1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910457944603321

Autore

Keckley Elizabeth <ca. 1818-1907.>

Titolo

Behind the scenes, or, Thirty years a slave, and four years in the White House [[electronic resource] /] / by Elizabeth Keckly

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chapel Hill, NC, : University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, : distributed by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Press, 2011

ISBN

1-4696-0290-3

0-8078-6964-3

Edizione

[DocSouth Books ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (165 p.)

Disciplina

973.7092

Soggetti

African American women

Women slaves - United States

Dressmakers - United States

Slaves - United States

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Prepared using the transcribed electronic text used in the "Documenting the American South" (DocSouth) Project.

Originally published: New York : G.W. Carleton & Co., 1868.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

""About This Edition""; ""Summary""; ""CONTENTS.""; ""PREFACE.""; ""BEHIND THE SCENES.""; ""WHERE I WAS BORN.""; ""GIRLHOOD AND ITS SORROWS.""; ""HOW I GAINED MY FREEDOM.""; ""In the Family of Senator Jefferson Davis.""; ""MY INTRODUCTION TO MRS. LINCOLN.""; ""WILLIE LINCOLN'S DEATH-BED.""; ""WASHINGTON IN 1862-3.""; ""CANDID OPINIONS.""; ""BEHIND THE SCENES.""; ""THE SECOND INAUGURATION.""; ""THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN.""; ""MRS. LINCOLN LEAVES THE WHITE HOUSE.""; ""THE ORIGIN OF THE RIVALRY BETWEEN MR. DOUGLAS AND MR. LINCOLN.""; ""OLD FRIENDS.""

""THE SECRET HISTORY OF MRS. LINCOLN'S WARDROBE IN NEW YORK.""""APPENDIX.""; ""LETTERS FROM MRS. LINCOLN TO MRS. KECKLEY.""

Sommario/riassunto

This is the life story of Elizabeth Keckley, a shrewd entrepreneur who, while enslaved, raised enough money to purchase freedom for herself and her son. Keckley moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked as



a seamstress and dressmaker for the wives of influential politicians. She eventually became a close confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. Several years after President Lincoln's assassination, when Mrs Lincoln's financial situation had worsened, Keckley helped organize an auction of the former first lady's dresses, eliciting strong criticism from members of the Washington elite.