DECEMBER 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: Scene in Winter Street, Boston, During the Late Snow Storm, engraving by W. J. Peirce, 1854.
RSVP Information
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December Programs at a Glance
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December Program Descriptions
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DECEMBER 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.
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.
EVENTS, AUTHOR TALKS, & SERIES For more information or to register for an online program, 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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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.
All programs will take place online unless otherwise noted.
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TUESDAY |
5:15 PM | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Caribbean Connections—A Panel Discussion Charlotte Carrington-Farmer, Roger Williams University, and Casey Schmitt, Cornell University
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WEDNESDAY |
6:00 PM | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
MHS Holiday Celebration: An Evening of Light & Inspiration Jonathan Sarna, Brandeis University, and Stewart McLaurin, White House Historical Association
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THURSDAY |
Comment: Ryan Quintana, Wellesley College
Erie Excitement: The Confederacy’s Plans to Release Prisoners on the Great Lake Cassy Jane Werking, University of Kentucky
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MONDAY |
THURSDAY |
5:15 PM | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
Emancipation in America, Seen Through One Man’s Dreadlocks Abigail Cooper, Brandeis University Comment: Kellie Carter Jackson, Wellesley College This seminar is rescheduled from Spring 2020.
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MONDAY |
5:30 PM | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
Bank Notes & Shinplasters: The Rage for Paper Money in the Early Republic Joshua R. Greenberg
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TUESDAY |
5:15 PM | VIRTUAL SEMINAR
“To Make Her Own Bargains with Boats:” Gender, Labor, & Freedom in the Western Steamboat World Alisha Hines, Wake Forest University Comment: Tiya Miles, Harvard University
12:00 PM | VIRTUAL BROWN-BAG
5:30 PM | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
They Knew They Were Pilgrims: Plymouth Colony & the Contest for American Liberty John G. Turner, George Mason University
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WEDNESDAY |
5:30 PM | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
Cross of Snow: A Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Nicholas A. Basbanes
DECEMBER PROGRAMS AT A GLANCE
December
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VIRTUAL EXHIBITION
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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Image: “A National Game That Is Played Out,” by Thomas Nast, Harper’s Weekly, December 23, 1876, p. 1044.
DECEMBER
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TUESDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL PAULINE MAIER EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY SEMINAR
Caribbean Connections—A Panel Discussion Charlotte Carrington-Farmer, Roger Williams University, and Casey Schmitt, Cornell University Comment: Ryan Quintana, Wellesley College This panel brings together the work of two historians investigating the Caribbean. Casey Schmitt’s paper explores the intersection of warfare and human trafficking in the 17th century. Unmet demand for enslaved labor in smaller markets coupled with nearconstant warfare among major European powers in the region reinforced practices of raiding and captivity. Schmitt’s paper shows how the lure of seizing captives facilitated manning expeditions during wartime and demonstrates the centrality of violence against enslaved communities to 17th-century warfare. Carrington-Farmer’s paper explores how 18th-century New Englanders diversified their thriving equine breeding and exportation business in an effort to meet an increasing demand for mules in the West Indies. Whilst New England’s foray into mule breeding never reached the success of its horse enterprises, the lengths that farmers and merchants went to start a breeding program demonstrates how wider Atlantic markets drove New England’s economy. 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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THURSDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY SEMINAR
Emancipation in America, Seen Through One Man’s Dreadlocks Abigail Cooper, Brandeis University Comment: Kellie Carter Jackson, Wellesley College
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. All programs are virtual unless otherwise noted.
In 1864 a ship leaves its New England port carrying a USCT regiment to fight Confederates on the Louisiana front. But on the way, a showdown takes place when Pvt. John Green refuses his commanding officer’s order to cut his hair, protesting that it was contrary to his religion. In the events that follow, a revealing picture of black self-assertion in the making of freedom emerges, one too often hidden by a Civil War master narrative. This paper tells John Green’s story and asks how we might look at emancipation differently when we view it through his dreadlocks. 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. 7
VIRTUAL EXHIBITION
Thomas Nast a Life in Cartoons
Explore Thomas Nast’s remarkable impact through a cartoon biography created by local artists. The Boston Comics Roundtable, a community of comics creators, collaborated on a series of cartoons depicting important moments in Nast’s life and career.
Explore the virtual exhibition at
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Image: “A National Game That Is Played Out,” by Thomas Nast, Harper’s Weekly, December 23, 1876, p. 1044.
MONDAY |
5:30 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
Bank Notes & Shinplasters: The Rage for Paper Money in the Early Republic Joshua R. Greenberg Before Civil War greenbacks and a national bank network established a uniform federal currency in the United States, loosely regulated banks saturated the early American republic with upwards of 10,000 unique and legal bank notes. Joshua R. Greenberg shows how ordinary Americans accumulated and wielded the financial knowledge required to navigate interpersonal bank note transactions. He argues that the shift from state-regulated banks and private shinplaster producers to federally authorized paper money in the Civil War era led to the erasure of the skill, knowledge, and lived experience with banking that informed debates over economic policy. To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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TUESDAY |
5:15 | VIRTUAL HISTORY OF WOMEN, GENDER, & SEXUALITY SEMINAR
“To Make Her Own Bargains with Boats:� Gender, Labor, & Freedom in the Western Steamboat World Alisha Hines, Wake Forest University Comment: Tiya Miles, Harvard University Free and enslaved Black women have been rendered nearly invisible in the historical and popular imagination of the antebellum steamboat world. This essay examines how enslaved and free Black women negotiated power and place in this environment that was fraught with danger, but also brimming with opportunity. Hines argues that Black women who were unmoored from plantation landscapes by way of the western rivers trouble prevailing tropes of gendered mobility and immobility that pervade scholarship on slavery in the United States. 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.
DECEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
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WEDNESDAY |
6:00 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
MHS Holiday Celebration: An Evening of Light & Inspiration Jonathan Sarna, Brandeis University, and Stewart McLaurin, White House Historical Association Lights and gatherings are an especially meaningful symbol of hope, celebration, warmth, and remembrance for many at this time of year. In this historic presidential election year, be inspired by an exploration of how the holidays come alive at the White House. Dr. Jonathan Sarna, the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, will discuss the tradition of Hanukkah celebrations at the White House. Stewart McLaurin, President of the White House Historical Association, will discuss the 2020 White House Christmas ornament commemorating President John F. Kennedy, Jr. As an added bonus, the 2020 White House ornament will be available to purchase at a discount from December 1 to 10. Details will be sent with event registration confirmation. To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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THURSDAY |
12:00 | VIRTUAL BROWN-BAG
Erie Excitement: The Confederacy’s Plans to Release Prisoners on the Great Lake Cassy Jane Werking, University of Kentucky When the Confederacy faced mounting military setbacks from 1864 to the end of the war, the Confederate government worked to advance the boundaries of warfare far beyond the South—and even beyond the United States. Lake Erie appealed to the Confederacy because the Union prison Johnson’s Island was located there and housed Confederate officers. There were plots planned and carried out by the Confederacy to release prisoners and use them as the force needed to attack the Union from the opposite direction— the North. To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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MHS HOLIDAY CELEBRATION Wednesday, December 9, 2020 | 6:00 pm Lights and gatherings are an especially meaningful symbol of hope, celebration, warmth, and remembrance for many at this time of year. In this historic presidential election year, be inspired through an exploration of how the holidays come alive at the White House.
DECEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
An Evening of Light & Inspiration
All are welcome to join us for this FREE virtual event! Visit www.masshist.org/events to register.
Image: U.S. Army LTC Rabbi Shmuel Felzenberg lights the Menorah during a Hanukkah reception Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead.)
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MONDAY |
5:30 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
They Knew They Were Pilgrims: Plymouth Colony & the Contest for American Liberty John G. Turner, George Mason University Americans have been telling two very different stories about the Pilgrims. One is the tale of brave religious refugees who established Thanksgiving and democracy in the New England wilderness. The other is the story of unscrupulous invaders who betrayed their Indian allies, stole their land, and went to war against them. John G. Turner narrates a more complex history in They Knew They Were Pilgrims, tracing the contested meanings of liberty—and slavery—in the seven-decade history of Plymouth Colony. To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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WEDNESDAY |
5:30 | VIRTUAL PROGRAM
Cross of Snow: A Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Nicholas A. Basbanes In Cross of Snow, Nicholas Basbanes reveals the life, the times, the work—the soul—of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a man who shaped the literature of a new nation with his countless poems, sonnets, stories, essays, translations, and whose renown was so widereaching that his deep friendships included Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Julia Ward Howe, and Charles Sumner. Highlighting research materials from the MHS archive, Basbanes will frame Longfellow’s life and work in the context of 19th-century literary Boston. To reserve: This is an online program. Please register at www.masshist.org/events.
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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.
DECEMBER PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
Beyond broadcast
wgbh.org/beyondbroadcast
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Clockwise from top left: Winter’s Day, Newbury Street by Curtis Rosser, [19--]; Sarah Gooll Putnam diary, volume 2, page 97; View of John Kieran pushing Mrs. Leverett Saltonstall and Gov. Leverett Saltonstall pushing Joe Cronin, Red Sox player. Photograph by Arthur Griffin, 1941. From the Leverett Saltonstall Photographs, Photo. 230.6545. © Arthur Griffin courtesy of Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA.; Bertha Louise Cogswell drawing book, volume 5, page 15, circa 1876-1880; Muddy River, the Fens, Boston, by Anthony Thieme, circa 1940; Public Garden entrance, circa 1930s. From Photographic Views, Massachusetts—Boston—Public Garden.