Maine Historical Society - Programs Podcast

Recorded November 7, 2019 - Listen to editor William C. "Chuck" diGiacomantonio as discuss a fascinating book that features a selection of letters, writings, and remarkable anti-slavery speeches by George Thatcher (1754-1824). Many of the letters are drawn from Maine Historical Society's manuscript collections. Copies of the book are available for purchase in our Museum Store. George Thatcher served as a U.S. representative from the Maine District of Massachusetts throughout the Federalist Era (1789-1801) which was the most critical and formative period of American constitutional history. A moderate on most political issues, he was a maverick in matters relating to education, the expansion of the slave interest, the rise of Unitarianism, and the separation of church and state. Following Thatcher's journey as a New England Federalist, abolitionist, religious dissenter, and pedagogical innovator can add depth to our understanding of the early American Republic. Written over his 40-year career as a country lawy