Here is a look at what is happening at the MHS this week:

On Tuesday, 14 May, at 6:00 PM: Boston Women Designers: Then & Now with Mikyoung Kim, Tamara Roy, Regan Shields Ives, Justine Orlando, and moderator Catherine Allgor. Join us for a conversation with women working in architecture, design, and planning. They will explore social and political landscapes for women designers in Boston today and when they got started, some challenges they overcame to get to where they are today, how Boston compares with other cities on the topic of gender equity, and if Boston is receptive to women in leadership roles. A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30 PM; the speaking program begins at 6:00 PM. There is a $10 per person fee (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members or EBT cardholders).

On Wednesday, 15 May, at 12:00 PM: Beyond the Boundaries of Childhood: Black Children’s Cultural & Political Resistance with Crystal Webster, University of Texas at San Antonio. This talk examines the lives of African American children in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston during the late-18^th to early-20^th centuries by focusing on Black children’s labor, play, and schooling. It argues that northern Black children intersected shifting constructions of race and childhood, as a group upon which society experimented with treatments of the newly recognized social category of the child, and came to terms with the social and economic place of the nascent free Black community. This is part of our brown-bag lunch program. Brown-bags are free and open to the public.

On Thursday, 16 May, at 6:00 PM: Fenway Fans with Richard Flavin, Bill Nowlin, and Larry Ruttman. Red Sox poet laureate Dick Flavin, author Bill Nowlin, and chronicler of Red Sox history Larry Ruttman will gather to share stories and reminisce about some of the highs and lows in the thousands of Red Sox games they have attended. With the joy of winning the World Series fresh in our memory, these stalwart fans and prolific scribes will tell of behind-the-scenes moments not often heard. And, perhaps a mystery guest will be there! Bring your own story to tell. A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30 PM; the speaking program begins at 6:00 PM. There is a $10 per person fee (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members or EBT cardholders).

On Saturday, 18 May at 10:00 AM: The History & Collections of the MHS. This is a 90-minute docent-led walk through of our public rooms. The tour is free and open to the public. 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.

“Can She Do It?”: Massachusetts Debates a Woman’s Right to Vote is open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Featuring dynamic imagery from the collection of the MHS, the exhibition illustrates the passion on each side of the suffrage question. For over a century, Americans debated whether women should vote. The materials on display demonstrate the arguments made by suffragists and their opponents. While women at the polls may seem unremarkable today, these contentious campaigns formed the foundations for modern debates about gender and politics.

Take a look at our calendar page for information about upcoming programs.

Here’s a look at what is planned at the MHS this week:

On Monday, 6 May, at 2:00 PM: Abigail Adams: Nature & Nurture. “The Earth is putting on a new Suit,” Abigail Adams wrote, savoring the arrival of spring amid the tumult of national politics in 1800. Tending her kitchen garden and nurturing the new republic with equal care, Abigail delighted in learning about the natural landscape and sharing that knowledge with her family and friends. Join an Adams Papers editor for an in-depth look at the pop-up display.

On Tuesday, 7 May, at 5:15 PM: The Struggle for Revolutionary Settlement with Eliga Gould, University of New Hampshire; Katherine Grandjean, Wellesley College; Stephen Marini, Wellesley College; Brendan McConville, Boston University, and moderator Alan Rogers, Boston College. In the ten years after the American victory at Yorktown in 1781, the nation faced myriad problems and challenges. This panel examines how the revolutionary generation confronted issues of diplomacy, governance and economic growth, and how the legacies of warfare and political convulsion shaped spiritual and social behaviors in those troubled years. This is part of the Boston Area Seminar on Early American History series. Seminars are free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, 8 May, at 12:00 PM: Odor & Power in the Americas: Olfactory Racism & the Atlantic World with Andrew Kettler, University of Toronto. This talk shows that capitalism incentivized discourses of African pungency applied by intellectuals throughout the Atlantic World to justify racial dominance. Born of English literature, and agitated during the late Enlightenment, the idea that African bodies smelled perpetuates into modernity as a discourse of embodied racism. This is part of the Brown-bag lunch program. Brown-bags are free and open to the public.

On Thursday, 9 May, at 6:00 PM: Massachusetts in World War I with Theodore Sedgwick. On February 24, 1919, Pres. Woodrow Wilson arrived in Boston after completing the negotiations of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. He was met by a thunderous crowd; the Boston Evening Globe wrote “it seemed that every noise-making instrument in Boston had been set in motion.” The Yankee Division of the Massachusetts National Guard had been one of the first U.S. units deployed in the war. Bay State residents were some of the most active in the war, both on the front lines and in shipyards outfitting navy ships; however, somehow the Great War is often forgotten. This program will explore the history of Massachusetts in WWI as well as why the forgotten war should be remembered.  A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30 PM; the speaking program begins at 6:00 PM. There is a $10 per person fee (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members or EBT cardholders).

On Saturday, 11 May, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM: “Shall the Tail Wag the Dog?” The Fight For & Against Women’s Suffrage. Massachusetts citizens played a central role in the suffrage movement; Worcester hosted the first national woman’s rights convention in 1850 and Bostonians, led by Lucy Stone, headed a national suffrage organization and edited a long-running woman’s rights newspaper. In response to these influential reformers, activists formed the first anti-suffrage organizations in Massachusetts as well. Drawing on MHS collections and our new suffrage exhibition, we will explore letters, newspapers, political cartoons, visual propaganda, and other sources that illuminate the history and motivations of women on both sides of the campaign for the vote. This workshop is open to all K-12 educators. Teachers can earn 22.5 Professional Development Points or 1 graduate credit (for an additional fee). There is a $25 per person registration fee. For questions, please contact Kate Melchior at kmelchior@masshist.org or 617-646-0588.

“Can She Do It?”: Massachusetts Debates a Woman’s Right to Vote is open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Featuring dynamic imagery from the collection of the MHS, the exhibition illustrates the passion on each side of the suffrage question. For over a century, Americans debated whether women should vote. The materials on display demonstrate the arguments made by suffragists and their opponents. While women at the polls may seem unremarkable today, these contentious campaigns formed the foundations for modern debates about gender and politics.

Take a look at our calendar page for information about upcoming programs.

“Can She Do It?”: Massachusetts Debates a Woman’s Right to Vote is now open at the MHS and we are starting off the week with a talk by the show’s guest curator Allison Lange, Wentworth Institute of Technology. A brown-bag lunch program on Wednesday followed by a tour, a workshop, and a talk on Saturday round out the week. Here’s a look at what is planned:

On Monday, 29 April at 6:00 PM: Visual Culture of Suffrage with Allison Lange, Wentworth Institute of Technology. As we have seen from the portraits of women selected to appear on the new ten-dollar bill to the posters featuring suffragists carried at the 2017 Women’s March, the visual culture of the suffrage movement still makes news today. Allison Lange will speak about the ways that women’s rights activists and their opponents used images to define gender and power throughout the suffrage movement. This program is a part of ArtWeek. A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30 PM; the speaking program begins at 6:00 PM. 

On Wednesday, 1 May at 12:00 PM: Shinbone & Beefsteak: Meat, Science, & the Labor Question with Molly S. Laas, University of Göttingen Medical School. Could better nutrition help shore up U.S. democracy in an era of mass inequality? This talk explores the early years of nutrition science in the late nineteenth century by examining the science’s use as a tool for cultural and political change. By looking at how scientists understood the relationship between wages, the cost of living, and better nutrition, this paper will shed light on the political life of scientific ideas. This is part of the Brown-bag lunch program. Brown-bags are free and open to the public.

On Saturday, 4 May at 10:00 AM: The History & Collections of the MHS. This is a 90-minute docent-led walk through of our public rooms. The tour is free and open to the public. 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.

On Saturday, 4 May from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM: Preserving Family Papers with MHS staff. Do you have boxes full of family papers and photographs sitting in your closet, basement, or attic? Are you wondering how to best preserve those precious memories for generations to come? Let the experts at the MHS teach you simple steps you can take to preserve your paper-based materials. This workshop concludes with a behind-the-scenes tour including our conservation lab and library stacks. Please note that registration for this workshop is now full.

On Saturday, 4 May at 4:30 PM: The Problem of Democracy: The Presidents Adams Confront the Cult of Personality with Nancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein. John and John Quincy Adams were brilliant, prickly politicians and arguably the most independently minded among leaders of the founding generation. Distrustful of blind allegiance to a political party, they brought skepticism of a brand-new system of government to the country’s first 50 years. Join Isenberg and Burstein as they boldly recast the historical role of the Adamses and reflect on how father and son understood the inherent weaknesses in American democracy. A pre-talk reception begins at 4:00 PM; the speaking program begins at 4:30 PM. There is a $10 per person fee (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members or EBT cardholders).

“Can She Do It?”: Massachusetts Debates a Woman’s Right to Vote is open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Featuring dynamic imagery from the collection of the MHS, the exhibition illustrates the passion on each side of the suffrage question. For over a century, Americans debated whether women should vote. The materials on display demonstrate the arguments made by suffragists and their opponents. While women at the polls may seem unremarkable today, these contentious campaigns formed the foundations for modern debates about gender and politics.

Take a look at our calendar page for information about upcoming programs.

Here’s a look at the programs we have planned for this week:

On Monday, 22 April at 10:00 AM: Celebrating National History Day in Massachusetts at the State House. The MHS, the state sponsor of National History Day in Massachusetts, invites legislators, teachers, and the general public to learn more about the National History Day (NHD) program and its important impact on students across the Commonwealth. NHD is a year-long interdisciplinary program focused on historical research, interpretation, and creative expression for students in grades 6-12. Over 5,000 students participate across Massachusetts each year, honing 21st-century skills like writing, research, and critical thinking that prepare them for active citizenship and success in college and career. We are grateful for the support of our partners, The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Mass Cultural Council, and Mass Humanities. There will be a brief speaking program featuring student participants from NHD, followed by light refreshments. The event is free and open to the public! Location: Massachusetts State House (Grand Staircase), 24 Beacon Street, Boston.

On Tuesday, 23 April at 5:15 PM: Boston’s North End: Post-World War II Italian Immigration, Segmented Assimilation, & the “Problem of Cornerville” with James Pasto, Boston University, and comment by Marilynn Johnson, Boston College. This paper examines the dynamics and impact of Italian immigration in the North End via the lens of segmented assimilation. Depending on age, gender, parental style, and opportunity, some immigrants assimilated “downward” into the Italian American street culture of the neighborhood, becoming more susceptible to the drug abuse and violence of the ‘70s and ‘80s, while others assimilated “upward” into a new Italian identity tied to the North End’s gentrification as an Italian neighborhood. This is part of the Boston Seminar on Modern American Society and Culture series. Seminars are free and open to the public.

On Thursday, 25 April at 6:00 PM: “Can She Do It?” Massachusetts Debates a Woman’s Right to Vote: Sneak Preview Reception. MHS Fellows and Members are invited to the sneak preview reception for “Can She Do It?” The exhibition explores the activism and debate around women’s suffrage in Massachusetts. Featuring items from the MHS collection, it illustrates in dynamic imagery the passion that surrounded both sides of the suffrage question. Special thanks to our exhibition sponsor M&T Bank. This event is open only to MHS Fellows and Members and space is limited. Become a Member today!

Opening at the MHS on 26 April: “Can She Do It?” Massachusetts Debates a Woman’s Right to Vote
Commemorating 100 years since Massachusetts ratified the 19th Amendment, this exhibition explores the activism and debate around women’s suffrage in Massachusetts. Featuring dynamic imagery from the collection of the MHS, “Can She Do It?”  illustrates the passion on each side of the suffrage question. The exhibition will be open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM through 21 September.

Special thanks to our exhibition sponsor

On Saturday, 27 April, at 10:00 AM: The History & Collections of the MHS. This is a 90-minute docent-led walk through of our public rooms. The tour is free and open to the public. 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.

Please note that the reading room will close at 3:30 PM on Thursday, 25 April. Take a look at our calendar page for information about upcoming programs.

Please note that the MHS is closed on Monday, 15 April. Here is a look at the programs planned for this week:

On Tuesday, 16 April, at 5:30 PM: The Long 19th Amendment with Corinne Field, University of Virginia; Katherine Turk, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and moderator Susan Ware, Schlesinger Library. With popular and scholarly attention focusing on the August 2020 centennial of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, this session will explore “the long Nineteenth Amendment” stretching from the woman’s suffrage movement to second-wave feminism and beyond, with an eye toward continuities, challenges, and unfinished business. This is part of the Boston Seminar on the History of Women, Gender, & Sexuality series. Seminars are free and open to the public. 

On Wednesday, 17 April, at 6:00 PM: The City-State of Boston: The Rise & Fall of an Atlantic Power, 1630–1865 with Mark Peterson, Yale University. In the vaunted annals of America’s founding, Boston has long been held up as an exemplary “city upon a hill” and the “cradle of liberty” for an independent United States. Wresting this iconic urban center from these misleading, tired clichés, Mark Peterson highlights Boston’s overlooked past as an autonomous city-state, and in doing so, offers a path-breaking and brilliant new history of early America. A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30 PM; the speaking program begins at 6:00 PM. There is a $10 per person fee (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members or EBT cardholders).

On Thursday, 18 April, at 5:15 PM: Historians & Ethics: The Case of Anne Moody with Francoise Hamlin, Brown University, and comment by Chad Williams, Brandeis University. In the process of conducting research for her book project, Hamlin encountered an ethical conundrum regarding the papers of Anne Moody, author of the iconic autobiography, Coming of Age in Mississippi. This paper explores this case in depth and probes how historians should record the lives of those who might not have wanted to be found. This is part of the Boston Seminar on African American History series. Seminars are free and open to the public.

Opening at the MHS on 26 April: “Can She Do It?” Massachusetts Debates a Woman’s Right to Vote
Commemorating 100 years since Massachusetts ratified the 19th Amendment, this exhibition explores the activism and debate around women’s suffrage in Massachusetts. Featuring dynamic imagery from the collection of the MHS, “Can She Do It?”  illustrates the passion on each side of the suffrage question. The exhibition will be open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM through 21 September.