DOC Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine by Sarah Lohman in History

Description

Deborah Sampson; a true hero of the American Revolutionary War; is the only woman in early American history thought to serve as a soldier without being discovered. Her patriotic zeal leads the young woman to disguise herself as a man; and to enlist as a soldier in Washington’s Continental Army. At West Point her officers choose her for membership in an elite corps; The Light Infantrymen. The military action and episodes of Deborah’s story are based on real events. After the war; Deborah became the first American woman to set out alone to tour as a speaker for compensation; and the first to receive a full pension as a soldier for serving in the army. The actions she took enabled her to live life by her own lights in a society that appeared hostile to the value of women—for they had no legal rights. Their voices and plight were ignored; except for those whose husbands; or fathers; were more enlightened and compassionate. Deborah’s story shows that courage and bravery know no gender; and calls us to empathy; and to a wider vision of the world as we stand in someone else’s shoes; if only as reader. Deborah’s journey is one in which men; women and children actively participated in the shaping of our nation; and that physical; spiritual and psychological freedoms are the right of both genders. This is a look at the far past; which in many ways is not so different from our modern era. The struggle to individualize and to find a place where one can live and thrive is a challenge all of us have faced; or are facing. Each man; woman and child must find within themselves the courage to stand up; to live a life of integrity with the kind of grit; tenacity and care for others that life requires. Deborah’s life is a testament to the difficulties of that challenge and of their resolution—or at the least how to live well in spite of life’s often unasked for trials and hardships.