Profs and Pints Online presents: “Founding Fathers in the ‘Friend Zone,’” with Cassandra Good, assistant professor of history at Marymount University and author of Founding Friendships: Friendships Between Men and Women in the Early American Republic.

[ This talk will remain available in recorded form at the link given here for tickets and access.]

The iconic film When Harry Met Sally suggested it’s impossible for men and women to be friends, but the lives of our nation’s founding fathers tell us otherwise.

Several of America’s earliest leaders formed close, egalitarian relationships with women. Among them, Thomas Jefferson had warm ties with Abigail Adams, and she called him “one of the choice ones on earth.” George Washington found a home away from home with Philadelphia salonniere Elizabeth Powel.

These weren’t romantic love affairs. They were friendships built on emergent ideas of women as the spiritual and intellectual equals of men.

Come hear about the men and women of America’s founding era and how the friendships they formed reflected the new nation’s highest ideals. Explore how they navigated the tricky line between friendship and romantic love, and hear what these relationships can tell us about love, gender, and power.

Profs & Pints Online: Founding Fathers in the "Friend Zone"