Sarah L. H. Gronningsater

Sarah L. H. Gronningsater is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on 18th- and 19th-century U.S. history, with emphases on slavery, abolition, and the development of American democracy. She examines intersections of legal, political, and social history, particularly regarding Black legal culture and constitutional frameworks. Her work challenges traditional narratives of emancipation and citizenship in the early republic.

Education: A.B. from Harvard University, M.St. from University of Oxford, Ph.D. from University of Chicago.

Research interests include slavery and abolition movements, legal documentation of freedom, and the role of marginalized communities in shaping political systems. Her book The Rising Generation (2024) received the OAH James Rawley Prize and a Turner Award Honorable Mention. Recent scholarship analyzes Black political agency, legal advocacy, and citizenship struggles in the antebellum era.

Awards include multiple teaching honors (Richard S. Dunn Award, Penn Friars Faculty Award) and prestigious fellowships (Mellon, McNeil Center, University of Chicago). She teaches courses on early American history, legal history, slavery/abolition, and the American Revolution.