13. "Good" Crimes 2: Sarah Emma Edmonds & Elizabeth Freeman

We got our first Instagram shout out this week and feel kind of famous. Don't worry, we won't let it get to our heads. We start off by talking about the 4th of July and why watching Hamilton is better than watching fireworks. The theme for this episode revolved around the holiday as we discussed our second round of good crimes. Rachel starts us off by talking about Sarah Emma Edmonds (aka Sarah/Emma), who was a real-life Mulan in the Civil War. Emma dressed up as a man to fight in the Union army, where she served as a mail carrier and spy. Nathalie then discusses the case of Elizabeth Freeman, the first African woman to file and win a freedom suit in Massachusetts. Elizabeth risked everything to be the "test case" to determine if slavery was illegal under the new Massachusetts constitution. She remained strong despite the risk of possible imprisonment and further mistreatment if she were to lose. Rachel's Sources: Sarah Emma Edmonds https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/sarah-emma-edmonds Yorktown https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/yorktown Williamsburg https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/williamsburg Civil War https://thelibrary.org/lochist/periodicals/wrv/V2/N4/s65b.htm Bushwacker (cocktail) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushwacker_(cocktail) Solider Girl: The Emma Edmonds Story, by Tom Derreck https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/women/soldier-girl-the-emma-edmonds-story Nathalie's Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Freeman https://www.history.com/news/elizabeth-freeman-slavery-case-dred-scott-freedom https://wams.nyhistory.org/settler-colonialism-and-revolution/the-american-revolution/elizabeth-freeman/ https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/elizabeth-freeman https://www.elizabethfreemancenter.org/who-we-are/elizabeth-freeman/