354 The Sewing Girl's Tale

History tells us who we are and how we came to be who we are. It also allows us to look back and see how far we’ve come as people and societies. Of course, history also has the power to show us how little has changed over time. John Wood Sweet, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and author of the book, The Sewing Girl’s Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America, winner of the 2023 Bancroft Prize in American History, joins us to investigate the first published rape trial in the United States and how one woman, Lanah Sawyer, bravely confronted the man who raped her by bringing him to court for his crime. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/354 Complementary Episodes 🎧 Episode 020: Kyle Bulthuis, Four Steeples Over the City Streets 🎧 Episode 069: Abby Chandler, Law, Order, and Sexual Misconduct in Colonial New England 🎧 Episode 113: Brian Murphy, Building the Empire State 🎧 Episode 174: Thomas Apel, Yellow Fever in the Early American Republic 🎧 Episode 185: Joyce Goodfriend, Early New York City & Its Culture 🎧 Episode 190: Jennifer Goloboy, Origins of the American Middle Class 🎧 Episode 225: Elaine Forman Crane, The Poison Plot: Adultery & Murder In Colonial Newport 🎧 Episode 257: Catherine O’Donnell, Elizabeth Seton An Early American Life REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter👩‍💻 BFW Listener Community🌍 The History Explorers Club LISTEN 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices