Introduction

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Acknowledgments vii
4. Foreword ix
5. Introduction 1
6. Part I. No Greater Distinction
7. 1. Boy Soldiers of the American Revolution 11
8. 2. Martha Jefferson and the American Revolution in Virginia 29
9. 3. In Franklin’s Footsteps 48
10. Part II. Finding a Place to Belong
11. 4. French and American Childhoods 67
12. 5. Growing up on the Middle Ground 91
13. 6. A Child Shall Lead Them 108
14. Part III. Taking a Flying Leap
15. 7. “A Few Thoughts in Vindication of Female Eloquence” 127
16. 8. “Pictures of the Vicious ultimately overcome by misery and shame” 149
17. Part IV. A Hard World
18. 9. Children of the Public 171
19. 10. Schooling and Child Health in Antebellum New England 190
20. Part V. Documents
21. 11. A Teenager Goes Visiting 209
22. 12. “Though the Means Were Scanty” 229
23. 13. A Stolen Life Excerpts from the Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself (1847) 242
24. Questions for Consideration 255
25. Suggested Readings 257
26. About the Contributors 265
27. Index 269