Primary Sources & Lesson Plans This letter, part of a lifelong
correspondence between Rebecca Gratz and her childhood friend
Maria Fenno, reflects many important facets of society in the
early nineteenth century. Life in the young American nation was
exciting. Filled with optimism, many Americans of this era
realized that they were involved in an experiment of great
promise. The most immediate concerns of young women of
affluence, such as Gratz, were family and social relations, as
shown by Gratzs reports of her own activities and her inquiries
about the health and happiness of her friend. Yet despite their
privileged world, even the wealthy could not escape the
instability caused by disease and other dangers. Fenno had lost
both her parents in the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1798, and
Gratzs concerns for her friends health betray the fragility of
life in this period. Gratz later became involved in much more
than the personal relations of family and friends that filled
the lives of most of the women of her statu