You’ve heard of Susan B.
Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, but what about Clarina Nichols? She was
one of the strongest voices calling for women’s rights and lobbying against
slavery in the 1800s, yet we hear little about her. We talk to Marilyn Blackwell, one of the
authors of the new book, "Frontier Feminist: Clarina Howard Nichols and the
Politics of Motherhood." In it, she and her co-author Kristen Oertel explore
the life of this often-overlooked social reformer who got her start in Vermont, before striking out to Kansas and ultimately California.
Find links to to two past VPR commentaries about the life and legacy of Clarina Howard Nichols below.
Also on the show, author Richard Smith
walks us through Fort Ticonderoga, site of the first American victory in the
Revolutionary War. The successful surprise attack on the fort was led by Ethan
Allen and the Green Mountain Boys in April of 1775, and set the stage for future
colonial victories.