Organization

Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land: Boston Abolitionists, 1831-1865

Presented by Massachusetts Historical Society

February 22-May 24, 2013

In the decades leading up to the Civil War, Boston became a center of the national antislavery movement, and in 1831 William Lloyd Garrison, "all on fire" for the cause, began publication of The Liberator, the country's leading abolitionist newspaper. There was strong resistance to the radical movement not only in the slaveholding...

Sounds of the Civil War

Presented by Massachusetts Historical Society at Massachusetts Historical Society

May 29, 2013

Sing along with the Boston Saxophone Quartet as we explore the music of the Civil War era. This program will feature familiar tunes from the 1860s that were sung around the parlor piano, as well as songs written specifically for the newest instrument of the era: the saxophone. The evening will include musical performances and historical...

Curator’s Choice: Moors' Powderhorn

Presented by Massachusetts Historical Society at Massachusetts Historical Society

June 14, 2013

J.L. Bell will discuss the provenance, history, and people connected with one of the fascinating items featured in our current exhibition, The Object of History: Ephraim Moors's powder horn.

Carvings on the horn include a crude drawing of the Continental Army encampment on Winter Hill, five grenadiers, a mansion house, and the head of a...

“The Tender Heart & Brave”: The Politics & Friendship of Charles Sumner & Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Presented by Massachusetts Historical Society at Massachusetts Historical Society

May 16, 2013

How did a fiery abolitionist senator and a genteel poet come together as the closest of friends? Presented as a dramatic reading of actual historic documents - including letters, journals, poetry, and speeches - this program will highlight the deep personal relationship shared between abolitionist politician Charles Sumner and poet Henry...

New Perspectives on Jefferson's Monticello: House, Landscape, and Family

Presented by Massachusetts Historical Society at Massachusetts Historical Society

May 8, 2013

Susan R. Stein, Richard Gilder Senior Curator and Vice President for Museum Programs at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, will describe the recent restoration and interpretive efforts taking place across the site. She will elaborate on recent discoveries about the work spaces beneath the house, public rooms, and upper floors, as well as current...

Defiant Brides of the American Revolution

Presented by Massachusetts Historical Society at Massachusetts Historical Society

April 10, 2013

How did the marriages to Benedict Arnold and Henry Knox change the lives and personal development of their brides, Peggy Shippen and Lucy Knox? Award-winning author and journalist Nancy Rubin Stuart will reveal the contradictory paths these two young women followed subsequent to their passionate marriages to patriotic men during the American...

Writing with Scissors: 19th-Century Activists & Their Scrapbooks

Presented by Massachusetts Historical Society at Massachusetts Historical Society

March 27, 2013

Men and women 150 years ago grappled with information overload by making scrapbooks—the ancestors of Google and blogging. Mark Twain and Susan B. Anthony, abolitionists and Confederates, African American janitors and farm women cut out and pasted down their readings for various purposes. Professor Ellen Gruber Garvey, New Jersey City...

The Most Memorable Day in the History of America

Presented by Massachusetts Historical Society at Massachusetts Historical Society

July 2, 2012

In this gallery talk, Massachusetts Historical Society Librarian Peter Drummey will explain why John Adams believed July 2, 1776 would be the most memorable day in the history of America. Talks will take place in the Society's new exhibition, which features letters and documents relating to this important moment in United States history.