We’re launching a new series about women (and gender-expansive people) in the American Civil War called “Keeping the Hysteria in American History.”

This series is inspired by Executive Order 14253 “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” published a year ago in March (just in time for Women's History Month), which has been sanitizing our public history institutions by removing stories that don’t comply with certain “ideology.” Essentially, if it’s LGBTQ+, feminist, or racially inclusive history, it could be on the chopping block. Not so fast!

As lovers of history (with all its messiness), we know that “insanity” or “hysteria” was historically a term associated with women (hysteria = womb crazy), but @reenactress isn’t going to let this hysterical HERstory be erased.

Check out Episode No. 1: Frances Clayton, and let us know in the comments what Hysterical HERstory you think we should preserve next!

#womenshistory #herstory #ushistory #hysteria #civilwar