Godey's Lady's Book

Sarah Josepha Hale Editors' Table

Sarah J. Hale, editor of Godey's, wrote an extensive editorial each month. Here you will find examples of her editorials:

January, 1856 - "Heart service in the cause of humanity belongs naturally to women," a call for schools for girls and land grant universities for women.

February, 1857 - "Genius has no sex," a brief statement by Mrs. R. B. Hicks on "fast women," a musing on death (The Sketch of Aunt Anner), places of education for young women, twelve reasons why women should receive medical training, Mount Vernon Ladies Association, a poem by Reverend W. S. Peterson ("Here and There") in memory of Mrs. Elizabeth J. Eames, and a list of Mrs. Hale's books with prices and ordering information. Also, the monthly message to correspondents regarding which submissions were accepted and which were not.

Thanksgiving Day : September 1860, November 1859, October and November 1858, October and November 1857, October 1855 (missing volume from 1856) - Mrs. Hale encouraged the idea of a national holiday devoted to thanksgiving. Here are several excerpts from her editorial pages regarding this subject. It is interesting to note how, as war grows nearer, she offers the idea of a national holiday of thanksgiving as a way to unite the splintering union.

May, 1868 - a note on the role of fashion, gender differences, and a mention of the Civil War.

Godey's Lady's Book: Samples Collection
Created and copyright by Hope Greenberg . Last updated: April 2000.