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14jan7:00 pm8:00 pmFIRESIDE CHAT: The Rising Generation: Gradual Abolition, Black Legal Culture, and the Making of National FreedomFree

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Fireside Chat with Sarah Gronningsater

The Rising Generation: Gradual Abolition, Black Legal Culture, and the Making of National Freedom

Thursday, January 14th, 2025
7:00 PM ET
Virtual Event | Free

Sarah Gronningsater is delighted to join Carolyn Zola for a conversation about Sarah’s new book, The Rising Generation: Gradual Abolition, Black Legal Culture, and the Making of National Freedom (Penn Press, 2024). The Rising Generation tells a new story about the long history of emancipation in the United States as it follows the cradle-to-grave experiences of a remarkable generation of black New Yorkers who were born into quasi-freedom after the American Revolution and reached adulthood on the eve the Civil War. Gronningsater examines the role this generation played in advocating for equality before the law, excellent public education, and the end of slavery nationwide. In a broad sense, this generation helped shape important changes to the U.S. Constitution as well as groundbreaking federal civil rights legislation.

Sarah Gronningsater is an assistant professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of several journal articles and book chapters that focus on African American voting, legal practices, citizenship, and democracy in the long 19th century.

Sarah’s most recent publication, The Rising Generation: Gradual Abolition, Black Legal Culture, and the Making of National Freedom, is available for purchase here.

Sponsored by the Program of Early American Economy and Society

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January 14, 2025 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm(GMT-05:00)

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Applications Now Open for 2025-2026 Research Fellowships

Applications for the 2025-26 fellowships cycle are now being accepted. The submission deadline is January 15, 2025.

The Library Company’s fellowships program, founded in 1987, supports collections-based research in the humanities and fosters intellectual community. Several categories of research support are available: long-term postdoctoral fellowships, long-term dissertation fellowships, and short-term fellowships. Some fellowships support research in particular areas of study (e.g., African American history, women’s history, medical history, economic history, visual culture) while others are open to applicants who wish to draw on any area of the Library’s Company’s collections.

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Current Exhibitions

Current Month

December

15oct(oct 15)5:30 pm17jan(jan 17)7:00 pmLineage ExhibitionFree | Oct 15th - Jan 17th

05nov(nov 5)2:00 pm24jan(jan 24)3:30 pmWilliam Rau and the Transit of Venus ExhibitionFree | Nov 05 - Jan 10