Mercedes "Sadie" Haigler

Mercedes “Sadie” Haigler specializes in gender, political culture, and partisan development in the early American republic. Her current book project, titled “Settled Out of Doors: Sociability, Caucus Building and Partisan Development in the Early Republic” is a study of political culture and social life in early Philadelphia and Washington City, with a focus on the influence of feminized sociability on the creation of key political strategies and party building in Congress. It shows that, because of the anti-partisan nature of America’s political culture during this period, the development of the two-party system relied heavily on the ongoing collaboration of male and female partisan actors. The study recognizes that, although they were not officially citizens, elite women took on partisan identities of their own and carried out essential roles in the uneven process of partisan development. As such, female partisans should be seen, not just as facilitators but co-creators, of key congressional infrastructure such as the partisan caucus—a foundational, if overlooked— political tool. Dr. Haigler is broadly interested in histories of political ideology, partisanship, women and gender, and congressional development in the United States. Her research has been supported by the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello.

Dr. Haigler received a B.A. in History from Alice Lloyd College, followed by an M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia. Before coming to FSU, she served as the 2024-25 Society of the Cincinnati Dissertation Fellow at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her own research, Dr. Haigler has a strong interest in public-facing history and education. Her work is featured in the recent exhibit, Legacies of the Revolution, at James Monroe’s Highland, where she served as a 2022-23 research fellow.

At FSU, Dr. Haigler is excited to offer various courses on early American history including: “Revolutionary America,” “Contested Visions of a New Nation: The Early American Republic, 1789-1848,” and “Asserting Our Privileges”: Women, Gender, and Partisan Development in the early Republic, 1789-1828.”