Dr. Linda Caldwell Epps will present a program examining the changing role of women in society as a result of the Civil War. From nursing on the fields of battle to running the home front, women were becoming more active public participants in American life, yet were denied the emancipation being offered at the conclusion of the war to the former slaves. How did suffrage rise from this conflict? Registration is strongly recommended, as space is limited.
Born and raised in Elizabeth, Dr. Epps is a lifelong resident of New Jersey and a career educator. She earned degrees from Rutgers University and Seton Hall University, and her doctorate from Drew University. A past-president of the New Jersey Historical Society, she is the current President and CEO of 1804 Consultants, an organization that works for the advancement of not-for-profit educational and cultural institutions.
This lecture is presented in conjunction with Civil War 150, featured in the Library’s gallery from May 1 through May 17. Utilizing letters, personal accounts, and images, this exhibition traces major events during the Civil War through the eyes of soldiers, presidents, freedmen, and families.
Civil War 150 is a national traveling panel exhibition organized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in partnership with The Library of America. The project, Civil War 150: Exploring the War and Its Meaning through the Words of Those Who Live It, has been made possible in part through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor. Our programming, emphasizing a theme of “conflicted times,” is funded through the generosity of the Friends of Scotch Plains Public Library.