Best E-mails of the Week 10/26/03

 

 

Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pete,

A silly email I received today.

I was doing a project on a steering wheel last week, so this was appropriate.

 I think it is some European anti-boredom advertisement.

Gerald

(Allow time to download this video.)

 

 

>Eleven people were hanging on a rope under a helicopter,
>ten men and one woman. The rope was not strong enough to
>carry them all, so they decided that one has to drop off.
>Otherwise they were all going to fall.
>
>They were not able to choose that person, but then the
>woman made a very touching speech. She said that she would
>voluntarily let go of the rope, because as a woman she was
>used to giving up everything for her husband and kids,
>and for men in general, without ever getting anything in
>return.
>
>As soon as she finished her speech, all the men started
>clapping their hands...

I just read a great book about the early Women's Rights movement in the USA. My hero Aaron Burr (who helped Alexander Hamilton commit suicide by ending Hamilton's tragic life in the duel) is often considered the first American Feminist.  Burr's daughter was raised to be educated as only men were after the Revolutionary War.  Theodosia Burr was considered the most refined, educated and eligible young lady of her time. The new book Theodosia by Richard Cote is must reading.

I spoke to Richard at length this week after finishing his book.  He has created a wonderful masterpiece, researching Theodosia's life especially in South Carolina where she lived after marrying Joseph Alston, who was Governor.  When they honeymooned at Niagara Falls, it was publicized, and future newlyweds began traveling there too.  Their son Aaron Burr Alston unfortunately died as a ten year old boy, she six months later, and Joseph in four more years.

In her brief life, Theodosia entertained all the Founding Fathers, their  families and foreign dignitaries while presiding at Richmond Hill, perhaps New York City's finest mansion.  Her mother, Theodosia Prevost Burr had passed away when Theodosia was only 11 years old.

Aaron Burr courted Theodosia Prevost while he was the military commander assigned to protect her region of New Jersey. Once Theodosia Burr was born, they began raising her according to the radical new 1791 feminist book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Englishwoman Mary Wollstonecraft. She felt that women could be emancipated by having the same education as men, and the same responsibility to family and state.

While Theodosia was young, her father started a school with a French teacher who brought feminine European culture and philosophy to her and other young ladies in New York City.  Eventually, formal women's schools and colleges were established, such as Miss Pierce's Female Academy located in the same town where Aaron Burr went to Law School, and where Theodosia Prevost resided years earlier when her home in New Jersey was threatened after the War.

By studying Theodosia's life, we see the early success of women's education as engineered by Vice President Burr. It was his vision as a powerful male politician that opened the door to quality opportunity for women. He raised his daughter as a model for how education should be provided.

Shut down your TV like I have, and check out this book!
Pete

Dear Pete:

I haven't laughed so hard in the past six months as I did when reading your characterization of how Hamilton met his end.  [
My hero Aaron Burr (who helped Alexander Hamilton commit suicide by ending Hamilton's tragic life in the duel].

Although I don't think I'll use your epistle as my lecture notes ... they certainly got my attention!  I thoroughly enjoyed your email of the week.

You might wish to list the full title of my book, lest your friends be tempted by an imposter or run afoul of that noxious novel, My Theodosia.  Mine is Theodosia Burr Alston: Portrait of a Prodigy (Corinthian Books, 2002).  It's available through any U.S. bookstore or on Amazon.com.

I'll reply in full to your previous email in a few days.  I am working at a furious pace on my next book, a biography of Theo's Washington girlfriend, First Lady Dolley Madison.

With best wishes --

Dick Cote'


 www.theodosia.net

 

 

 


 
Here is a patriotic greeting card with a nautical theme.


www.jacquielawson.com

 

 

Auntie Rose, Pam, Auntie Ann, Mom and Dad visited this week.  Here's the house after a brief snow shower. Then Auntie Rose, Pam and Mary inside, and  the delicious leaf cookies Pam made.

 

 

Pete

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