DECEMBER CALENDAR
2021
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 The MHS galleries will open on 6 December for limited hours. For more information, visit www.masshist.org/exhibitions. Learn more about our online and in-person offerings and latest updates at www.masshist.org. The library is now open to the public Monday through Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:45 PM. Research is by appointment only. Learn more about our library policies and how to make an appointment at www.masshist.org/visit/library.
SOCIAL AND WEB
@MHS1791 @MassachusettsHistoricalSociety
www.masshist.org 2
Cover Image: Unidentified girls ice skating, from the Nathaniel T. Allen photographs collection.
FALL PROGRAMS
The MHS offers an engaging roster of events, author talks, panel discussions, brown-bag lunches, and seminars. For a complete schedule, visit www.masshist.org/events.
RSVP Information
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December Programs at a Glance
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Program Descriptions
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A Look Ahead: January and February Programs
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Generous support provided by
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RSVP Information
Past Programs
Visit www.masshist.org/events for additional event information, updates, cancellations, and registration.
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.
Hybrid programs and seminars will occur inperson and virtually, so be sure to register how you will attend. Please note that events listed as “hybrid program” will have a reception that begins at the time posted and the program will start 30 minutes later. To attend events in person, the MHS requires proof of vaccination to be presented at time of entry. Face masks are required inside the building. EVENTS, AUTHOR TALKS, AND SERIES For more information or to register visit 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 questions, and receive new ideas. Please visit www.masshist.org/events for more information or to register for an online brown-bag. 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.
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Join with a Gift Join the community of history lovers with a gift to the MHS. Enjoy invitations to enhanced events, free or discounted admission to special programs, and access to publications. Give today or give in the name of a history enthusiast, amateur historian, or history professional in your life. Give at www.masshist.org/support.
Please check the website for updates and, once registered, your e-mail before attending the program.
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WEDNESDAY |
5:30 |
HYBRID PROGRAM
Four Centuries of Christmas in New England Ken Turino, Historic New England
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THURSDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
“Challenge or Be Challenged”: The ParLinks Black Women’s Golf Club in East Bay, CA Paula C. Austin, Boston University; and Louis Moore, Grand Valley State University
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MONDAY |
5:30 | HYBRID PROGRAM
Urban Archipelago: An Environmental History of the Boston Harbor Islands Pavla Šimková, Ludwig-MaximiliansUniversität
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TUESDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Crisis: 1774–1775 Sarah Beth Gable, Brandeis University Comment by Donald Johnson, North Dakota University
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TUESDAY |
6:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
Writing History with H. W. Brands: Book Talk and Extended Q&A Moderated by Ryan Woods, American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Catherine Allgor, MHS Tickets are $50 and include the Zoom link and a personalized copy of Our First Civil War.
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WEDNESDAY |
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THURSDAY |
5:30 | HYBRID PROGRAM
Grand Duke Alexis in Boston Lee Farrow, Auburn University
6:00 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Digitizing Early Massachusetts Court Records Sally Hadden, University of Western Michigan Comment by Jessica Otis, George Mason University; and Susanna Blumenthal, University of Minnesota
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MONDAY |
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TUESDAY |
5:30 | HYBRID PROGRAM
The Transcendentalists and Their World Robert Gross, University of Connecticut, in conversation with Catherine Allgor, MHS
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
“The Kind of Death, Natural or Violent”: Fetal Death and the Male Midwife in Nineteenth-Century Boston Hanna Smith, University of Minnesota Comment by Nora Doyle, Salem College
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THURSDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Local Food Before Locavores: Growing Vegetables in the Boston Market Garden District, 1870–1930 Sally McMurry, Pennsylvania State University Comment by Andrew Robichaud, Boston University
DECEMBER PROGRAMS AT A GLANCE
December
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Now Live!
MHS’s new interview-style podcast that takes you on a behind-the-scenes tour of fragile documents, unusual artifacts, and intriguing artworks that connect us to the past. Join hosts Katy Morris and Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai as they chat with staff and outside scholars and interact with artifacts from the MHS collection to gain a richer understanding of the history behind them. Listen now at www.masshist.org/podcast. The first 5 episodes are available now. You can listen on our website or wherever you get your podcasts.
masshist.org/podcast
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DECEMBER
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WEDNESDAY |
5:30 | HYBRID PROGRAM
Four Centuries of Christmas in New England Ken Turino, Historic New England This lecture traces the development of the celebration of Christmas from the time it was outlawed in 17th-century New England through the beginning of the 21st century. Many of the customs that we take for granted as part of current celebrations are actually a product of more recent history. This program will look at how Christmas was transformed from a rowdy celebration into a family-centered event. Among the topics discussed are how the Christmas tree became popular, why halls were decked, and how Santa Claus came to town. Please note, this is a hybrid event that may be attended either in person at the MHS or virtually on the video conference platform Zoom. Registrants will receive a confirmation message with attendance information. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
DECEMBER
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THURSDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
African American History Seminar
“Challenge or Be Challenged”: The Par-Links Black Women’s Golf Club in East Bay, CA Paula C. Austin, Boston University; Louis Moore, Grand Valley State University The Par-Links Golf Club was an association of Black women golfers founded in 1958 in East Bay, Oakland, California. Using photographs, organizational documents, and scrapbooks, this paper examines the possibilities and realities of Black leisure, recreation, and community care and play practices before the passage of the Civil Rights Act. It places Par-Links in the context of the burgeoning sport, the development of Black golf clubs, and within the local and national fights to desegregate public golf courses and professional golf in US Civil Rights Movement histories.
DECEMBER 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. Please check the website for updates and, once registered, your e-mail before attending the program.
To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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Our Favorite Things Objects that Fascinate, Interest & Inspire
Visit in person
Opens December 6, 2021 Members-only hours, (December 6–23, 2021):
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Tuesday and Thursday, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
General Public
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Tuesday and Thursday, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Explore the virtual exhibition at
www.masshist.org/ourfavoritethings 8
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MONDAY |
5:30 | HYBRID SEMINAR
Environmental History Seminar
Urban Archipelago: An Environmental History of the Boston Harbor Islands Pavla Šimková, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität The Boston Harbor Islands have been called Boston’s “hidden shores.” Previously home to prisons, asylums, and sewage treatment plants, this surprisingly diverse ensemble of islands has existed on the urban fringe over the last four centuries. Pavla Šimková reinterprets the Boston Harbor Islands as an urban archipelago, arguing that they have been an integral part of Boston since colonial days. Drawing on archival sources, historic maps and photographs, and diaries from island residents, she attests that the harbor islands’ story is central to understanding the ways in which Boston has both shaped and been shaped by its environment over time. Please note, this is a hybrid event that may be attended either in person at the MHS or virtually on the video conference platform Zoom. Registrants will receive a confirmation message with attendance information. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
DECEMBER
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TUESDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Pauline Maier Early American History Seminar
Crisis: 1774-1775 Sarah Beth Gable, Brandeis University Comment by Donald Johnson, North Dakota State University This project explores the role of the Committees in Massachusetts communities during the American Revolution, particularly the role they played in punishing community dissent and compelling ideological allegiance to the Revolutionary cause. This chapter highlights these committees’ activities in the aftermath of the passage of the Massachusetts Government Act in May 1774 and argues that this period served as a training ground for later reprisals against community members. During this period, Massachusetts saw the most dramatic actions against suspected loyalists—the committees deployed mobs to suspected loyalists’ homes, detained Colonial officials, and drove others out of the towns into Boston. This paper argues that the heightened tension of the moment created an atmosphere of suspicion and conspiracy under which the definition of loyalism began to broaden.
DECEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
DECEMBER
To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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DECEMBER
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TUESDAY |
6:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
Writing History with H. W. Brands: Book Talk and Extended Q&A Moderated by Ryan Woods, American Ancestors/ New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Catherine Allgor, MHS A ticket of $50 includes the Zoom meeting link and a signed and personalized book sent in time for holiday giving! In this intimate Zoom meeting, the best-selling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist will share an illustrated presentation with insights on his research and craft of writing history, join in a discussion, and answer your questions about his inspirations, research, and process behind writing his new book and other celebrated works of American history. In a fresh and dramatic recasting of the American Revolution, H. W. Brands reveals how the war was not simply a conflict between the American colonists and British redcoats. It was also a violent battle among neighbors, friends, and family members, affecting Ben Franklin and his relationship with his son; George Washington’s standing at the apex of Virginia society; and the lives and friendships of royal governors such as Thomas Hutchinson. Native Americans and the enslaved had daunting choices to make, as civil war broke out around them. Those committing sedition were ultimately remembered as heroes and Founding Fathers. Don’t miss this informative and inspiring literary event, which comes with a signed and personalized copy of Our First Civil War. Please purchase tickets to this online event at www.americanancestors.org.
DECEMBER
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WEDNESDAY |
5:30 | HYBRID PROGRAM
Grand Duke Alexis in Boston Lee Farrow, Auburn University One hundred and fifty years ago, in the autumn of 1871, Alexis Romanov, the fourth son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, set sail for an extended journey through the United States and Canada. Alexis in America centers on the first Russian royal ever to visit the United States, recounting the duke’s progress through the major American cities, detailing his meetings with celebrated figures such as Samuel Morse and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and describing the national selfreflection that his presence spurred in the American people. Alexis visited Niagara Falls, participated in a bison hunt with Buffalo Bill Cody, and attended the Krewe of Rex’s first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. He also spent six 10
M AY 2 , 2 0 2 2 featuring
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON in conversation with
JARED BOWEN, GBH honorary chairs Gover nor Charlie Baker & First Lady Lauren Baker H e n r y L o u i s G a t e s J r. Attorney General Maura Healey R e n é F. J o n e s & B r i g i d D o h e r t y
John Codman Ropes Award p r e s e n t e d b y D i a n e & D e va l Pa t r i c k
DECEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
RESCHEDULED!
Hon. Levin H. Campbell Huber t E. Jones musical tribute Boston Children’s Chorus attend
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days in Boston, where he stayed at the Revere House, and visited City Hall, the Old State House, and the Massachusetts Historical Society. He attended performances at the Boston Music Hall and was the guest of honor at a ball at the Boston Theatre. Please note, this is a hybrid event that may be attended either in person at the MHS or virtually on the video conference platform Zoom. Registrants will receive a confirmation message with attendance information. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
DECEMBER
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THURSDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Digital History Seminar
Digitizing Early Massachusetts Court Records Sally Hadden, University of Western Michigan Comment by Jessica Otis, George Mason University, and Susanna Blumenthal, University of Minnesota. Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature records represent one of the fullest collections of colonial court documents in North America, covering the entirety of the eighteenth century. This seminar explores the process of transcribing, annotating, and presenting this information via Mirador, the browser-based interface that gives the end user control over how much or how little information to display. The database used to capture annotations and make them searchable using complex queries will also be described. This project is underwritten by the Ames Foundation and the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
DECEMBER
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MONDAY |
5:30 | HYBRID PROGRAM
The Transcendentalists and Their World Robert Gross, University of Connecticut, in conversation with Catherine Allgor, MHS Bancroft Prize–winning author Robert Gross presents a fresh view of the Transcendentalists, thinkers whose impact on philosophy and literature would spread from Concord, Mass, to all corners of the earth. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the Alcotts lived in Concord, but the town was no pastoral idyll fit for poets and philosophers. The small, ordered society founded by Puritans and defended by Minutemen was dramatically unsettled by capitalism, democracy, and integration into the wider world. The Transcendentalists and Their World 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. Please note, this is a hybrid event that may be attended either in person at the MHS or virtually on the video conference platform Zoom. Registrants will receive a confirmation message with attendance information. Please register at www.masshist.org/events. 12
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TUESDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
History of Women, Gender & Sexuality Seminar
“The Kind of Death, Natural or Violent”: Fetal Death and the Male Midwife in Nineteenth-Century Boston Hannah Smith, University of Minnesota Comment by Nora Doyle, Salem College This dissertation chapter examines a lecture by Boston man-midwife Walter Channing. The lecture was meant to offer his (male) midwifery students the skills to serve as expert witnesses in infanticide trials. However, Channing also used the lecture to promote his opinions of both infanticide and intentional abortion. This chapter focuses on the language Channing used to frame these acts, as well as the nature of the lecture itself as a form of communication, in order to establish how this lecture fits within the broader discussions around infanticide, abortion, and man-midwifery taking place in the AngloAtlantic world at this time. To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events. DECEMBER
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THURSDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Environmental History Seminar
Local Food Before Locavores: Growing Vegetables in the Boston Market Garden District, 1870–1930 Sally McMurry, Pennsylvania State University Comment by Andrew Robichaud, Boston University The Boston market garden district was a national leader in vegetable production from 1870 to 1930. Suburban market gardeners’ practices both countered and anticipated broader trends in the US food system. For example, intercropping (though long-known) stood well outside the US agro-ecological mainstream. Boston growers also developed the modern forcing house, an engineered greenhouse environment dependent on fossil fuels, irrigation, and commodified insect pollinators. Year-round lettuce from these houses helped prepare the way for consumers to embrace a de-seasonalized, nationalized vegetable supply. This agro-environmental episode shows how the history of local food complicates our narratives about US food system modernization.
DECEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
DECEMBER
To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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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. January Tuesday, January 11, at 5:15 PM: Pauline Maier Early American History Seminar, Four Seceding from the Sachemship: Coercion, Ethnology, and Colonial Failure in Early Historic New England, with Peter Jakob Olsen-Harbich, The New American Antiquarian, and comment by Linford Fisher, Brown University. Wednesday, January 12, at 5:30 PM: Useful Objects: Museums, Science, and Literature in Nineteenth-Century America, with Reed Gochberg, Harvard University, and moderated by Katy Morris, Assistant Director of Reasearch and Executive Producer, MHS. Thursday, January 13, at 6:00 PM: Film Club: Glory, with Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai, Director of Research, MHS, and Kevin Levin. Tuesday, January 18, at 5:15 PM: The History of Women, Gender & Sexuality Seminar, The Emergence of the Marriage Market, with Lindsay Keiter, Pennsylvania State University– Altoona, comment by Ellen Hartigan-O’Connor, University of California–Davis. Wednesday, January 19, at 5:30 PM: Exploring American Healthcare through 50 Historic Treasures, with Tegan Kehoe, Russell Museum of Medical History and Innovation at MGH. Tuesday, January 25, at 5:15 PM: Environmental History Seminar, Earthquakes in New England, 1600–1800: Extraordinary Natural Events and Timekeeping Practices in Early America with Katrin Kleeman, German Maritime Museum–Leibniz Institute for Maritime History, comment by Lukas Rieppel, Brown University. Wednesday, January 26, at 5:30 PM: Lost on the Freedom Trail: The National Park Service and Urban Renewal in Postwar Boston, with Seth Bruggeman, Temple University, joined by other experts TBA. Thursday, January 27, at 5:15 PM: African American History Seminar, In the Shadow of World War: Revisiting W. E. B. Dubois’s Black Reconstruction, with Chad Williams, Brandeis University, and comment by Adriane Letz-Smith, Duke University.
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Tuesday, February 1, at 5:15 PM: Pauline Maier Early American History Seminar, The American Funding, with Katie Moore, University of California, Santa Barbara; Ann Daly, Mississippi State University; comment by Simon Middleton, The College of William & Mary. Monday, February 7, at 5:30 PM: Peter J. Gomes Memorial Book Prize Ceremony, with Abram Van Engen, Washington State University–St. Louis, and Adrian Weimer, Providence College. Tuesday, February 8, at 5:30: Poor Richard’s Women: Deborah Read Franklin and the Other Women Behind the Founding Father, with Nancy Stewart. Wednesday, February 9, at 5:30 PM: Challenging Assumptions in Telling Underrepresented History, with Cynthia Cowan, Historic Newton; Stacen Goldman, Framingham History Center; Barbara Brown, Hidden Brookline, and Kyera Singleton, Royall House & Slave Quarters. Thursday, February 10, at 6:00 PM: Film Club: Amistad, with Sara Martin, current Editor In Chief of the Adams Papers, MHS; and Jim Taylor, former Editor In Chief of the Adams Papers, MHS. Thursday, February 17, at 5:30 PM: “’Twas Not Long Since I Left My Native Shore”: Phillis Wheatley’s Celestial Cartography, with William Decker, Oklahoma State University. Tuesday, February 22, at 5:15 PM: Dina G. Malgeri Modern American Society & Culture Seminar, Back on the Clock: Labor Control in the Cold War Military’s New Workforce, with A. Junn Murphy, Brandeis University, and comment TBA. Wednesday, February 23, at 5:30 PM: The Combat Zone: Murder, Race, and Boston’s Struggle for Justice, with Jan Brogan. Thursday, February 24, at 5:15 PM: New England Biography Series, Talking Headstones: What Biographers Learn from Visiting Their Subject’s Graves, with Julie Dubrow, Tufts University; Natalie Dykstra, Hope College; and Megan Marshall, Emerson College. Monday, February 28, at 5:30 PM: The First Kennedys: The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty, with Neal Thompson.
A LOOK AHEAD WINTER PROGRAMS
February
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