links).
As mentioned earlier - there is a statue of Elizabeth Freeman in Sheffield, Massachusetts, sponsored by the Sheffield Historical society. And please refer to their website for further information on Freeman at this link.
People Hidden in History information:
Website: https://peoplehiddeninhistory.com
Direct link
Twitter/Instagram: @phihpod
Mastodon: @phihpod@historians.social
For fun, since this IS Episode 13, including Wikipedia History of the number 13
Photo credit of Elizabeth Freeman: Massachusetts Historical Society, painted by Susan Sedgewick (public domain).
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