This Grand Experiment: When Women Entered the Federal Workforce in Civil War-Era Washington, D.C.

This Grand Experiment is well researched, with Ziparo having traced about three thousand women who worked for the government in the 1860s.--Journal of Southern History

In this excellent book, Ziparo illustrates how women's work during the Civil War made them a regular part of the nation's bureaucracy while also highlighting the inequality that they faced.--Civil War Book Review

Rigorously researched and musically written, This Grand Experiment offers a great deal more than a study of a several thousand women-most of them white, most of them desperately trying to maintain their middle-class status, in one city over less than a decade-might suggest.--Journal of American History

Provides an excellent, detailed look at another group of women who need to be added to the list of essential war workers: the thousands who sought and gained employment in the federal government from 1861 until the early 1870s.--Journal of the Civil War Era

Ziparo creates a strong story on a topic few have considered before by weaving scant sources together to form an engaging narrative.--American Historical Review

Deeply researched. . . . Readers with broad interests in Civil War Washington, particularly the social impact of the burgeoning bureaucracy and the reform impulses unleashed by emancipation, should read This Grand Experiment.--Washington History