Jane Addams

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On the heels of its excellent Black Americans of Achievement series (see VL-6/92 and VL-3/94), come two new sets of 10 video biographies. We watched Abigail Adams and Emily Dickinson, two excellent entries in the American Women of Achievement Video Collection. Writing to her husband John Adams, who was at the Continental Congress working on the ideas that would eventually give birth to an autonomous nation, Abigail implored: "I desire you would remember the ladies." A staunch advocate of women's rights in a time and place (18th-century America) that considered the term an oxymoron, Abigail Adams would become a crucial figure in the toddler years of the new republic, primarily through her influence on two presidents: one, her husband; the other, her son. As scholars point out, we are fortunate to have records of the beautifully written letters of Abigail to her husband John, and the video, while detailing the political upheaval rocking the nascent democratic nation, never loses sight of its main topic. Combining Adams family portraits, scenes from colonial life, and Abigail's stirring words, the program is an excellent introduction to both Abigail Adams and her times. Emily Dickinson, by contrast, played no part in the politics of her country: she was too busy being one of the greatest poets of all time. Though unknown (except as a curious recluse) during her lifetime, Dickinson left nearly 2,000 poems behind at her death in 1886. Mixing commentary from scholars with luminous examples of Dickinson's poetry, the program traces what little is known of the poet's personal life: her devotion to her father, her dramatic break from organized religion, and her almost complete withdrawal from the world in her later years. Although she left little mark on her immediate society, Emily Dickinson is today acknowledged to be the greatest woman author (and some would say greatest author, period) that America has produced. An inspiring portrait. Other titles in the series include: Jane Addams, Marian Anderson, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Wilma Rudolph. Highly recommended.

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