American Epistles Podcast
1) “Is it a disgrace to be born a Chinese?” (Chinese Immigration, Part 3)
Among the many young girls who arrived in San Francisco in 1868, was one 11-year-old from Shanghai. After five months in Chinatown, she was taken in by Ladies’ Protection and Relief Society on Frankl...Show More
2) “I thought I was his wife.” (Chinese Immigration, Part 2)
While Chinese men flocked to "Gold Mountain," many families in the "Celestial Empire" struggled for survival, and girls were the least valuable members. Sometimes they were sold away, and ended up i...Show More
3) “The Chinese were in a pitiable condition …” (Chinese Immigration, Part 1)
The story of large-scale Chinese immigration to the United States begins in the 1850s. Most came from Guangdong Province, wracked for decades by civil and economic unrest. Gam Saan, or “Gold Mountain,...Show More
4) “We were all of us children of polygamous parents.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 13)
In this final episode, Elinore gets an education in the Mormon practice of polygamy in the early 1900s. She also recounts her successes growing and raising food on her homestead. She definitely paints...Show More
“We were all of us children of polygamous parents.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 13)
30:17 | Sep 3rd, 2021
5) “Your pork and beans must be out of a can.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 12)
In today’s letter, Elinore sets out to hire some help, and ends up being a big help herself. She also educates Mrs. Coney about the proper cookware for a camp-fire breakfast.
6) “…She gave him a dose of morphine and whiskey.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 11)
I had forgotten that Elinore was born and raised in the antebellum South, but she reminded me with her Christmas letter and racist party “game.” As I was trying to figure out a way out of recording ...Show More
7) “The old sorrow is not so keen now.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 10)
Elinore shares some of the personal joys and sorrows that she has experienced since moving to Wyoming.
8) “They told us the Indian ways were bad.” (US Indian Policy: Violence, Displacement, and Assimilation)
For decades, before they were forced onto reservations, Native Americans had friendly and even intimate contact with non-natives. But as settlements increased, so did the violence, and death. Eventual...Show More
9) “Horse-thieves and desperate men seemed too remote…” (Elinore Rupert, Part 9)
Elinore continues her awe-inspiring descriptions of the Wyoming frontier. Her signature humor is also alive and well. This time, Elinore gets a little taste of cowboy living, and of cackle-berries.
“Horse-thieves and desperate men seemed too remote…” (Elinore Rupert, Part 9)
28:33 | May 19th, 2021
10) “See that shack over yonder?” (Women Homesteaders)
Under the Homestead Act of 1862 and its revisions, over 1 million applicants received a plot of land from the Federal government. Thousands of the homesteaders were women. They were black and they ...Show More