It was March 31, 1776, eve of the American Revolution. Writing from Braintree Massachusetts to her husband John Adams, future second President who was in Philadelphia helping to draft the new U.S. laws, Abigail Adams urged him to “be more generous and favorable to [women] than your ancestors” while the Continental Congress created a new government. (Complete letter can be found :)
Fast forward 250 years later, as the nation celebrates its Declaration of Independence. But Abigal wrote her own. And visiting Hedi Steinberg Library, she might have been very pleased.
She was among dozens rubbing paper elbows in HSL’s “Remember the Ladies” display, the library’s ample collection of biographies showcasing the female contribution to history and the message that a woman’s place can also lie elsewhere beyond the home.
Women of Valor
Scientists to movie stars. Many were also wives and mothers. Far from sequestered, they were visible, and their social role far from passive. These women not only shaped history but wielded enormous power.
The display, located at Hedi Steinberg’s North Wing, included biographies of prominent individuals like Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel; Sarah Schneirer, founder of Bais Yaakov; and Lise Meitner, physicist and pioneer in atomic research. The smartphone, glued to so many modern ears, is around today partly thanks to Hedy Lamarr, the Hollywood actress who co-invented frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology during World War II to prevent enemy interception of torpedoes. This invention led to the foundation of wireless-based communications.
Major influencers, like outreach advocate and rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, or poets Emma Lazarus and Hannah Senesh, became legends or celebrities both within their own culture and the world stage. Henrietta Szold: ardent Zionist, founder of Hadassah, and rescuer of children in Nazi Germany. Sheryl Sandberg: business executive and author of the bestselling Lean In. Represented were leaders and doers of all races, creeds, nations, careers, and eras–among them Eleanor Roosevelt, U.S. First Lady (like Abigail Adams) and human rights activist who championed the State of Israel; and Elizabeth I, the “Pirate Queen” who transformed 16th century England into a naval empire.
A includes the titles on display and other items within HSL’s holdings, along with brief bios of the subjects and call number locations.
Submitted by Hallie (Chaya Sarah) Cantor
