1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Since the US holiday of Thanksgiving is coming 2 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: up today, we are sharing our episode on Sarah Jessefa Hale, 3 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:11,960 Speaker 1: who was one of the people who really drove the 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: effort to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. At the time, 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,600 Speaker 1: the holiday was not associated with a fictionalized or romanticized 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: story about a first Thanksgiving celebration supposedly bringing together Indigenous 7 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: people and colonists, but Hale was hoping a national holiday 8 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 1: for giving thanks would help keep the nation together as 9 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: it became increasingly divided over the issue of slavery. This 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: originally came out on August twenty eighth, twenty nineteen, So 11 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: enjoy Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a 12 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and Welcome to the podcast. I'm 13 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: Tracy B. Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. Lately, I've been 14 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: thinking a lot about etiquette on the Internet and how 15 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: sometimes there's sort of not any and how etiquette isn't 16 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: something that just springs forth from people unprompted. The idea 17 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: of what is and isn't polite or rude has to 18 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:17,839 Speaker 1: be kind of cultivated and created and reinforced intentionally, including 19 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 1: through things like etiquette manuals and advice columns and magazines, 20 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,320 Speaker 1: and that whole line of thought led me to something 21 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: that has been on my list for a long time 22 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,320 Speaker 1: and has also been requested by a lot of our listeners. 23 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: That's Gotie's Lady's Book, and it's editor, Sarah Josepha Hale. 24 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,960 Speaker 1: I will say that I have heard historians and archivists 25 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: say this as Goati's and as goddies. I have also 26 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,400 Speaker 1: on occasion heard good Days. I think that's just people 27 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: trying to make us sound fancy. That does sound like 28 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: an attempt for fanciness. Yeah, A bunch of folks that 29 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: I have listened to from Vassar who she was associated with, 30 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: all said goaties. So that's the one that we're going 31 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: to go with. This was the most popular magazine in 32 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: the United States in the middle of the nineteenth century, 33 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: and although it's mostly well known at this point for 34 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: its hands tinted fashion plates, the content of the magazine 35 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: was this collection of all kinds of material, including poetry 36 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: and fiction and household tips and music and yes, etiquette, 37 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: and it was incredibly influential in terms of both the 38 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,079 Speaker 1: actual magazine content and Hale's work outside of his pages 39 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:27,639 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways that are still felt today. 40 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: In Europe. The first magazines were launched in the seventeenth century, 41 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: thanks to advances in printing technology and mail distribution, as 42 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: well as increased literacy rates. The word magazine is much 43 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,640 Speaker 1: older than that, but it was first used to describe 44 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:45,120 Speaker 1: a periodical filled with works by various writers, often on 45 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: a range of subjects, aimed at a general audience, and 46 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,359 Speaker 1: that was in seventeen thirty one. That was when Edward 47 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: Cave started publishing The Gentleman's Magazine. He called it a 48 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: magazine because of the word's earlier meaning of storehouse. The 49 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: Gentleman's Magazine was meant to be a storehouse of knowledge. 50 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: Magazines aimed specifically at women were part of this whole 51 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,799 Speaker 1: ecosystem by seventeen fifty nine, that's when the Royal Female 52 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 1: Magazine or the Ladies General Repository of Pleasure and Improvement 53 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: was first published. In England and the United States, the 54 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: first women's magazine was called Ladies Magazine and it was 55 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: founded in seventeen ninety two. Various women's magazines came and 56 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: went on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US, 57 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:30,799 Speaker 1: most of them folded within a year or two until 58 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: Sarah Josepha Hale started publishing Her Lady's Magazine, which was 59 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: the first women's magazine in the US that lasted more 60 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: than five years. That is, in fact, a different ladies 61 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: magazine than the one that was founded in seventeen ninety two. 62 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: And we're going to go back up for a minute 63 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: and talk about how Hale got there. She was born 64 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: Sarah Josepha Buell in Newport, New Hampshire, on October twenty fourth, 65 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: seventeen eighty eight. Her parents were Captain Gordon Buell and 66 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: Martha Whittlesey Yule, and her father had fought in the 67 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: Revolutionary War. Sarah was the third of their four children. 68 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: Sarah's parents thought that girls should have access to education, 69 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 1: and for the Buell daughters that meant being tutored at 70 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: home by their mother along with their brothers. It did not, however, 71 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: mean that Sarah could go to college. Of all her siblings, 72 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 1: Sarah was closest to her brother Horatio, and when he 73 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 1: went to Dartmouth, he actively encouraged her self study and 74 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: he shared his books with her when he was home. 75 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: In her words quote, he seemed very unwilling that I 76 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 1: should be deprived of all his collegiate advantages. Sarah became 77 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: a teacher when she was eighteen, and in eighteen thirteen, 78 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: when she was twenty five, she married David Hale, who 79 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:46,279 Speaker 1: was a lawyer. David encouraged her to continue educating herself again. 80 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:49,719 Speaker 1: In her words quote, we commenced soon after our marriage 81 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: a system of study and reading, which we pursued while 82 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: he lived. The hours allowed were from eight o'clock in 83 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,360 Speaker 1: the evening till ten two hours in the twenty four 84 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: How I enjoyed those hours in all our mental pursuits. 85 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:05,159 Speaker 1: It seemed the aim of my husband to enlighten my reason, 86 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,599 Speaker 1: strengthen my judgment, and give me confidence in my own 87 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,719 Speaker 1: powers of mind, which he estimated much higher than I. 88 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: But this approbation which he bestowed on my talents has 89 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: been of great encouragement to me and attempting the duties 90 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: that have since become my portion. Sadly, David did not 91 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: live long. He died of pneumonia in eighteen twenty two, 92 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: nine years into their marriage. By then they had four 93 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: children together. They were David, Horatio, Frances Anne, and Sarah Josepha. 94 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: The elder Sarah was pregnant with their fifth child, William, 95 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: who was born not long after his father's death. Sarah 96 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 1: was understandably devastated, and she wore black for the rest 97 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: of her life, although this was also influenced by the 98 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,400 Speaker 1: fact that she found black flattering on her and she 99 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: also thought it made her look taller. Sarah knew that 100 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: she was going to have to work to support her family, 101 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,279 Speaker 1: but that a teacher's salary was never going to be 102 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: enough to support her in five children. Before her marriage, 103 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: she hadn't even been supporting herself on teacher's page. She'd 104 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,159 Speaker 1: been living at home and using that salary to help 105 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: cover her father's medical expenses. David had been a Freemason, though, 106 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: and his brothers at the Masonic Lodge helped get Sarah 107 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: and her sister in law, Hannah established with a millinery 108 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: business that, along with dressmaking, was one of the very 109 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: few business opportunities that was considered appropriate for middle class women. 110 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: The Masonic Lodge also funded the publication of a book 111 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: of poetry that Sarah had written that was called The 112 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: Genius of Oblivion and Other Original Poems, and it was 113 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: published under the byline A Lady of New Hampshire. Sarah 114 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: earned enough money from this book that she was able 115 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: to leave Hannah in charge of what actually seems to 116 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: have become quite a thriving millinery business, and instead Sarah 117 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: focused on writing. Sarah submitted poems and stories to magazines 118 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: and journals, and in eighteen twenty seven she published a 119 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: novel called Northwood, A Tale of New England. Northwood contrasted 120 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,919 Speaker 1: a woman's life in New England to what she imagined 121 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: to be a woman's life in the South. At this point, 122 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:08,479 Speaker 1: Hale was really concerned that the issue of slavery was 123 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: going to lead to a civil war or otherwise just 124 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: destroy the country, and Northwood reflects these fears, as well 125 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: as the era's prevailing racism and Hale's own biases. The 126 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: book condemned the institution of slavery and the idea of 127 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: a widening divide between the North and the South, while 128 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: also treating white women of both the North and the 129 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: South with a lot of sympathy. Northwood was very well received, 130 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: and it caught the eye of the Reverend John Loris Blake, 131 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: who approached Hale about starting a magazine for women. This 132 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: was not an easy decision for her, if the magazine 133 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 1: was successful, she would probably make enough money to send 134 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 1: all five of her children to college. But taking the 135 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,239 Speaker 1: job was also going to mean leaving her older children 136 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: with relatives while she moved to Boston to work. Her 137 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: oldest child, David, was thirteen at this point and was 138 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: getting ready to head to West Point, but the rest 139 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: of her children were years away from leaving home, and 140 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,239 Speaker 1: her youngest child was only five. In the end, Hale 141 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: did take this job. She spent a few months at 142 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: home in New Hampshire preparing and planning out the magazine's 143 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: first issues, before sending her middle three children to live 144 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: with various aunts and uncles. She took William with her 145 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: when she left for Boston in the spring of eighteen 146 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: twenty eight. And we'll talk about that magazine after we 147 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: first paused for a little sponsor break. The magazine that 148 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,559 Speaker 1: Sarah Joseppa Hale launched in eighteen twenty eight was initially 149 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: known as Ladies Magazine and Literary Gazette. It's believed to 150 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: be the first magazine edited by a woman. After a while, 151 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: its name was shortened to just Ladies Magazine and then 152 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 1: expanded to American Ladies Magazine. This was supposed to distinguish 153 00:08:57,440 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: it from a different ladies magazine that was being public 154 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: in Britain, and also to highlight what Hale saw as 155 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: the magazine's American focus. At the time, most magazines being 156 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: published in the United States were being created primarily through 157 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: a practice called clipping that was just republishing material from 158 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: other magazines without any kind of acknowledgment or attribution or 159 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,320 Speaker 1: payment to its original creators. Most of the time, the 160 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: clipped content in the US was coming from British publications, 161 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,200 Speaker 1: and we have talked a little bit about the publications 162 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: that worked in that style when we have talked about 163 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: Poe's era and his rivals, and also also other people 164 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 1: that worked in literary efforts, etc. It came up, I 165 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:49,440 Speaker 1: think in Our windsor Mackay episodes possibly, But Hale bless 166 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,319 Speaker 1: her did not approve of this practice of clipping, and 167 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,319 Speaker 1: she wanted this to be an American magazine by and 168 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: for American women, meaning middle and upper class white women. 169 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 1: She did the vast majority of the original writing herself. 170 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,679 Speaker 1: In the magazine's pages included poetry, fiction essays, news articles, 171 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 1: household tips, and editorials where she advocated things like property 172 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 1: rights for married women. Some things that Hale did not 173 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 1: want this magazine to include were fashion plates. These were 174 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: illustrations of people in fashionable clothing and appealing surroundings, usually 175 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: done as etchings or engravings. She really wanted her magazine 176 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: to be dedicated to the education and enrichment of women, 177 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: and that did not, in her mind, include fashion. In 178 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 1: her words, quote, there is no part of our duty 179 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: as editor of a lady's journal which we feel so 180 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: reluctant to perform as to quote or exhibit the fashions 181 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: of dress. This is where I retract my blessing upon her. 182 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: But fashion plates were incredibly popular, and Hale started losing 183 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: subscribers as competing magazines started publishing more of them. By 184 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,079 Speaker 1: late eighteen thirty, Hale realized that she really did have 185 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: to include fashion plates if she wanted her magazine to 186 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: stay afloat. So the first few issues that included fashion 187 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: plates bemoaned the lack of original American fashions to feature, 188 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: or offered commentary that criticized fashion, or printed an essay 189 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: on the facing page that used the plate as some 190 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:23,679 Speaker 1: kind of moral lesson. Eventually, though, Hale moved on to 191 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: publishing plates without all of the Judgy commentary, and she 192 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: was sort of like, if I have to do this, 193 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,360 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna be as foot draggy and complaining about 194 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: it as I can now. Irony is though she wore 195 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: black her whole life because she thought it made her 196 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,079 Speaker 1: look stunning, So she was into fashion, she just wouldn't 197 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: acknowledge it. Yeah, and also this magazine, and then also 198 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:47,079 Speaker 1: Godey's Ladies Book, which you're going to talk about more 199 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: in a bit. I mean, they became incredibly famous for 200 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: all these fashion plates. So Ladies Magazine stopped publishing fashion 201 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:56,840 Speaker 1: plates toward the very end of its run, but it's 202 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,560 Speaker 1: not clear whether that contributed to the magazines to line. 203 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:03,880 Speaker 1: By eighteen thirty four, the magazine had started to struggle, 204 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:07,320 Speaker 1: in part due to the financial fallout from President Andrew 205 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: Jackson's efforts to try to dismantle the Bank of the 206 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: United States. Hale started appealing to her subscribers to try 207 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: to support the magazine and for the ones whose subscriptions 208 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 1: were in arrears to pay their bills. So during these 209 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: lean years, a man named Lewis and Tuan Goady approached 210 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: Hale about moving to Philadelphia to edit his magazine. His 211 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,439 Speaker 1: name does appear French, but he was born in the 212 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: US who were going with the Lewis pronunciation. Gody was 213 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: born in New York, as I said in the US, 214 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,920 Speaker 1: on June sixth, eighteen oh four, and like Hale, most 215 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: of his education had come through self study. He had 216 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: owned a small bookstore and newsstand for a while before 217 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: he became a scissors editor at the Philadelphia Daily Chronicle. 218 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:50,559 Speaker 1: In eighteen thirty, he started publishing a magazine called Ladies Book, 219 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 1: which was like so many other magazines created through clipping, 220 00:12:54,559 --> 00:12:58,679 Speaker 1: and it also included fashion plates. But Gody also didn't 221 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: want this magazine to just be years standard clipping shop. 222 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:04,319 Speaker 1: He wanted it to be, in his words quote, the 223 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: guiding star of female education, the beacon light of refined taste, 224 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,200 Speaker 1: pure morals, and practical wisdom. And he hoped that if 225 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:14,680 Speaker 1: he hired Hale, she could take it in that direction. 226 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:18,720 Speaker 1: In spite of her own magazine struggles, Hale actually turned 227 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,599 Speaker 1: him down. This was largely because she didn't want to 228 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: leave Boston. Her son, William was about to start college 229 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: at Harvard and she didn't want to leave until he graduated. 230 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:30,840 Speaker 1: And she also wasn't quite ready to give up her 231 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 1: own magazine. At this point, she was its co owner. 232 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,080 Speaker 1: Hale had been very busy during her whole tenure as 233 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: editor of American Ladies Magazine. She had written numerous books 234 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: on top of all the writing she was doing for 235 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:47,680 Speaker 1: the magazine. This included publishing poems for our children, including 236 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,200 Speaker 1: Mary Had a Little Lamb, which was published in eighteen 237 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 1: thirty Its poems were quote written to inculcate moral truths 238 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: and virtuous sentiments. She was also hugely active in fundraising 239 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 1: efforts for the complete of the Bunker Hill Monument, and 240 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,080 Speaker 1: she helped found the Seamen's Aid Society and become its 241 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 1: first president. She kept up this pace as her magazine struggled, 242 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 1: but she really was not able to turn things around. 243 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:15,600 Speaker 1: In eighteen thirty six, Goady made another proposal that he 244 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: could buy American Ladies Magazine, merge it with his Lady's Book, 245 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 1: and let Hale edit the combined magazine from Boston until 246 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: her son, William graduated from college in eighteen forty one. 247 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: This time Hale agreed. As of its first issue in 248 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:34,240 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty seven, she was the editor of Goady's Lady's Book, 249 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 1: and she took it in a similar direction as she 250 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: had taken American Lady's Magazine, which is what Gody had 251 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 1: been hoping for, moving it away from clipping toward original content. 252 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 1: Hale also focused on hiring women for as many roles 253 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: as she could. Eventually this included a staff of one 254 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty women to hand color the fashion plates. 255 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: That means hand coloring them for every copy of the magazine, 256 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,480 Speaker 1: which was a feat and also meant that sometimes different 257 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: people's copies would be in different colors because they ran 258 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 1: out of one. Obviously, that's one of the things we 259 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: said before that this magazine became really famous for. Also, 260 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,720 Speaker 1: in keeping with her distaste for covering fashion in a 261 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: lady's magazine at all, fashion was the only section of 262 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 1: Gody's Lady's Book that Hale did not personally oversee. There 263 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: was a lot in the magazine beyond the fashion plates 264 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: and other fashion coverage. Hale still wanted to quote provide 265 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: quality material to benefit and educate the female reader, So, 266 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,640 Speaker 1: like her earlier magazine, Godey's Lady's Book began publishing poetry, 267 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:42,440 Speaker 1: fiction essays, biographical vignettes, news advice, and household tips. She 268 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,640 Speaker 1: introduced stories and articles for children meant to be read 269 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: to them by their mothers. Each issue included sheet music, 270 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 1: and there were also sewing and embroidery patterns, also recipes, 271 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:57,400 Speaker 1: anything that Hale thought would be educational, edifying, and useful 272 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: for American Ladies. This meant that Godey's This Lady's Book 273 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: also became a publishing outlet for some of the United 274 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:07,560 Speaker 1: States leading writers at the time. The magazine published work 275 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 1: by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth, 276 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 1: Longfellow in Washington, Irving Edgar Allan Poe was a contributor 277 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 1: as well, publishing stories and poems, including The Cask of Amontiado. 278 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 1: Under the leadership of Hale as editor and godi A's publisher, 279 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:29,360 Speaker 1: Godey's Lady's Book became incredibly successful. We mentioned earlier that 280 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: Hale's American Ladies Magazine was the first women's magazine in 281 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 1: the US to last more than five years. Gody's Lady's 282 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 1: Book lasted for almost seventy from eighteen thirty to eighteen 283 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:44,120 Speaker 1: ninety eight. It outlived both its editor and its publisher. 284 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 1: It also became hugely popular. It had about ten thousand 285 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 1: subscribers when Hale came on as editor. At its peak 286 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty, it had about one hundred and fifty 287 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 1: thousand subscribers, which was the largest circulation of any magazine 288 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 1: in the u United States at all. This was in 289 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:05,920 Speaker 1: spite of an annual subscription cost of three dollars, which 290 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 1: was considered expensive for the time. It's always tricky to 291 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,560 Speaker 1: make these comparisons, but this is usually cited as between 292 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 1: eighty five and ninety dollars a year today. It's also 293 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 1: tricky to compare that to current magazine subscription rates because 294 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,639 Speaker 1: there are so many bundles and deals and digital only 295 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: subscriptions and whatnot. But the current bundle subscription rate for 296 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 1: Vogue is twenty one dollars and ninety nine cents a year, 297 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: and the cover price for a year of Martha Stewart 298 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,879 Speaker 1: Living is forty nine dollars and ninety cents. That is 299 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 1: according to each of their websites. It was also read 300 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: well beyond its subscriber base. Its intended audience was ladies. 301 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: In the mindset of the time, that meant white Protestant 302 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,639 Speaker 1: women who were mostly middle class or more affluent, but 303 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:52,000 Speaker 1: it was also read beyond that demographic, with women pooling 304 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,359 Speaker 1: their money to share a subscription, or boarding houses sharing 305 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: one copy among all its residents, or patrons reading copies 306 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: and libraries in reasa rooms. So today Godey's Lady's Book 307 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,680 Speaker 1: is a huge source of information about middle class white 308 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: women in the nineteenth century, and it and Hale were 309 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 1: also enormously influential, which we'll get to in a moment 310 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 1: after a quick sponsor break. Like we've said a couple 311 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: of times at this point, Sarah Josepha Hale and Godey's 312 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 1: Lady's Book were enormously influential. Under her leadership, the magazine 313 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,720 Speaker 1: reinforced several traditions that are a big part of life 314 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,440 Speaker 1: for many Americans today. Things like Christmas trees and white 315 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 1: wedding dresses, which were being popularized in Britain thanks to 316 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria, were popularized in the United States thanks in 317 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,720 Speaker 1: part to Gody's Lady's Book. The first picture of a 318 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,360 Speaker 1: Christmas tree in the magazine's pages actually was copied from 319 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: an engraving that had run in the Illustrated London News. 320 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,639 Speaker 1: That engraving depicted Queen Victoria and her family around a 321 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 1: Christmas tree. The Goady's version took out the Queen's crown 322 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,439 Speaker 1: and Albert's sash and mustache, and some German biscuits from 323 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 1: under the tree. Otherwise, though it was the same picture 324 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 1: supposed to be an American family. The biggest and most 325 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,679 Speaker 1: obvious example of Hale's influence in this regard is the 326 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:22,440 Speaker 1: American Thanksgiving holiday. In the United States, Thanksgiving was already 327 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: celebrated in various parts of the country, especially in the Northeast. 328 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: Before she became an editor. Hale started publicly advocating for 329 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 1: a Thanksgiving holiday to be celebrated nationwide, and she began 330 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,199 Speaker 1: that quest in eighteen thirty seven. It was something that 331 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: went on within and outside the pages of Godey's Ladies Book, 332 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: but her interest in Thanksgiving as a holiday went back 333 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:47,000 Speaker 1: before that. She had written a lot about Thanksgiving before 334 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 1: Godey's Lady's Book was even founded. There's a whole stretch 335 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:55,000 Speaker 1: in her first novel, Northwood, that's focused on Thanksgiving, including 336 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: a New England family explaining to a visitor from elsewhere 337 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,160 Speaker 1: that it's not celebrated in the whole country, but hopefully 338 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 1: one day will be with one character saying, quote, Thanksgiving, 339 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: like the fourth of July, should be considered a national 340 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:12,119 Speaker 1: festival and observed by all our people. The Thanksgiving meal 341 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,760 Speaker 1: is described in her writing this way quote the roasted 342 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 1: turkey took precedence on this occasion, being placed at the 343 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,520 Speaker 1: head of the table, and well did it become its 344 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:25,400 Speaker 1: lordly station, sending forth a rich odor of its savory stuffing, 345 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: and finally covered with the froth of the basting. At 346 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: the foot of the board, a surloin of beef, flanked 347 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,160 Speaker 1: on either side by a leg of pork and loin 348 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 1: of mutton, seemed placed as a bastion to defend innumerable 349 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: bowls of gravy and plates of vegetables disposed in that quarter. 350 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,159 Speaker 1: A goose and pair of ducklings occupied side stations on 351 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: the table, the middle being graced, as it always is 352 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:53,240 Speaker 1: on such occasions, by that rich burgomaster of the provisions, 353 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,679 Speaker 1: called a chicken pie. This pie, which is wholly formed 354 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,800 Speaker 1: of the choicest parts of fowls, enriched and seasoned with 355 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:03,000 Speaker 1: a profusion of butter and pepper, and covered with an 356 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,960 Speaker 1: excellent puff paste, is like the celebrated pumpkin pie, an 357 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 1: indispensable part of a good and true Yankee Thanksgiving, the 358 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: size of the pie, usually denoting the gratitude of the 359 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: party who prepares the feast, and then it goes on 360 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,680 Speaker 1: to describe sideboards laden with a whole other course, plus 361 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,360 Speaker 1: a collection of desserts, including pumpkin pie. I have made 362 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:28,679 Speaker 1: some Thanksgiving meals, and thank goodness, I did not have 363 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: to make all of those different fowls. This is simultaneously 364 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 1: familiar sounding to a lot of people in terms of 365 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,879 Speaker 1: the turkey and the pie and the vast quantity of food, 366 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: but it also seems even bigger than like the over 367 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: the top Thanksgivings that a lot of people have. Yeah, 368 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:49,440 Speaker 1: by the time we got to Mutton, I was like, 369 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:54,800 Speaker 1: are you kidding me? This was also depicting a meal 370 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 1: that was going to be for a whole lot of people, 371 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: but still it's a lot. There are other references to 372 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving and Hale's work after that, and then in eighteen 373 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,920 Speaker 1: thirty seven she wrote an editorial in Gody's Lady's Book 374 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: that advocated a Thanksgiving holiday to be celebrated in every 375 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: state on the last Thursday of November. She started contacting 376 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 1: state governments with this proposal, along with contacting a series 377 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:21,680 Speaker 1: of US presidents continuing on until President Abraham Lincoln gave 378 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: his Thanksgiving Proclamation in eighteen sixty three. That proclamation said, 379 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: in part quote, it has seemed to me fit and 380 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:33,520 Speaker 1: proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, 381 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,680 Speaker 1: as with one heart and one voice, by the whole 382 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:39,399 Speaker 1: American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in 383 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 1: every part of the United States, and also those who 384 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 1: are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, 385 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:48,560 Speaker 1: to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November 386 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 1: next as a day of Thanksgiving and prayer to our 387 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. At this point, 388 00:22:55,600 --> 00:23:00,399 Speaker 1: the Thanksgiving holiday wasn't really associated with a romanticized first 389 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: dinner involving the Pilgrims and the Wampanog. That association didn't 390 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: really evolve until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, 391 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:12,119 Speaker 1: so a few decades after Lincoln issued his proclamation, and 392 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,560 Speaker 1: it was decades after that before Thanksgiving officially became a 393 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: national holiday. That romanticized first Thanksgiving story was reinforced in 394 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 1: the early twentieth century through school lessons connecting it to 395 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:29,360 Speaker 1: ideas like freedom and good citizenship and construction paper pilgrim 396 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:35,640 Speaker 1: hats in my case, yeah and problematic Yeah, comped headdresses, yes, 397 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:40,240 Speaker 1: quotation marks. So today, the first Thanksgiving story, and consequently 398 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 1: the holiday as a whole, has been really criticized for 399 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:47,639 Speaker 1: erasing centuries of exploitation and genocide of North America's native 400 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: peoples at the hands of colonists in the government. But 401 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:55,200 Speaker 1: even without that connection to that romanticized story, Hale's Thanksgiving 402 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,240 Speaker 1: campaign has its own problems. One of the reasons she 403 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:02,240 Speaker 1: was so dedicated to a nowtional Thanksgiving holiday goes back 404 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 1: to her thought that slavery might tear the nation apart. 405 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,920 Speaker 1: So she thought a national Thanksgiving holiday might help unify 406 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 1: the nation in the face of its division over the 407 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: issue of slavery. So, in other words, she thought this 408 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:19,560 Speaker 1: holiday might help keep the country together without actually addressing 409 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,440 Speaker 1: the underlying issue of slavery. I have so many thoughts 410 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,320 Speaker 1: that I'm just going to keep in my head. Hale 411 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:29,119 Speaker 1: thought slavery was wrong, but she also didn't agree with 412 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 1: radical opposition to it. She advocated the resettlement of enslaved 413 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,960 Speaker 1: Africans in Liberia where they would be free, rather than 414 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: the abolition of slavery within the United States. This resettlement plan, 415 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 1: we have talked about it on some episodes before, had 416 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:47,120 Speaker 1: a lot of advocates arguing from all kinds of perspectives, 417 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 1: including people of African descent who thought that this was 418 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,520 Speaker 1: the only way that they might truly be free, and 419 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 1: people who were simply racist and wanted the enslaved population removed. 420 00:24:57,440 --> 00:24:59,959 Speaker 1: For more detail, you can check out our previous episode 421 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 1: on Marcus Garvey and Thomas Morris Chester. So this same 422 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 1: mindset also influenced the editorial direction of Godey's Lady's Book. 423 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: When Hale was editing American Lady's Magazine, she'd written various 424 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: editorials that clearly stated her political opinions, but Gody wanted 425 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:20,199 Speaker 1: the Ladies Book to appeal to women regardless of what 426 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: their political views were. And of course this wasn't a 427 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:26,199 Speaker 1: distinction he was consciously making in his mind, but the 428 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:29,920 Speaker 1: default woman here was white and usually middle class. He 429 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,960 Speaker 1: was also interested in quote avoiding nationalism or any political 430 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,440 Speaker 1: entanglements within the pages of the journal, and he also said, 431 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: quote I allow no man's religion to be attacked or 432 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,119 Speaker 1: sneered at, or the subject of politics to be mentioned 433 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: in my magazine. So sometimes you'll see Godey's Lady's Book 434 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,480 Speaker 1: described as not being political, But it would be more 435 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 1: accurate to say that the magazine avoided overt political controversy. 436 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:59,520 Speaker 1: Really it was incredibly political. It avoided direct discussion of 437 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,600 Speaker 1: the Civil War or the movement for abolition. That's an 438 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: inherently political decision. Instead, in the years leading up to 439 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:10,200 Speaker 1: the US Civil War, it published poetry, essays, and stories 440 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:14,400 Speaker 1: that highlighted the potential tragedies of war and also emphasized 441 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,960 Speaker 1: the idea of national unity. Although the hope was that 442 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: this would avoid offending either side, in reality it meant 443 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:25,280 Speaker 1: that the magazine's readership peaked in eighteen sixty just before 444 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: the war. Afterward, people started gravitating toward publications where they 445 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,280 Speaker 1: could get news about what was happening. On top of that, 446 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 1: in a different political direction, Godie's Lady's Book heavily reinforced 447 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:41,080 Speaker 1: a very specific idea of what a woman should be. 448 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,320 Speaker 1: Sarah Josepha Hale believed that women were more moral and 449 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,480 Speaker 1: compassionate than men were, and Hale's words quote God has 450 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,879 Speaker 1: given to man authority to woman influence. She wanted women 451 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 1: to influence men to be better so that men could 452 00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:00,399 Speaker 1: put their authority to better use. The magazine focused on 453 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: the idea that a woman's role given by God was 454 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 1: to be a moral force in her sphere of influence, 455 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,520 Speaker 1: which was the home. Although the magazine never took a 456 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: clear position one way or the other, Hale herself was 457 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 1: against the idea of women's suffrage because it was outside 458 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,359 Speaker 1: of women's sphere of influence, and because women had fewer 459 00:27:19,359 --> 00:27:23,440 Speaker 1: opportunities for education and political engagement, thus they were less 460 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:28,000 Speaker 1: likely to be informed voters. Instead, Godi's Lady's Book really 461 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:32,520 Speaker 1: enforced the idea that a true woman was pious, pure, submissive, 462 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 1: and domestic, a collection of ideas known as the cult 463 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:39,200 Speaker 1: of true womanhood or the cult of domesticity. Yeah, that's 464 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,199 Speaker 1: come up in a few episodes lately, including Packard versus Packard. 465 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: It was an incredibly common idea of what a woman 466 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:49,439 Speaker 1: was supposed to be at the time, and elements of 467 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 1: it continue to today. Hale did advocate for better opportunities 468 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,600 Speaker 1: for women, but only within this framework. This included supporting 469 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,600 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Blackwell and hers to become the first woman in 470 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:05,119 Speaker 1: the United States to earn an MD. In Hale's mind, 471 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,880 Speaker 1: medicine could be within a woman's sphere. In her words 472 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,639 Speaker 1: written in March of eighteen fifty two, quote, the study 473 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:14,680 Speaker 1: of medicine belongs to a woman's department of knowledge. Its 474 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 1: practice is in harmony with the duties of mother and nurse, 475 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,720 Speaker 1: which she must fulfill. It is not going out of 476 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:23,480 Speaker 1: her sphere to prescribe for the sick. She must do 477 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: this by the fireside, the bedside, in the inner chamber, 478 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:30,199 Speaker 1: where her true place is. It is man who is 479 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 1: there out of his sphere. Hale also advocated for women 480 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: to have better educational opportunities, especially when it came to 481 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:40,640 Speaker 1: an education in the liberal arts. She was a huge 482 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 1: advocate for Vasser Female College after its founding in eighteen 483 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:48,240 Speaker 1: sixty one, as well as corresponding extensively with its founder, 484 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 1: Matthew Vasser on everything from the student's dress to the 485 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:54,840 Speaker 1: number of female faculty to whether to keep the word 486 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,680 Speaker 1: female in the name. But there were also a lot 487 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:01,640 Speaker 1: of limits to Hale's advocacy for women's education, all connecting 488 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 1: back to the idea of what a woman's sphere was. 489 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 1: For example, she didn't seem to think that women should 490 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 1: study the physical sciences for their own sake. Various articles 491 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,920 Speaker 1: in Godie's Lady's Books suggest that science has a use 492 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: in a woman's life, like how understanding scientific concepts can 493 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:21,920 Speaker 1: help her keep a better home. But it doesn't really 494 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 1: support the idea that a woman should just become a 495 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:27,440 Speaker 1: chemist or a physicist because she wants to. And there 496 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: were also limits to which women she was writing for 497 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,800 Speaker 1: and depicting in the magazine. The women in the magazine's 498 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,400 Speaker 1: famous fashion plates, some of which were large enough that 499 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 1: they were printed on fold out pages, were all white 500 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 1: and all affluent, with similarly attractive features and the same 501 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 1: slender body type. They reinforced the ideas of heterosexual marriage 502 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 1: and motherhood as unifying forces in women's lives. Really, for 503 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 1: most of its existence, the magazine didn't address the experience 504 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,960 Speaker 1: of native people, or enslaved people, or free black people 505 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,720 Speaker 1: or immigrants at all. In the words of a piece 506 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 1: in the July eighteen ninety seven issue, which was after 507 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:08,440 Speaker 1: Haile and Gody had both died, quote, a little over 508 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:12,320 Speaker 1: a century ago, colored women had no social status, and indeed, 509 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,880 Speaker 1: only thirty years ago the term womanhood was not large 510 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: enough in this Christian republic to include any woman of 511 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:22,000 Speaker 1: African descent. That's from a piece that was clearly written 512 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:24,720 Speaker 1: for white women to let them know that quote. The 513 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 1: thousands of cultured and delightfully useful women of the colored 514 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 1: race who are worth knowing and who are prepared to 515 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 1: cooperate with white women in all good efforts are simply 516 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 1: up to date new women in the best sense of 517 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: that much abused term. Uh. Even so, the magazine was 518 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:45,560 Speaker 1: widely read and widely respected. In the words of the 519 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,720 Speaker 1: Philadelphia City Item in eighteen seventy quote, it has been 520 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:54,960 Speaker 1: well remarked that where Goati's is taken, there is domestic neatness, comfort, elegance, virtue, 521 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 1: which we think is saying a good deal for the 522 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:01,080 Speaker 1: American woman. God bless godies and keep it with us. 523 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:06,040 Speaker 1: Many years Gody sold the publication to John Hill, says Hallenbeech, 524 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:09,480 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy seven, after he and Hale both retired. 525 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 1: As of their retirement, she was eighty nine and he 526 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: was seventy three, so they worked on this magazine almost 527 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:20,200 Speaker 1: until the end of their lives. Lewis Antwine Gody died 528 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:23,560 Speaker 1: the following year. On November twenty ninth, eighteen seventy eight. 529 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:27,320 Speaker 1: Sarah J. Hale, who called herself an editress, died on 530 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:31,120 Speaker 1: April thirtieth, eighteen seventy nine. She had continued to write 531 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:35,600 Speaker 1: for much of her life, publishing poems, fiction essays, recipe books, 532 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:40,320 Speaker 1: etiquette manuals, and a women's encyclopedia titled Woman's Record or 533 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 1: Sketches of All Distinguished Women from the Creation to Ady 534 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty four, arranged in four eras with selections from 535 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,960 Speaker 1: female writers of every age. That was all the title, 536 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,600 Speaker 1: But in her day she was so associated with Godey's 537 00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:00,160 Speaker 1: Lady's Book that people called it missus Hale's magazine. She's 538 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:05,120 Speaker 1: pretty complicated. Yeah, you know, I want to like her 539 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:08,680 Speaker 1: in some ways, but that whole like nose down at 540 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:13,719 Speaker 1: fashion thing is a problem, and then it's a funny thing. 541 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:18,160 Speaker 1: Where just as as the magazine was claiming that it 542 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:22,680 Speaker 1: did not take a political stance but obviously did because 543 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:26,240 Speaker 1: of its refusal to acknowledge certain things, I feel like similarly, 544 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:30,120 Speaker 1: and obviously on a much more important level, that's also 545 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:33,360 Speaker 1: how she dealt with fashion, right, She's like, I don't 546 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 1: want fashion, which is in itself a commentary on fashion right, 547 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 1: and she would consult on women's apparel at Vassar but 548 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:46,840 Speaker 1: didn't want fashion involved. It's a fascinating thing to me. 549 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,040 Speaker 1: He's got a lot of contradictions. You can There are 550 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:55,400 Speaker 1: scans of a lot of these, a lot of issues 551 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:58,720 Speaker 1: of this book that you can see online. You can 552 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:01,640 Speaker 1: read through. I mean, there's it goes on for years. 553 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 1: There's pages and pages of stuff you can dive into 554 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 1: if you were interested in little glimpses of life for 555 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:13,480 Speaker 1: nineteenth century white women. Slash the kinds of standards the 556 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:23,000 Speaker 1: magazine was really heavily reinforcing. Yeah, thanks so much for 557 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,160 Speaker 1: joining us on this Saturday. Since this episode is out 558 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:28,160 Speaker 1: of the archive, if you heard an email address or 559 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:30,720 Speaker 1: a Facebook RL or something similar over the course of 560 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:34,400 Speaker 1: the show, that could be obsolete now. Our current email 561 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:39,800 Speaker 1: address is History podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can 562 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 1: find us all over social media at missed in History, 563 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: and you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, 564 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:49,840 Speaker 1: Google podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, and wherever else you listen 565 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:55,000 Speaker 1: to podcasts. Stuff you missed in History Class is a 566 00:33:55,000 --> 00:34:00,000 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. 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