MHS Calendar of Events - June 2022

JUNE CALENDAR

2022

Our mission is to promote understanding of the history of Massachusetts and the nation by collecting and communicating materials and resources that foster historical knowledge.

LOCATION 1154 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215 CONTACT Tel: 617.536.1608 Fax: 617.859.0074 VISITOR INFORMATION MHS galleries and library are open: • Monday, and Wednesday through Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:45 PM • Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:45 PM • Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM Please note that the last admission for exhibition visitors will be 45 minutes prior to closing. Learn more about our virtual and in-person offerings at www.masshist.org/visit.

Researchers are strongly encouraged to request an appointment.

Learn more at www.masshist.org/library.

SOCIAL AND WEB @MHS1791 @MassachusettsHistoricalSociety www.masshist.org 2

Cover Image: Bertha Louise Cogswell drawing book, volume 3, page 13. Crayon and pencil drawing, circa 1876-1880. “At the picnic,” “Tuesday morning,” “Getting ready,” “We are going out to make calls,” and “Bertha and Mrs. Ward.”

JUNE PROGRAMS

The MHS offers an engaging roster of events, author talks, panel discussions, brown-bag lunches, and seminars. For a complete schedule and more information, visit www.masshist.org/events.

RSVP Information

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June Programs at a Glance

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Program Descriptions

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A Look Ahead: July and August Programs

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Generous support provided by

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RSVP Information Visit www.masshist.org/events for additional event information, updates, cancellations, and registration.

Hybrid programs and seminars occur in person and virtually, so be sure to register how you will attend. Please note that events listed as “hybrid program” have a reception that begins thirty minutes prior to the program start time.

Face masks are optional inside the building.

Please visit www.masshist.org/COVID-protocols to find the most up-to-date information.

EVENTS, AUTHOR TALKS, AND SERIES For more information or to register visit www.masshist.org/events.

SEMINARS Seminars bring together a diverse group of scholars and members of the public to workshop a precirculated paper. After brief remarks from the author and an assigned commentator, the discussion is opened to the floor. There is a subscription fee for advance access to supporting materials. For more information, please visit www.masshist.org/research/seminars; register online at www.masshist.org/events.

Past Programs If you missed a program, would like to revisit the material presented, or are interested in viewing past programs, visit www.masshist.org/video. A selection of past programs is just a click away.

WORKSHOPS Visit www.masshist.org/teaching-history for more information. Register online at www.masshist.org/events.

BROWN-BAG LUNCH PROGRAMS Brown-bags provide an informal opportunity for visiting researchers to discuss their work, field questions, and receive new ideas. Please visit www.masshist.org/events for more information or to register for an online brown-bag.

Give to the MHS Fund, become a Member The MHS Fund is your gateway to Membership at the MHS with its vast intellectual and social opportunities. Join the community of history lovers to enjoy exclusive invitations to special events, an annual Members Week, popup perks, and more. Members receive FREE admission to most events.

Give now at www.masshist.org/support.

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WEDNESDAY |

6:00 |

VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement Wendy Rouse, San Jose University

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MONDAY |

6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM

Hidden in Plain Sight: Remembering Queer Nightlife Danny Harris, Elite’s Gay Club; Jackson Davidow, Tufts University; Geordan West, Emerson College; and Indee Mitchell, co-director, Last Call Presented in collaboration with The History Project, Documenting LGBTQ Boston.

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THURSDAY |

6:00 |

HYBRID PROGRAM

Born in Cambridge: 400 Years of Ideas & Innovators Karen Weintraub, USA Today, and Michael Kuchta, Harvard University

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SATURDAY |

2:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Annual Fiori Lecture

Old Institutions, New Things Anthea Hartig, Smithsonian National Museum of American History; Louise Mirrer, New-York Historical Society; and Catherine Allgor, MHS $10 per person fee (in person). No charge for MHS Members, EBT cardholders, or virtual.

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MONDAY |

6:00|

TUESDAY |

6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM

The Imposter’s War: The Press Propaganda & the Newsman Who Battled For the Minds of America Mark Arsenault $10 per person fee (in person). No charge for MHS Members, EBT cardholders, or virtual.

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MONDAY |

6:00 |

HYBRID PROGRAM

Reflecting on the Work of Robert Gross Robert Gross, University of Connecticut; John Brooke, Ohio State University; David Waldstreicher, City University of New York; and Christine Heyrman, University of Delaware $10 per person fee (in person). No charge for MHS Members, EBT cardholders, or virtual.

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WEDNESDAY |

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WEDNESDAY |

6:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Film Club: The Thomas Crown Affair Peter Drummey, MHS

6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM

Hidden in Plain Sight: Documenting Queer Stories in Archives Tripp Evans, Wheaton College; Heather White, Harvard Divinity School; and Jen Manion, Amherst College Presented in collaboration with The History Project, Documenting LGBTQ Boston.

JUNE PROGRAMS AT A GLANCE

June 1

HYBRID PROGRAM

Only the Clothes on Her Back: Clothing & the Hidden History of Power in the 19th Century Laura F. Edwards, Princeton University $10 per person fee (in person). No charge for MHS Members, EBT cardholders, or virtual.

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Founded in 1791, the MHS is an invaluable resource for American history, life, and culture. Our extraordinary collections tell the story of America through millions of rare and unique documents, artifacts, and irreplaceable national treasures. Please check the website for updates and, once registered, your e-mail before attending the program.

JUNE

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WEDNESDAY |

6:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement Wendy Rouse, San Jose University In Public Faces, Secret Lives, Wendy L. Rouse reveals that the suffrage movement included individuals who represented a range of genders and sexualities. However, owing to the constant pressure to present a “respectable” public image, suffrage leaders publicly conformed to gendered views of ideal womanhood in order to make women’s suffrage more palatable to the public.

Rouse argues that queer suffragists did take meaningful action to assert their identities and legacies by challenging traditional concepts of domesticity, family, space, and death in both subtly subversive and radically transformative ways. Queer suffragists also built lasting alliances and developed innovative strategies in order to protect their most intimate relationships, ones that were ultimately crucial to the success of the suffrage movement.

This is an online event.

To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

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MONDAY |

6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM

Hidden in Plain Sight: Remembering Queer Nightlife Danny Harris, Elite’s Gay Club; Jackson Davidow, Tufts University; Geordon West, Emerson College; and Indee Mitchell, co-director, Last Call Throughout history rarely have LGBTQ+ clubs, meeting places, and social areas been landmarked or turned into a museum.

House museums that were once homes to Queer residents can pose difficult questions about the interpretation if the former residents were not public about their identity in their lifetime. Many important sites in Queer history simply don’t exist anymore.; clubs have closed, publications have shut down, buildings have been razed or radically altered, but these are still spaces that exist in the history and memory of the Queer community. Panelists will discuss their memories of Queer nightlife in Boston, as well as the ways they have used artistic mediums to bring these spaces back to life. This is a hybrid event.

Presented in collaboration with The History Project, Documenting LGBTQ Boston.

To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

JUNE

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THURSDAY |

6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM

Born in Cambridge: 400 Years of Ideas and Innovators Karen Weintraub, USA Today, and Michael Kuchta Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a city of “firsts”: the first college in the English colonies, the first two-way, long-distance call, the first legal, same-sex marriage. In 1632, Anne Bradstreet, living in what is now Harvard Square, wrote one of the first published poems in British North America, and in 1959, Cambridge-based Carter’s Ink marketed the first yellow Hi-liter. W.E.B. Du Bois, Julia Child, Yo-Yo Ma, and Noam Chomsky all lived or worked in Cambridge at various points in their lives. Born in Cambridge tells these stories and many others, chronicling cultural icons, influential ideas, and world-changing innovations that all came from one city of modest size across the Charles River from Boston. This is a hybrid event.

JUNE PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

JUNE

To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

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JUNE

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SATURDAY |

2:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Annual Fiori Lecture Old Institutions, New Things Anthea Hartig, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History; Louise Mirrer, New-York Historical Society; and Catherine Allgor, MHS Standards of collecting and ideas about what was worth honoring have changed dramatically since the founding of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the New-York Historical Society, and the Smithsonian Institution. In the past, it was a mark of prestige that these repositories had collected material from the wealthiest and most powerful individuals, communities, and businesses. While these collections retain relevance, scholars and the public today are increasingly approaching the material with a more critical eye, telling stories with more nuance, locating the silences in the archives, and looking to add collections that will tell stories from different perspectives so that we can learn from the entirety and complexity of the American experience. Join a conversation among the leaders of three of the most highly respected historical organizations in the United States about the opportunities and challenges faced by institutions that are now looking to understand and bring forth lesser-known parts of their holdings, diversify their collections, and reinterpret their holdings to be more representative of the communities they serve. This is an online event.

This program is co-sponsored by the New-York Historical Society and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

This panel is part of an annual lecture series in honor of President Emeritus Dennis Fiori in recognition of his leadership. The lecture series is made possible by gifts from friends of the Society.

To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

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Underrepresented Voices of the American Revolution

JUNE PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

Conrad E. Wright Research Conference

July 14 to 16, 2022 Registration open until July 7!

Visit www.masshist.org/research/conferences for more info.

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JUNE

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MONDAY |

6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM

Only the Clothes on Her Back: Clothing & the Hidden History of Power in the 19th Century Laura F. Edwards, Princeton University What can dresses, bed linens, waistcoats, pantaloons, shoes, and kerchiefs tell us about the legal status of the least powerful members of American society? Only the Clothes on Her Back uncovers practices, commonly known then but now long forgotten, which made textiles a unique form of property that people without rights could own and exchange. Marginalized people used these textiles as currency, credit, and capital, but also as an entrée into the new republic’s economy and governing institutions. Wives wove linen and kept the proceeds, enslaved people traded coats and shoes, and poor people invested in fabrics, which they carefully preserved in trunks. Edwards shows that these stories are about far more than cloth and clothing; they reshape our understanding of law and the economy in an earlier America. This is a hybrid event.

To reserve: There is a $10 per person fee (in person). There is no charge for MHS Members, EBT Cardholders, or virtual guests. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

JUNE

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TUESDAY |

6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM

The Imposter’s War: The Press Propaganda & the Newsman Who Battled for the Minds of America Mark Arsenault In the lead-up to America’s entry into the First World War, Germany spent the modern equivalent of one billion dollars to infiltrate American media, industry, and government to undermine the supply chain of the Allied forces. The story of John Rathom, editor of the scrappy Providence Journal, encompasses the propaganda battle that set America on a course for war. He rose within the editorial ranks, eventually transitioning from an editor to a de facto spy. Rathom brought to light the Huerta plot and helped to upend labor strikes organized by German agents to shut down American industry. Arsenault tracks the rise and fall of this enigmatic figure, while providing the rich and fascinating context of Germany’s acts of subterfuge through the early years of World War I. This is a hybrid event.

To reserve: There is a $10 per person fee (in person). There is no charge for MHS Members, EBT Cardholders, or virtual guests. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

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MONDAY |

6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM

Reflecting on the Work of Robert Gross Robert Gross, University of Connecticut; John Brooke, Ohio State University; David Waldstreicher, City University of New York; and Christine Heyrman, University of Delaware In The Transcendentalists and Their World, Bancroft Prize-winning author Robert Gross presents a fresh view of the Transcendentalists; thinkers whose impact on philosophy and literature would spread from Concord, Massachusetts, to all corners of the earth. The book is both an intimate journey into a small community and a searching cultural study of major American writers as they plumbed the depths of the universe for spiritual truths. Robert Gross and a panel of scholars will reflect on the book as well as the career and impact of Robert Gross’ work.This is a hybrid event.

To reserve: There is a $10 per person fee (in person). There is no charge for MHS Members, EBT Cardholders, or virtual guests. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

JUNE

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WEDNESDAY |

6:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Film Club: The Thomas Crown Affair Peter Drummey, MHS Join MHS’ head historian Peter Drummey, as we discuss 1968’s The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. An adventuresome bank executive believes he has pulled off the perfect multimillion dollar heist, only to match wits with an insurance investigator. Watch the film at home and discuss your thoughts with us! The Thomas Crown Affair is available through Amazon Prime, Hulu, Starz, YouTube, and other streaming sites. This is an online event.

JUNE PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

JUNE

To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

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JUNE

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WEDNESDAY |

6:00 | HYBRID PROGRAM

Hidden in Plain Sight: Documenting Queer Stories in Archives Tripp Evans, Wheaton College; Heather White, Harvard Divinity School; and Jen Manion, Amherst College Researching Queer history in archives poses unique challenges.

Where written records survive, a person’s sexual life or desires may not be included in the records or might be veiled. In other scenarios, descendants of LGBTQ+ people have censored or destroyed records. In the face of these issues, how do we create inclusive and accurate histories? Panelists will reflect on methods they have used to navigate the archives and highlight Queer stories. The panel also asks, how do you write LGBTQ+ history when the records are not enough? This is a hybrid event.

Presented in collaboration with The History Project, Documenting LGBTQ Boston.

To reserve: Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

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July Thursday, July 7, at 6:00 PM: Boston Historical Reception.

Saturday, July 9, from 12:00 PM to 4:30 PM (Rain date July 10): Fenway Porchfest.

Wednesday, July 13, at 6:00 PM: The Politics of Massachusetts Exceptionalism, with Erin O’Brien, University of Massachusetts, and Jerold Duquette, Central Connecticut State University.

Thursday-Saturday, July 14-16: Underrepresented Voices of the American Revolution Conference.

Monday, July 18, at 6:00 PM: Film Club: Between the Lines, with Ned Hinkle, Brattle Film Foundation, and Ivy Moylan, Brattle Film Foundation.

Wednesday, July 20, at 6:00 PM: Trading Freedom: How Trade with China Defined Early America, with Dael Norwood, Binghamton University.

Thursday, July 28, at 6:00 PM: Trains, Planes, & Automobiles: Boston Transit Trivia with the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library. Register to attend at www.leventhalmap.org.

August Wednesday, August 3, at 6:00 PM: Shores of Bohemia, with John Taylor Williams.

A LOOK AHEAD SUMMER PROGRAMS

Take a look at our upcoming slate of author talks, panel discussions, workshops, seminars, and brown-bag lunch programs. Please visit www.masshist.org/events for updates and to register; once registered, check your e-mail before attending the program.

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o ! w t rt en Pa w op no

Our Favorite Things

Objects that Fascinate, Interest & Inspire

Part two of this year-long exhibition explores the call of liberty and the complex nature of American freedom and unfreedom.

Visit in Person Monday, and Wednesday through Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:45 PM Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:45 PM Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM Explore the virtual exhibition at

www.masshist.org/ourfavoritethings 14