Newly acquired letters in the Manuscript Division shed light on social reformer Frances Wright and her relationship with the Marquis de Lafayette, while other Library resources provide researchers with more details into their life and times.
National Woman's Party Research Fellow Magdalene Zier reflects on her research into Goesaert v. Cleary, the Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of Michigan’s 1945 ban on women working as bartenders, which was decided during a pivotal period for the feminist, labor, and civil rights movements.
Joseph Ball’s mid-eighteenth century letters, written from his home near London to his family in Virginia, helped maintain connections between Britain and the American colonies. They also show how the institution of slavery operated in the world where George Washington was born.
In honor of Pride Month, the recently acquired personal papers of best-selling Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, essayist, literary critic, and teacher Mary Oliver (1935-2019) are now open to researchers in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
On the 100th anniversary of the Immigration Act of 1924, the case of Gin Foo Wong highlights how Asian immigrants attempted to circumvent the law’s nativist policies through the tactic of creating “paper” sons and daughters.
Manuscript Division intern Maureen S. Thompson describes the experience of locating African Americans in the Blair Family Papers, and highlights some of the notable documents she discovered.