Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Arts and Humanities Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Towards Consortship: Performing Ritual, Intercession, And Networking In Tudor And Early Stuart England, Courtney Herber Nov 2020

Towards Consortship: Performing Ritual, Intercession, And Networking In Tudor And Early Stuart England, Courtney Herber

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Historically, the study of consorts has largely focused on how women performed the role – generally analyzing how a particular queen acted as a royal wife, mother, and manager of her household. While this makes sense as most of the consorts in English history were women, this is not the whole picture of the varied political roles of a consort. Looking at all of the foreign-born consorts in the Tudor and early Stuart years, one can clearly see that while the duties of a wife were important for the majority of individuals who took on the mantle of consort, that …


“She’S Been Her Own Mistress...”: The Long History Of Charlotte Dupee V. Henry Clay, 1790-1830, William Kelly Apr 2020

“She’S Been Her Own Mistress...”: The Long History Of Charlotte Dupee V. Henry Clay, 1790-1830, William Kelly

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In February 1829, Charlotte Dupee, an enslaved woman, sued for her freedom in the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. The defendant was her enslaver, United States Secretary of State Henry Clay. Situating her as the main historical actor, this research illustrates how Dupee’s life experiences as an enslaved woman directly informed the decisive timing of her freedom suit. By expanding Dupee’s story beyond 1829 to reconstruct her life from girlhood to manumission, we also gain a greater understanding of the nuanced and precarious nature of alternative pathways to freedom.