MHS Calendar of Events - November 2020

NOVEMBER CALENDAR

2020

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 Our building is temporarily closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working remotely, we are offering an engaging selection of online programs, building a virtual community of scholars, delivering online resources to educators, providing access to our collection, and continuing to publish.

While the library is closed to the public, members of our Reader Services team are working remotely and available to assist you.

Please visit www.masshist.org/library/reference for more information about the resources available to all researchers.

SOCIAL AND WEB

@MHS1791 @MassachusettsHistoricalSociety

www.masshist.org 2

Cover: Entrance to Harbor of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Morning Light. 29 November 1895, by Henry Adams, 1895. Above: Detail of The Gerry-Mander. A new species of Monster which appeared in Essex South District in Jan. 1812, broadside, [Salem, Mass: 1812].

November Programs at a Glance

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RSVP Information

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November Program Descriptions

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A Look Ahead: Fall Programs

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NOVEMBER PROGRAMS

This fall, the MHS offers an engaging roster of online special events, author talks, panel discussions, brown-bag lunches, and seminars. For a complete schedule, visit www.masshist.org/events.

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Generous support provided by

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November All programs will take place online unless otherwise noted.

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THURSDAY |

5:15 pm | VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Success to the Literary Society! Black Male Youth Organizing in Early 19th-Century Boston Kabria Baumgartner, University of New Hampshire, Durham Comment: Elizabeth McHenry, New York University

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SATURDAY |

9:30 am | WORKSHOP

Legislating the Environment: Teaching Environmental History & Civics Chad Montrie, UMass Lowell Location: Tsongas Industrial History Center, Lowell, MA Registration fee: $25

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MONDAY |

5:30 pm | VIRTUAL PROGRAM

A Treasury of Massachusetts House Museums & Local History Orgs Program 1: What Is a House Museum?

MONDAY |

5:30 pm | VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

A Treasury of Massachusetts House Museums & Local History Orgs Program 2: Authors’ Houses William Hosley, Terra Firma Northeast

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TUESDAY |

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TUESDAY |

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WEDNESDAY |

6:00/6:30 pm | VIRTUAL EVENT

Making History Gala Jon Meacham and Emily Rooney, GBH

8:00 pm | VIRTUAL PARTY

Young Patron Party Tori Bedford, GBH News and All Rev’d Up podcast

5:30 pm | VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALK

Penelope Winslow, Plymouth Colony First Lady: Re-Imagining a Life Michelle Marchetti Coughlin

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THURSDAY |

5:15 pm | VIRTUAL SEMINAR

William Hosley, Terra Firma Northeast

Data Prosopography & Archives of Violence in 19th-Century Virginia Anelise Shrout, Bates College

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Comment: Robert K. Nelson, University of Richmond

TUESDAY |

5:15 pm | VIRTUAL SEMINAR

“Not to Us Chained”: Nature & the Radicalism of Sacco & Vanzetti Chad Montrie, UMass Lowell, and Federico Paolini, Università della Campania L. Vanvitelli

A Treasury of Massachusetts House Museums & Local History Orgs Program 3: Hidden Gems

Comment: Avi Chomsky, Salem State University

William Hosley, Terra Firma Northeast

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THURSDAY |

5:15 pm | VIRTUAL SEMINAR

How We Go On: Three Lives of Persistence, Resistance, & Resilience Nicholas Basbanes, Kimberly Hamlin, and John Loughery Moderator: Julie Dobrow, Tufts University

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MONDAY |

MONDAY |

5:30 pm | VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

5:30 pm | VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALK

Annual Fiori Lecture on Material Culture The Power of Objects in 18th-Century British America Jennifer Van Horn, University of Delaware

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

questions, and receive new ideas. Please visit www.masshist.org/events for more information or to register for an online brown-bag.

EVENTS, AUTHOR TALKS, & SERIES For more information or to register for an online program, visit www.masshist.org/events.

SEMINARS Seminars bring together a diverse group of scholars and members of the public to workshop a pre-circulated 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.

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

NOVEMBER PROGRAMS AT A GLANCE

RSVP Information

BECOME A MEMBER! The MHS welcomes Members from near and far to join its community of history lovers. Members enjoy invitations to Members-only events, free admission to select programs, and subscriptions to Miscellany. Join today or give the gift of membership to the history enthusiast, amateur historian, or history professional in your life.

Join at www.masshist.org/support.

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VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS

Thomas Nast a Life in Cartoons

Explore the virtual exhibition at

www.masshist.org/thomasnast

Who Counts?

A Look at Voter Rights through Political Cartoons

Political cartoons have long served as provocateurs of public debate the for virtual at illustrating opinions Explore of the day the exhibition masses. Featuring examples from MHS collections, this exhibition examines how cartoonists helped to tell the story of voting rights in the United States.

www.masshist.org/whocounts

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Top: “’Continue That I Broached in Jest.’--Shakespeare,” by Thomas Nast. Bottom: “A National Game That Is Played Out,” by Thomas Nast, Harper’s Weekly, December 23, 1876, p. 1044.

NOVEMBER

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THURSDAY |

5:15 | VIRTUAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY SEMINAR

Success to the Literary Society! Black Male Youth Organizing in Early 19th-Century Boston Kabria Baumgartner, University of New Hampshire, Durham Comment: Elizabeth McHenry, New York University In 1841, a dozen or so African American male youth aged twelve to sixteen established the Young Men’s Literary Society in Boston with the stated aim to promote intellectual growth. The very success of this endeavor laid bare the severe educational inequalities and inequities that African American youth faced in Boston’s public schools. In response, these youth organized for change. This paper traces their organizing efforts and describes how their skills in composition, penmanship, elocution, and the literary arts set the stage for the “overthrow of caste schools” in Boston in 1855. Seminars bring together a diverse group of scholars and interested members of the public to workshop a pre-circulated paper.

To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

NOVEMBER

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SATURDAY |

9:30 | WORKSHOP

Legislating the Environment: Teaching Environmental History & Civics Chad Montrie, UMass Lowell Location: Tsongas Industrial History Center, Lowell, MA Registration fee: $25 This program is open to all K–12 educators. Teachers can earn 22.5 professional development points or 1 graduate credit (for an additional fee).

In partnership with the Tsongas Industrial History Center, we will explore the intersections of environmental history, science, and engineering. Chad Montrie, Professor at UMass Lowell, will provide an introduction to the study of environmental history, particularly as it relates to New England industry. Teachers will examine primary sources and participate in hands-on activities with Tsongas Center staff drawn from their “Industrial Watershed” and “River as Classroom” programs. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation.

NOVEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

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. All programs are virtual unless otherwise noted.

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

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NOVEMBER

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MONDAY |

5:30 | VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

A Treasury of Massachusetts House Museums & Local History Orgs Program 1: What Is a House Museum?

William Hosley, Terra Firma Northeast Massachusetts has more house museums and historical organizations than most states twice its size. In recent years there’s been a national conversation about the sustainability of house museums. Our presenter argues that this widespread, mostly small class of museums vary tremendously. While many community-based historical organizations preserve and present their collections in historic houses, a house museum is something different. We will hear from three outstanding examples that are grappling with the challenges of audience engagement, preservation, and interpretation.

To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

NOVEMBER

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TUESDAY |

5:15 | VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY SEMINAR

“Not to Us Chained”: Nature & the Radicalism of Sacco & Vanzetti Chad Montrie, UMass Lowell, and Federico Paolini, Università della Campania L. Vanvitelli Comment: Avi Chomsky, Salem State University This paper brings a fresh perspective to the study of modern American environmental thought as well as modern American radicalism by exploring the significance of nature in the lives and writing of anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. It follows a narrative arc from their formative years in different parts of the Italian countryside to their final years as dedicated revolutionaries confined to Massachusetts prisons.

Seminars bring together a diverse group of scholars and interested members of the public to workshop a pre-circulated paper.

To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

NOVEMBER

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THURSDAY |

5:15 | VIRTUAL NEW ENGLAND BIOGRAPHY SERIES

How We Go On: Three Lives of Persistence, Resistance, & Resilience Nicholas Basbanes, Kimberly Hamlin, and John Loughery Moderator: Julie Dobrow, Tufts University Join us for a discussion of three recent biographies, published during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we know from the months of uncertainty we’ve all lived through so far, there are lessons about persistence, resistance, and resilience to be learned from looking at the past. Tufts University professor Julie Dobrow, author of

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To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

NOVEMBER

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MONDAY |

5:30 | VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

A Treasury of Massachusetts House Museums & Local History Orgs Program 2: Authors’ Houses William Hosley, Terra Firma Northeast Massachusetts has a famously literary culture. At the birth of the house museum movement in the late 19th century, authors’ houses were among the first to be preserved. The John Greenleaf Whittier house is a notable example. Other more recent examples include the homes of Emily Dickinson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson and more. We will explore three outstanding authors’ houses and how they grapple with the challenges of audience engagement, preservation and interpretation.

To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

NOVEMBER

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THURSDAY |

6:00/6:30 | VIRTUAL COCKTAIL CORNER/PROGRAM

Making History Gala Jon Meacham and Emily Rooney, GBH Join us for a conversation between Jon Meacham and Emily Rooney. Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian, contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review, and contributing editor at TIME. His #1 New York Times bestseller, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, looks at tumultuous periods in American history when presidents and ordinary citizens came together to rebuild a civic trust.

Emily Rooney is the creator and former host of Greater Boston. Since 1997, Rooney has brought her journalistic credentials and deep knowledge of media, politics and culture to the WGBH audience and has earned numerous awards, including the National Press Club’s prestigious Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism, a series of New England Emmy Awards, and Associated Press recognition for Best News/Talk Show.

NOVEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

After Emily, will chair a panel featuring Nicholas Basbanes (Cross of Snow: A Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow), Kimberly Hamlin (Free Thinker: Sex, Suffrage, and the Extraordinary Life of Helen Hamilton Gardener) and John Loughery (Dorothy Day: Dissenting Voice of the American Century) to explore how their subjects prevailed in times of personal tragedy and public dissent, and how the authors learned to apply the lessons of their subjects to their own trials and travails as writers.

To reserve: This is an online program. Tickets are $500. Sponsorships are also available.

Please register and purchase tickets at www.masshist.org/gala.

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COCKTAIL CORNER BREAKOUT ROOM

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SUBMIT A QUESTION FOR MEACHAM-ROONEY CONVERSATION*

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SIGNED MEACHAM BOOK

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DIGITAL PROGRAM BOOK NAME LISTING

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* Your question will be entered into a pool for consideration by the moderator.

If your question is selected, you will be credited live during the Gala program.

Sponsorships must be secured by NOVEMBER 7 to receive benefits

Special thanks to

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our Official Media Sponsor

NOVEMBER 17 6:00 pm Sponsor Cocktail Corner 6 : 3 0 p m Virtual Program featuring

JON MEACHAM in conversation with

E M I LY R O O N E Y, G B H Jo h n C o d m a n Ro p e s a w a rd e e s Governor Charlie Baker Mayor Martin J. Walsh

honorar y chairs

NOVEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

N OW V I RT UA L!

Governor Charlie Baker and First Lady Lauren Baker Edward C. and Elizabeth B. Johnson Henry Lee CJ and Neil Musante Mayor Martin J. Walsh Visit www.masshist.org/gala for more information

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NOVEMBER

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THURSDAY |

8:00 | VIRTUAL PARTY

Young Patron Party Embrace Your Inner Nerd Tori Bedford, GBH News and All Rev’d Up podcast Embrace your inner nerd and join us for our first annual Young Patron Party. Hosted by Tori Bedford, reporter at GBH News and producer of the All Rev’d Up podcast, this event will feature lively cocktail demonstrations by Bully Boy Distillers, engaging conversations with fellow young patrons in Zoom breakout rooms, and automatic entries into the drawings for special door prizes. The Rising History Maker Award will be conferred upon Dr. Karilyn Crockett, the City of Boston’s first Chief of Equity.

To reserve: This is an online program. Pay-your-age admission. Please register at www.masshist.org.

NOVEMBER

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WEDNESDAY |

5:30 | VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALK

Penelope Winslow, Plymouth Colony First Lady: Re-Imagining a Life Michelle Marchetti Coughlin Explore the life of Plymouth Colony First Lady Penelope Pelham Winslow with historian Michelle Marchetti Coughlin. Winslow was a woman of influence during the eventful years of Plymouth’s existence through wartime and the end of its independence. Tracking fragmentary records and traces of Winslow’s material world, Coughlin illuminates the story of a long-forgotten historical figure and offers fresh insight into the experiences of women in early New England.

To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

NOVEMBER

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THURSDAY |

5:15 | VIRTUAL DIGITAL HISTORY SEMINAR

Data Prosopography & Archives of Violence in 19th-Century Virginia Anelise Shrout, Bates College Comment: Robert K. Nelson, University of Richmond This project combines digital history methods with theories from critical archive studies to explore the intersection of data, power, documentation, and violence in antebellum Virginia. It explores these issues through a history of the First African Baptist Church (FABC) in Richmond, Virginia. In the years before the American Civil War, it was a religious space open to both free and enslaved people of color. It was simultaneously a site of surveillance and violence. This project combines quantitative analysis, interactive visualization, and traditional historical narrative in order to tell the history of the FABC in new ways. Seminars bring together a diverse group of scholars and interested members of the public to workshop a pre-circulated paper.

To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

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November 17 | 8:00 pm

EMBRACE YOUR INNER NERD Y O U N G P AT R O N P A R T Y Master of Ceremonies Tori Bedford, GBH News and All Rev’d Up podcast Rising History Maker Awardee Karilyn Crockett, City of Boston Chief of Equity

Virtual program Door prizes, breakout rooms, and more Pay-your-age admission Cocktail demonstrations by Edgar B. Herwick III, The Curiosity Desk, GBH News and

NOVEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

R E G I S T R AT I O N N OW O P E N !

www.masshist.org/events 13

NOVEMBER

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MONDAY |

5:30 | VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

A Treasury of Massachusetts House Museums & Local History Orgs Program 3: Hidden Gems William Hosley, Terra Firma Northeast Most of the 351 towns in Massachusetts have a community-based historical organization.

Many are volunteer-run. Collectively, they present and preserve the stuff and stories that make up our history—usually with an emphasis on local art, industries, and material culture. William Hosley has criss-crossed the Commonwealth visiting each town from Adams to Andover and Northampton to Nantucket. We will hear about three house musuems and historical organizations—what Hosley calls gems—that offer amazing stuff and stories. They, like so many historical organizations, are grappling with the challenges of audience engagement, preservation, and interpretation.

To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

NOVEMBER

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MONDAY |

5:30 | VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALK

Annual Fiori Lecture on Material Culture The Power of Objects in 18th-Century British America Jennifer Van Horn, University of Delaware Over the course of the 18th century, Anglo-Americans purchased an unprecedented number and array of goods. Prof. Jennifer Van Horn investigates these diverse artifacts— from portraits and city views to gravestones, dressing furniture, and prosthetic devices— to explore how elite American consumers assembled objects to form a new civil society on the margins of the British Empire. In this interdisciplinary transatlantic study, artifacts emerge as key players in the formation of Anglo-American communities and eventually of American citizenship. This presentation is the second annual lecture in honor of MHS President Emeritus Dennis Fiori in recognition of his leadership. The lecture is made possible by gifts from friends of the Society.

To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

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DECEMBER Tuesday, December 1, at 5:15 PM: Pauline Maier Early American History Seminar, Caribbean Connections—A Panel Discussion with Charlotte Carrington-Farmer, Roger Williams University, Casey Schmitt, Cornell University, and comment by Ryan Quintana, Wellesley College.

Thursday, December 3, at 5:15 PM: African American History Seminar, Emancipation in America, Seen Through One Man’s Dreadlocks with Abigail Cooper, Brandeis University, and comment by Kellie Carter Jackson, Wellesley College. This seminar is rescheduled from Spring 2020.

Monday, December 7, at 5:30 PM: Bank Notes & Shinplasters: The Rage for Paper Money in the Early Republic with Joshua R. Greenberg.

Tuesday, December 8, at 5:15 PM: History of Women, Gender, & Sexuality Seminar, Black Women’s Worlds in Antebellum America—A Panel Discussion with Kelly Kean Sharp, Luther College, and Alisha Hines, Wake Forest University, and comment by Tiya Miles, Harvard University.

Monday, December 14, at 5:30 PM: They Knew They Were Pilgrims: Plymouth Colony & the Contest for American Liberty with John G. Turner, George Mason University.

Wednesday, December 16, at 5:30 PM: Cross of Snow: A Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with Nicholas A. Basbanes.

A LOOK AHEAD FALL PROGRAMS

Take a look at our upcoming slate of online author talks, panel discussions, workshops, seminars, and brown-bag lunch programs.

Please visit www.masshist.org/events for updates and to register.

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Beyond broadcast Public media exists to serve the public. For years, stations did that through TV and radio.

Today, the media landscape has expanded, and GBH has to be in all of the places our audience needs us. That means going beyond broadcast, beyond call letters and beyond outdated ideas about platforms.

To reflect that, GBH dropped the letter that tied us to broadcast and adopted a more vibrant aesthetic. You’re not going to miss it; that same letter is missing from this entire message.

GBH has changed. But not our mission, our pioneering spirit or our commitment to you.

wgbh.org/beyondbroadcast