Public Programs and Special Events

The first use of anesthesia. The first phone call. The first venture capital firm. The first same sex marriage. Massachusetts is home to more world changing innovations than almost anywhere else on the planet. Why has Boston been the key center of social and technological innovations? Can it maintain this momentum? What can community and business leaders and local governments do to nurture the factors that promote innovation? Local innovators, investors and influencers share their insights and perspectives on the history and future of innovation in this region.

When we think of love and passion, New England Puritans rarely come to mind. But that’s not what their writings reveal – on the contrary. “Love was their banqueting house, love was their wine,” John Winthrop wrote to his wife Margaret. Join us in a discussion of Puritan writings to discover just how fervently they loved in marriage and in faith. 

John Quincy Adams was the last of his kind—a Puritan from the age of the Founders who despised party and compromise, yet dedicated himself to politics and government. He was a brilliant ambassador and secretary of state, a frustrated president at a historic turning point in American politics, and a dedicated congressman who literally died in office—at the age of 80, in the House of Representatives, in the midst of an impassioned political debate. Adams’ numerous achievements—and equally numerous failures—stand as testaments to his unwavering moral convictions. John Quincy Adams tells the story of this brilliant, flinty, and unyielding man whose life exemplified political courage.

Kyle Jenks, a James Madison reenactor, will discuss Elbridge Gerry’s criticism of the Constitution.

Boston has been ambitious and innovative in thinking about transportation, we were the first American city to build a subway and the Big Dig was the largest urban infrastructure project in American history. Today, the metro area boasts one of the highest percentages of commuters that use public transit in the nation and the population is growing. However, despite this groundbreaking history and widespread use, public transportation in Boston is facing serious challenges. Brian Shortsleeve, the Chief Administrator for the MBTA, will discuss the steps the T is taking to control expenses while providing improved service. He will be joined by James Rooney and Chris Osgood for a discussion of the history of the MBTA, how the current situation came to be, and what we can expect in the future.

The use of ether as an anesthetic may have been the greatest innovation American has given the world, its first use in surgery and the revolution it produced will be explained by Peter Drummey.

As we approach an election that promises far reaching ramifications, we will look back at previous periods of tumult in American democracy. We find ourselves in a volatile moment in which globalization and the rise of the information economy have created great wealth but have also swept out the financial underpinnings of working class communities. A portion of the population feels unmoored and this coupled with a rise of nativist sentiment, violence between police and the public, and inflammatory political rhetoric has been testing our democracy.

Following a reception, a panel discussion will explore the legacies of four previous presidential elections and the question of what this history suggests for our country’s current trajectory. Our panelists, led by Ted Widmer, will discuss the election of 1860, which took place as the country approached disunion; the election of 1928 on the heels of the first Red Scare; the election of 1952 in the midst of McCarthyism; and the election of 1968, which was marred by assassinations, protests, and war.

Panelists:

• Carol Bundy, author
• Michael A. Cohen, Boston Globe columnist and author
• Lisa McGirr, Professor of History, Harvard University
• James T. Patterson, Ford Foundation Professor of History emeritus, Brown University
• Ted Widmer, Senior Fellow, Watson Institute, Brown University

There is a pre-talk reception at 5:30 pm. The panel discussion will begin at 6:00 pm.

The rapid rise of industrialization and immigration during the 19th century greatly affected American society, especially in major cities such as Boston. Faced with the prospect of an unskilled or semi-skilled work force, many reform leaders sought out ways to provide the craft training that could benefit the well-being of the individual and society at large. In the 1870s, after 200 years of academic instruction, the Trustees of the Eliot School decided to explore more experimental modes of education to meet the new needs of its community. The School provided manual arts training for students of many backgrounds—from young boys and girls, to upper and middle class hobbyists, to immigrants seeking vocational education. Gadsden will place the efforts of the Eliot School in a larger context, exploring how the School related to rise of manual arts training and the advent of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Borne by the same ideas that founded Spiritualism in the nineteenth century, spirit photographs are joint-portraits achieved posthumously, without use of a corpse, wherein the bereaved are visually united with the deceased. These enchanted mementos are said to have been ‘invented’ in 1861, in Boston, Massachusetts, by William H. Mumler. Spirit photographers typically worked with individuals who claimed mediumistic qualities in order to enable the appearance of the magical ‘extras’ of the deceased. The majority of mediums were women and the contributions of women to the production of spirit photography have been often limited to such enabling activities. Felicity Hamer argues for a more foundational placement of women within the narrative of personal mourning rituals.

Photo: Mrs. Helen F. Stuart, Woman at Table with Male Spirit, c. 1865. William L.Clements Library, University of Michigan 

 America's First Ladies are iconic examples of such indispensable leadership qualities as resilience, courage, focus, and agility. Author, historian, and national speaker Jacqueline Berger goes behind the scenes with pictures and stories that bring history to life and uncover this remarkable "sorority of women." Discover the real lives of ordinary women—wives, mothers, and daughters—who lived extraordinary lives both inside the White House and out. 

Every four years, millions of Americans find themselves asking why they choose their presidents through the peculiar mechanism called the Electoral College―an arcane institution that narrows election campaigns to swing states and can permit the loser of the popular vote to become president. The Electoral College has had critics since the early nineteenth century, and over the years Congress has considered hundreds of constitutional amendments aimed at transforming the electoral system. Alex Keyssar traces the origins of the Electoral College as a much wrangled-over compromise among delegates to the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention who had no previous experience with electing a chief executive.

Maypoles and mayhem marked the unruly reign of Thomas Morton, the obstreperous neighbor of the Puritan New England colonies.  Led by E.J. Barnes, this discussion will explore her comic story of Morton’s conflict with Massachusetts and Plimoth in Colonial Comics: New England, 1620-1750.  We will also read and discuss Morton’s own witty and perceptive account of life in early New England, New English Canaan.

Wendy Warren’s New England Bound reclaims the lives of long-forgotten enslaved Africans and Native Americans in the seventeenth century. Based on new evidence, Warren links the growth of the northern colonies to the Atlantic slave trade, demonstrating how New England’s economy derived its vitality from the profusion of slave-trading ships coursing through its ports. Warren documents how Indians were systematically sold into slavery in the West Indies and reveals how colonial families like the Winthrop’s were motivated not only by religious freedom but also by their slave-trading investments.

Of all the founding fathers, Ryerson argues, John Adams may have worried the most about the problem of social jealousy and political conflict in the new republic. Ryerson explains how these concerns, coupled with Adams’s concept of executive authority and his fear of aristocracy, deeply influenced his political mindset. How, Adams asked, could a self-governing country counter the natural power and influence of wealthy elites and their friends in government? Ryerson argues that he came to believe a strong executive could hold at bay the aristocratic forces that posed the most serious dangers to a republican society.

Join us for a fun and festive fundraising event that will feature portraits of founding fathers and other luminaries who shaped American’s Revolutionary period from the collections of the MHS. Enjoy a reception, peruse fabulous works of art, and learn about the artists and the people they portrayed. 

Tickets are $125 per person.

The Newburg Address as a turning point in American history is discussed, ensuring civilian control of the government.

Most American universities that were founded before the Civil War profited from slavery. Some schools endowments were started with the help of family fortunes made from the slave economy while other colleges owned and sold people to bolster their financial position. Both before and after the Civil War, defenders of slavery and advocates of the inferiority of non-white peoples made their intellectual homes in American universities, even as they used these same sites to develop important arguments about the blessings of democracy. These complicated legacies are being critically reviewed and debated at institutions of higher education across the country. As Brown University's Committee on Slavery and Justice put it, "How do we reconcile those elements of our past that are gracious and honorable with those that provoke grief and horror?" And, critically, what role can a deeper understanding of history play in informing these conversations? Our program will explore these questions with two people actively engaged in the dialog.