MHS Calendar of Events - September 2020

SEPTEMBER 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: Letter from Hannah Winthrop to Mercy Otis Warren, September 6, 1769 Above: The Gerry-Mander. A new species of Monster which appeared in Essex South District in Jan. 1812, broadside, 1812.

FALL 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.

September Programs at a Glance

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RSVP Information

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September Program Descriptions

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A Look Ahead: Fall Programs

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Generous support provided by

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Who Counts?

A Look at Voter Rights through Political Cartoons

Launches September 8 at

www.masshist.org/whocounts Political cartoons cartoons have have long long served served as to provoke public illusPolitical provocateurs of debate, public debate trating opinions of the dayday forfor thethe masses.

Featuring illustrating opinions of the masses.

Featuringexamples examplesfrom from MHS collections, this exhibition examines how cartoonists helped MHS collections, this exhibition examines how cartoonists helpedtoto tell the the story story of of voting voting rights rights in in the the United United States.

States. tell 4

Above: “A National Game That Is Played Out.” by Thomas Nast, Harper’s Weekly, December 23 1876, p. 1044.

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All programs will take place online.

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5:30

WEDNESDAY |

| VIRTUALCONVERSATION

Standing Up, Stepping Forward, & Speaking Out: The Political Courage to take a Principled Stand John Dean, William Weld, and Edward Widmer

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THURSDAY |

12:00

|BROWN-BAG

John Adams & China: Globalizing Early America Yiyun Huang, The University of TennesseeKnoxville

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MONDAY |

5:30

| VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

The Boston Red Sox & WWII A conversation led by Gorden Edes, Historian of the Boston Red Sox

TUESDAY |

5:15

| VIRTUAL SEMINAR

“No unseated crowd is liable to be orderly”: Organizing Audiences around Spectacle in the Industrial Era Scott Kushner, University of Rhode Island Comment: Derek Miller, Harvard University

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WEDNESDAY |

5:30

| VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

Will Public Education Survive?: A Look at the Threats to Education Systems from Privatization & Religious Nationalism Katherine Stewart and Diane Ravitch, New York University

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

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

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WEDNESDAY |

Pilgrims’ Progress: Music of the Plimoth Colony Settlers 1590–1645 Karen Burciaga, Dan Meyers, and Matthew Wright of Seven Times Salt

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

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THURSDAY |

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MONDAY |

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

5:30

3:30

| VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

| VIRTUAL GATHERING

Graduate Student Reception

5:30

| VIRTUAL TALK

The Last Brahmin: Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. & the Making of the Cold War Luke A. Nichter, Texas A&M UniversityCentral Texas

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TUESDAY |

5:15

| VIRTUAL SEMIANR

“The Horrid Deeds of our Enemies” Lauren Duval, University of Oklahoma Comment: Carolyn Eastman, Virginia Commonwealth University

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WEDNESDAY |

5:30

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.

SEPTEMBER PROGRAMS AT A GLANCE

September

| VIRTUAL TALK

Monument Man: The Life & Art of Daniel Chester French Harold Holzer, Hunter College

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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.

SEPTEMBER

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WEDNESDAY |

5:30

| VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

Standing Up, Stepping Forward, & Speaking Out: The Political Courage to take a Principled Stand John Dean, former White House Counsel to President Richard Nixon; William Weld, former Massachusetts Governor and US presidential candidate, who began his legal career as a counsel on the US House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment inquiry staff in 1974; and Edward Widmer, historian and MHS Trustee This program is made possible by the MHS Speakers Fund Watergate was a sea change in American politics. But even as a presidential scandal gripped the nation, there were remarkable displays of political courage as Republicans and Democrats found ways to work together for the good of the nation, and wrote new rules to ensure transparency and integrity. What can we learn from Watergate? What can we learn from the people who stood up, stepped forward, and spoke out against wrongs that they saw within their own party and among their friends? How can this help us understand the role of collaborationists and the need for political courage? Join us for a conversation between John Dean, former White House Counsel to President Richard Nixon who was implicated in the Watergate scandal but later testified against Nixon; William Weld, former Massachusetts Governor, US presidential candidate, and counsel on the US House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment inquiry staff for the impeachment process against Richard Nixon in 1974; and historian Edward Widmer.

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

SEPTEMBER

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THURSDAY |

12:00

| BROWN-BAG

John Adams & China: Globalizing Early America Yiyun Huang, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville John Adams consumed a lot of Chinese tea. He especially appreciated the medical benefits associated with the hot beverage. In a 1757 diary entry, he wrote that “nothing but large potions of tea” could extinguish his heartburn. How did Adams know that Chinese tea cured heartburn? Why did he believe that nothing else was as effective? This talk examines the ways medical ideas transferred across the world during the 18th century.

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

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Standing Up, Stepping Forward, & Speaking Out The Political Courage to take a Principled Stand with John Dean, William Weld, and Edward Widmer Watergate was a sea change in American politics. Join us for a conversation with John Dean, former White House Counsel to President Richard Nixon who was implicated in the Watergate scandal but later testified against Nixon; William Weld, former Massachusetts Governor and US presidential candidate, who began his legal career as a counsel on the US House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment inquiry staff for the impeachment process against Richard Nixon in 1974; and historian Edward Widmer.

SEPTEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 | 5:30 PM

This program is made possible by the MHS Speakers Fund. The program will take place online. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

Image: Leffler, Warren K, photographer. House Banking Committee hearing on Watergate Incident / WKL. Washington D.C, 1972. [10/12/72 12 Oct] Photograph (www.loc.gov/item/2020631032/).

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 | 5:30 PM

The Boston Red Sox & WWII a conversation led by Gordon Edes, Boston Red Sox historian Join Boston Red Sox historian Gordon Edes and a panel of distinguished authors for a discussion about the role of Major League Baseball players from Boston in WWII. The story touches upon Ted Williams, a Naval flight instructor who would later fly combat missions for the Marines in the Korean War. It also tells of compelling acts of sacrifice and bravery performed by other big-leaguers from Boston, including Si Rosenthal and Earl Johnson of the Red Sox and Warren Spahn of the Braves.

This program will take place online.

Please register at www.masshist.org/events.

Image courtesy of the Boston Red Sox.

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MONDAY |

5:30

| VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

The Boston Red Sox & WWII Gorden Edes, Boston Red Sox historian, and a panel of authors Join Boston Red Sox historian Gordon Edes and a panel of distinguished authors for a discussion about the role of Major League Baseball players from Boston in WWII. The story touches upon Ted Williams, a Naval flight instructor who would later fly combat missions for the Marines in the Korean War. It also tells of compelling acts of sacrifice and bravery performed by other big-leaguers, including Si Rosenthal and Earl Johnson of the Red Sox and Warren Spahn of the Braves.

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

SEPTEMBER

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WEDNESDAY |

5:30

| VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

Pilgrims’ Progress: Music of the Plimoth Colony Settlers 1590–1645 Karen Burciaga, Dan Meyers, and Matthew Wright of Seven Times Salt The Plimoth colonists were a diverse group of Separatists and Anglicans, English and Dutch, some religious and some not. They brought with them varied musical backgrounds and Plimoth Colony heard not only psalms but also catches, ballads, and dance tunes.

We’ll follow the settlers from England to religious refuge in the Netherlands and onward to the early years of Plimoth. You’ll hear music of the Elizabethan tavern and theater, spirited drinking songs, Dutch love songs, psalms from Sternhold & Hopkins’ Whole Booke of Psalmes, and traditional English country dance tunes.

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

SEPTEMBER

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THURSDAY |

3:30

| VIRTUAL GATHERING

Graduate Student Reception Calling all graduate students and faculty! Please join us at our 11th annual Graduate Student Reception for students in history, American Studies, and related fields. This year we invite you to join a virtual gathering to learn about the resources the MHS offers to support your scholarship, from research fellowships to our seminar series.

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

SEPTEMBER

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MONDAY |

5:30

SEPTEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

SEPTEMBER

| VIRTUAL TALK

The Last Brahmin: Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. & the Making of the Cold War Luke A. Nichter, Texas A&M University-Central Texas A key figure in American foreign policy for three decades, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. of Massachusetts, a well-heeled Eastern Establishment Republican, put duty over partisan9

ship to serve as advisor to five presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Gerald Ford and as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Vietnam, West Germany, and the Vatican. Historian Luke A. Nichter gives us a compelling narrative of Lodge’s extraordinary and consequential life and his immense political influence.

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

SEPTMBER

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TUESDAY |

5:15

| VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Pauline Maier Early American History Seminar “The Horrid Deeds of our Enemies” Lauren Duval, University of Oklahoma Comment: Carolyn Eastman, Virginia Commonwealth University The American Revolution was waged not only on the battlefield but also in the realm of culture. American homes and the wartime violence within them—particularly directed against women—were prominent subjects in novels and historical paintings. Reimagining women’s interactions with British soldiers solely as relationships of violence and deception, not volition, these narratives promoted a gendered vision of wartime domestic invasion and violation that would, in memory, come to define the war’s devastation and contribute to emergent ideas about the meaning of independence.

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

SEPTEMBER

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WEDNESDAY |

5:30

| VIRTUAL TALK

Monument Man: The Life & Art of Daniel Chester French Harold Holzer, Hunter College Daniel Chester French is America’s best-known sculptor of public monuments, having created the statue for the Lincoln Memorial, the John Harvard statue, and The Minute Man in Concord. Harold Holzer’s new biography combines rich personal details from French’s life with a nuanced study of his artistic evolution. It explores French’s diligent dedication to perfecting his craft with beautiful archival photographs of his life and work.

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

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TUESDAY |

5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Dina G. Malgeri Modern American Society and Culture Seminar “No unseated crowd is liable to be orderly”: Organizing Audiences around Spectacle in the Industrial Era Scott Kushner, University of Rhode Island Comment: Derek Miller, Harvard University Crowd control technologies—turnstiles, bleachers, stanchions, and seats—channel bodies through the spaces of cultural performance: theater, music, and sport. The increasing rationalization and standardization of crowd control in the early 20th century corresponds with a critical and popular understanding of crowds as dangerous and destabilizing. This paper mines archival evidence to show how industrial-age crowd control was framed as technology that ordered masses (into lines or rows), thereby rendering masses orderly (cooperative, docile, and non-threatening).

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

SEPTEMBER

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WEDNESDAY |

5:30

| VIRTUAL CONVERSATION

Will Public Education Survive?: A Look at the Threats to Education Systems from Privatization & Religious Nationalism Katherine Stewart and Diane Ravitch, New York University The rise of the Religious Right has coincided with the privatization movement in public schools. While some may feel that this is coincidental, there is reason to believe there is a directly causal relationship between these two factors. Two scholars, from different disciplines, will discuss how their work comes together to help explain the history and current state of efforts to diminish, if not dismantle, the American public education system.

Katherine Stewart has written on the rise and increasing power of the Religious Right in her book The Power Worshipers. She will be joined by Diane Ravitch who has written extensively on education and, in her recent book Slaying Goliath, explores the history of the school privatization movement and the efforts to oppose it.

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

SEPTEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

SEPTEMBER

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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.

OCTOBER Thursday, October 1, at 5:30 PM: Political Cartooning with Paul Szep and William Martin.

Tuesday, October 6, at 5:15 PM: Pauline Maier Early American History Seminar, “Our Turn Next”: Slavery & Freedom on French & American Stages, 1789–1799 with Heather S. Nathans, Tufts University, and comment by Jeffrey Ravel, MIT. This seminar is rescheduled from Spring 2020.

Wednesday, October 7, at 5:30 PM: Clean Water, Green Space, & Social Equity with Karen Mauney-Brodek, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Representative Nika Elugardo, and Chris Reed, Harvard Graduate School of Design. This program is in collaboration with the Muddy Water Initiative.

Thursday, October 8, at 5:15 PM: History of Women, Gender, & Sexuality Seminar, Queer Institutions—A Panel Discussion with Marc Stein, San Francisco State University, and Ashley Ruderman-Looff, University of Kentucky, and comment by Aaron S. Lecklider, UMass Boston.

Friday, October 9, at 2:00 PM: Tour of Boston Monuments with Eleanor Citron.

Tuesday, October 13, at 5:30 PM: A People’s Guide to Greater Boston with Joseph Nevins, Vassar College, Suren Moodliar, and Eleni Macrakis.

Conrad E. Wright Research Conference October 12 to 16, 2020

“Shall Not Be Denied”: The 15th & 19th Amendments at the Sesquicentennial & Centennial of Their Ratifications Please visit www.masshist.org/conferences for the full conference schedule.

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Thursday, October 22, at 5:30 PM: Hamilton the Musical with Richard Bell, University of Maryland.

Friday, October 23, at 2:00 PM: Virtual Gallery Tour of Who Counts: A Look at Voter Rights through Political Cartoons with Peter Drummey, MHS. Tuesday, October 27, at 5:15 PM: Dina G. Malgeri Modern American Society and Culture Seminar, Writing Uncompensated Emancipation into the Lost Cause with Amanda Kleintop, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and comment by Nina Silber, Boston University.

Thursday, October 29, at 5:30 PM: Jefferson: Then & Now with Peter Onuf, University of Virginia, and Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University.

NOVEMBER Thursday, November 5, at 5:15 PM: African American History Seminar, Success to the Literary Society! Black Male Youth Organizing in Early 19th-Century Boston with Kabria Baumgartner, University of New Hampshire, Durham, and comment by Elizabeth McHenry, New York University.

Monday, November 9 at 5:30 PM: A Treasury of Massachusetts House Museums and Local History Orgs: What is a House Museum, a conversation with William Hosley, Terra Firma Northeast.

Tuesday, November 10, at 5:15 PM, Environmental History Seminar, ‘Not to Us Chained’: Nature & the Radicalism of Sacco & Vanzetti with Chad Montrie, UMass Lowell, and Federico Paolini, Università della Campania L. Vanvitelli, with comment by Avi Chomsky, Salem State University.

A LOOK AHEAD FALL PROGRAMS

Thursday, October 15, at 5:30 PM: Thomas Nast: The Father of Modern Political Cartoons with Fiona Deans Halloran and Pat Bagley.

Thursday, November 12, at 5:15 PM, New England Biography Series, How We Go On: Three Lives of Persistence, Resistance, & Resilience with Nicholas Basbanes, Kimberly Hamlin, Miami University, John Loughery, and moderator Julie Dobrow, Tufts University.

Monday, November 16, at 5:30 PM: A Treasury of Massachusetts House Museums & Local History Orgs: Authors’ Houses, a conversation with William Hosley, Terra Firma Northeast.

Wednesday, November 18, at 5:30 PM: Penelope Winslow, Plymouth Colony First Lady: Re-Imagining a Life with Michelle Marchetti Coughlin.

Thursday, November 19, at 5:15 PM: Digital History Seminar, Data Prosopography & Archives of Violence in 19th-Century Virginia with Anelise Shrout, Bates College, and comment by Robert K. Nelson, University of Richmond Monday, November 23, at 5:30 PM: A Treasury of Massachusetts House Museums & Local History Orgs: Hidden Gems, a conversation with William Hosley, Terra Firma Northeast.

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Monday, November 30, at 5:30 PM: The Power of Objects in 18th-Century British America with Jennifer Van Horn, University of Delaware. This is the second Annual Fiori Lecture on Material Culture.

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 semiar 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

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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NOVEMBER 17 featuring

JON MEACHAM in conversation with

E M I LY R O O N E Y, W G B H

A LOOK AHEAD FALL PROGRAMS

N OW V I RT UA L!

honorar y chairs Edward C. and Elizabeth B. Johnson Henry Lee CJ and Neil Musante Mayor Martin J. Walsh Visit www.masshist.org/gala for more information

Special thanks to

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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