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- Author:
-
Center for History and New Media/American Social History Project
- Subject:
- Humanities
- Institution Name:
- American Social History Project/Center for History and New Media
- Collection:
-
Many Pasts (CHNM/ASHP)
- Grade Level:
- Secondary, Post-secondary
- Abstract:
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was born in slavery in Virginia around 1818 and purchased her freedom in 1855. In 1862 she was living in Washington DC and working as a skilled dressmaker; her principal client was Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the president. Keckley sympathized with the former slaves, or "contraband," as they were called, who fled to the relative safety of Washington during the Civil War. The Contraband Relief Association, which Keckley founded and headed, gathered funds and clothing for the poor former slaves. Yet, as her rather condescending remarks make clear, Keckley felt superior to the people she helped. Keckley's memoir Behind the Scenes was published in 1868. The book included revelations about Mary Lincoln's private life, and, feeling betrayed, the former First Lady shunned Keckley. Her dressmaking business declined, and she died in poverty in 1907 at the Home for Destitute Women and Children in Washington, one of the institutions she had helped to found.
- Languages:
- English
- Material Type:
- Primary Source
- Media Format:
- Text/HTML
- Conditions of Use:
-
Custom License
Fair Use for educational purposes
- Copyright Holder:
- Copyright 1998-2005 American Social History Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.
No restrictions on your remixing, redistributing, or making derivative works.
Give credit to the author, as required.
Your remixing, redistributing, or making derivatives works comes with some
restrictions, including how it is shared.
Your redistributing comes with some restrictions. Do not remix or make
derivative works.
Copyrighted materials, available under Fair Use and the TEACH Act for US-based
educators, or other custom arrangements. Go to the resource provider to see
their individual restrictions.
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