African American Firsts in Medicine: Setting the Standard for Future Generations
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the history of the first African American doctors to practice in the United States.
Read MoreEducation: The Foundation of Freedom
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Genealogist Kenyatta D. Berry discusses how education for newly freed African American families was a gateway to a better life.
Read MoreRecording Anatomical Practice During the American Civil War
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Shauna Devine, Ph.D., explains how photography and medical sketches evolved our knowledge of disease, injury and the toll of combat during the Civil War era.
Read MoreMercy Street Season 2, Episode 3 GIF Recap
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Catch up on Episode 3, One Equal Temper. Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Read MoreMoses of Her People: Harriet Tubman and Runaway Slaves
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Genealogist Kenyatta D. Berry discusses the history of Harriet Tubman and how Charlotte Jenkins channels her strength in Mercy Street.
Read MoreCharlotte Jenkins and Speaking Truth to Power
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the parallels between Charlotte Jenkins and real life abolitionists who challenged racism, slavery and the roles of women.
Read MoreJourneywomen of the Civil War
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Jane E. Schultz, Ph.D., explains how the growth of the railway and urgent need for qualified nursing staff during wartime led to an explosion in independent women traveling the United States.
Read More'The Freedmen’s Cause': African American Abolitionists
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Anya Jabour, Ph.D., explores the courage and perseverance of Harriet Jacobs.
Read MoreMercy Street's Mansion House Hospital
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Stephen J. Greenberg, Ph.D., is Head of Rare Books and Early Manuscripts for the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine. In this blog post, Greenberg shares the contents of a real-life patient register from the Mansion House Hospital, found in the collections of the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine.
Read MoreReconstructing the Nation’s Memory of the Civil War
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Jim Downs is an associate professor of history at Connecticut College. In this blog post, Downs details the true history of the Reconstruction period.
Read MoreSouthern Women as Secret Agents
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Anya Jabour, Ph.D., details how southern women frequently served as secret agents in the Civil War, using every means possible to demonstrate their patriotism—whether that meant supporting the Confederacy or remaining loyal to the Union.
Read MoreMercy Street Season 2, Episode 2 GIF Recap
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Catch up on Episode 2, The House Guest, with an episode recap. Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Read MoreThe Road was Rugged and Full of Thorns: Learning to Live Free
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the transitions newly freed slaves had to make, including education, finding work, discovering their new rights, and learning to maneuver within society.
Read MoreFrederick Douglass, American Citizen
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Jane E. Schultz, Ph.D., explores the rise of Frederick Douglass from slave to author, abolitionist, suffragist, and citizen.
Read MoreTyphoid Fever and the American Civil War
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Shauna Devine, Ph.D., explains the history of typhoid treatment around the Civil War era and whether victims ever recovered.
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