By Dan Hinchen

The Society is CLOSED on Monday, September 5, in observance of Labor Day.

We return from a long holiday weekend to a steadily increasing flow of events through the month and into October as seminar season resumes. Here’s what’s happening this week:

– Wednesday, 7 September, 12:00PM : Join us for a Brown Bag lunch talk with Chris Staysniak of Boston College. “To Serve and Grow: Catholic and Protestant Youth Volunteering in America, 1934-1973” explores the development of youth volunteering in the United States in the twentieth century and shows how the development of the volunteer was always as important as the actual servcie work he or she provided. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Thursday, 8 September, 5:00PM : In “The Past Has a Future,” Jonathan Fanton, President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, takes up the recurring challenges in the relationship between historians and the public. In so doing, he looks toward a better future for the disipline from the perspective of a leading learned society tha tbridges the humanities, the sciences, and the public good. This talk is open to the public, free of charge, though registration is required. A pre-talk reception begins at 4:30PM and the event begins at 5:00PM. 

Please note, the library closes at 4:15PM on Thursday, 8 September, in preparation for the evening’s event. The library remains closed on Friday, 9 September. Normal hours resume on Saturday, 10 September.

– Saturday, 10 September, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute, docent-led walk through the public spaces at the Society. This tour is free and open to the public with no reservations needed for individuals or small groups. Larger parties (8 or more) should contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley in advance at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org. 

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.

By Dan Hinchen

There are no public programs or events scheduled this week. Keep an eye on our Online Calendar of Events to see what is coming in the fall and for library/building closures. 

Please note that the library is CLOSED on Saturday, September 3, but the galleries remain open. The Society is CLOSED on Monday, September 5, for Labor Day. 

By Dan Hinchen

It’s another quiet week at the MHS as far as programs go. Here is what lies ahead:

– Wednesday, 24 August, 12:00PM : Join us for a Brown Bag lunch talk with Kenyon Gradert of Washington University in St. Louis as he presents “The Puritan Imagination in Antislavery New England.” Gradert’s talk will exlpore why antebellum Americans reached for the Puritans in the fight against slavery and why this matters for scholarship of American history and culture. 

– Saturdya, 27 August, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society Tour is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.

By Dan Hinchen

As August begins its slow descent into September it is pretty quiet at the Society. This week we have only a Brown Bag lunch and a tour:

– Wednesday, 17 August, 12:00PM : This week’s Brown Bag talk is given by Jonathan Lande of Brown University. “Disciplining Freedom: Union Army Slave Rebels and Emancipation in the Civil War Courts-Martial” offers a new interpretation of the history of black Union soldiers by placing the troops’ service in the context of slave-soldiers’ service and emancipation throughout the Atlantic, reexamining the political structure involved in arming slaves and the experiences of soldiers serving in the U.S. Colored Troops. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Saturday, 20 August, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led walk through the public spaces of the Society’s building on Boylston St. The tour is free and open to the public with no need for reservations for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more, please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley in advance at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you are here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.  

By Dan Hinchen

It is a quiet week ahead here at the Society, as far as programs are concerned:

– Tuesday, 9 August – Thursday, 11 August : SOLD OUT “The Maritime History of Massachusetts’ North Shore” explores Massachusetts’ connections to the sea through documents, artifacts, landscapes, and historic structures in Beverly, Gloucester, and Marblehead, including a tour of Gloucester’s working waterfront. This program is open to educators and history enthusiasts but is sold out. If you would like to be placed on a waiting list, please call 617-646-0557.

– Saturday. 13 August, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led tour through the public spaces in the Society’s historic building at 1154 Boylston St. The tour is free and open to the public with no need for reservations from individuals or small groups. Larger parties (8 or more) should contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley in advance at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org. 

Remember that our exhibition galleries are open Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM, free of charge. So come on in and check out our current exhibition, Turning Points in American History!

By Dan Hinchen

It’s August and it’s high time that you dropped by the MHS to get out of the heat and enjoy some history. Here is what we have on tap in the week ahead:

– Monday, 1 August, 12:00PM : We start the month with a Brown Bag lunch talk presented by Cassandra Berman of Brandeis University. “Motherhood and the Court of Public Opinion: Transgressive Maternity in America, 1768-1868” examines the figure of the transgressive mother in the United States during a period in which an indealized version of motherhood began to be seen as integral to the moral development of the nation. Berman’s research shifts the focus away from ideals and instead examines how the public judges those mother who either could not or would not conform. This talk is free and open to the public, so pack a lunch and come on in!

– Wedensday, 3 August, 12:00PM : Another Brown Bag! With “‘Missionary Nation’: Imagining America’s Role in the Post-Civil War World,” James Shinn of Yale  University examines how the struggle for the Union exercised a powervul and lasting–but deeply ambiguous–influence on the Republican foreign policy vision of the late 1860s and 1870s. This talk, also, is free and open to the public. 

– Thursday, 4 August – Friday, 5 August :  “Whaling in Nineteenth-Century Massachusetts” is a teacher workshop taking place here at the Society and at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Using documents from the MHS and the Leventhal Map Center, the workshop explores the lives of sailors, whaling wives, and entrepreneurs, and traces the expanding geographical horizons afforded by the whaling industry. This program is open to educators and history enthusiasts. To register, or for more information, complete this registration form, or contact the education department ateducation@masshist.org or 617-646-0557. 

– Saturday, 6 August, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.

By Dan Hinchen

The library is hopping lately at the Society, while things are a bit quieter in terms of programs. Here is what is on the calendar this week:

– Tuesday, 26 July: “Women in the Era of the American Revolution” is a three-day teacher workshop taking place here at the MHS, that is open to educators and history enthusiasts. However, this workshops is SOLD OUT. If you would like to be placed on a waiting list, please call 617-646-0557.

– Friday, 29 July, 2:00PM : “Augustus Saint-Gaudens Civil War Monuments” is a survey of the life and work of the influential sculptor, focusing on his heroic, yet compassionate 1887 “Abraham Lincoln: The Man” (or Standing Lincoln) as representative of his method, art, and time. This talk by Jack Curtis will give students an appreciation of Saint-Gaudens’ pioneering integration of architecture, landscape design, and monumental sculpture. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Saturday, 30 July, 8:30AM : We end the week with another teacher workshop. Civil War Seminar is led by Joseph Fornier of the Rochester Institute of Technology and explores three themes: how the Union and the Confederacy justified secession and war; the idea of emancipation as a revolutionary form of war; and Lincoln’s proposals for reconstruction of the United States as the Civil War came to an end in 1865. This program is open to all K-12 educators and is co-sponsored by the Ashbrook Institute at Ashland University, with assistance from the Lincoln and Therese Filene Foundation. Contact education@masshist.org or 617-646-0557 for more information. 

By Dan Hinchen

It’s a fairly quiet week-to-come at the Society. Here are the programs we have on tap:

– Wednesday, 20 July, 12:00PM : Stop by for a Brown Bag talk given by Craig Bruce Smith of William Woods University. “Atlantic Abolitionism and National Reputation: The Intersection of Ethics and Policy in the United States and Britain” frames the British movement to end slavery as a conscious effort to assert the country’s reputation and moral superiority over the United States in the aftermath of the Revolution. It advances that American abolitionism, in turn, became a direct response to the British challenge. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Thursday, 21 July, 6:00PM : Boston Historical. The MHS is pleased to invite the public and representatives of local historical organizations for a change to mingle and share recent accomplishments or the great projects they are working on. Registration is required for this event at no cost. 

– Saturday, 23 July, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.

By Dan Hinchen

The busy summer research season is in full swing here at the Society. If you don’t want to come in and use the reading room, though, here are some public programs you can take in this week:

– Tuesday, 12 July – Thursday, 14 July : Teaching Three Centuries of History through MHS Collections is a three-day teacher workshop taking place here at the MHS. Participants will engage with items in the collections, learn from guest historians, and investigate different methods for using primary sources in the classroom. Educators in grades 5-12 are welcome to apply. For more information, including application instructions, contact education@masshist.org or call 617-646-0557. 

– Wednesday, 13 July, 12:00PM : Join us for a Brown Bag talk titled “The Great Peace of 1670 and the Forgotten Corner of the Iroquios Confederacy’s Eastern Door.” Evan Haefeli of Texas A&M University examines the origins of the treaty int he war against the Iroquois and the previously overlooked alliance between the Hudson Valley and New England Algonquians int he 1660s. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Wednesday, 13 July, 6:00PM : Author Larry Tye peels away layers of myth and misconception to paint a complete portrait of a singularly fascinating figure in Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon. Come in on Wednesday evening for a talk with the author. This event is open to the public, though registration is required with a fee of $20 (no charge for MHS Fellows or Members). A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM and the talk commences at 6:00PM. 

– Saturday, 16 July, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.

By Dan Hinchen

Please note that the Society is CLOSED on Monday, 4 July, in observance of Independence Day. Normal hours resume on Tuesday, 5 July. 

We’re back after a long holiday weekend and we’re ready to give you some more public programs! Here is what we have lined up this week:

– Wednesday, 6 July, 12:00PM : Join us for a Brown Bag lunch talk with David Faflik of the University of Rhode Island. The talk is titled “Passing Transcendental: Harvard, Heresy, and the Modern American Origins of Unbelief.” The project examines the idea of the transcendentalists of Boston in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s, as “infidels” in their day. Faflik also asks if the alternative faith that they articulated constituted not just a kind of unorthodoxy, but of outright unbelief. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Wednesday, 6 July, 6:00PM : Bone Rooms: From Scientific Racism to Human Prehistory in Museums is an author talk featuring Samuel Redman of UMASS – Amherst. Redman unearths the story of how human remains became highly sought-after artifacts for both scientific research and public display. This talk is open to the public with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Members and Fellows). A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM and the talk begins at 6:00PM. 

– Saturday, 9 July, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Turning Points in American History.