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I hope you'll never construe my absence as the Effect of Unmindfullness or Neglect. So far from that is the case that 10,000 objects around me serve to recall yr. agreable Person to my Mind. The glorious Spring brings on the Smiling Year and present to my mind the perpetual Smiles of yr. Face. The gentle Winds that blow & the Zephyrs that breathe on the new blown Flowers, paint forth the calmness of yr. Mind where a 1000 Virtues reside in perfect Serenity, but the Spring in all her Glory & the Pomp of her luxuriant Beauty is but a faint resemblance of the excellencys I admire in you. For the Spring can boast its glory but a few short days wn. its bloom & Verdure must wither & decay & its Beauty be entirely forgotten, but Freindship & Love Only know perpetual Spring.
Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 31 March5 April 1776

Abigail Adams wrote her most celebrated letter in the spring of 1776 to her husband John, then attending the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. In this letter, Abigail urges John to “Remember the ladies” and protect women’s rights in the new American government. John was in the midst of formulating his ideas about the types of governments to be organized in the former colonies and in April published his essay Thoughts on Government. In Massachusetts, the British evacuation of Boston on 17 March freed American minds to contemplate America’s relations with foreign powers, form of government, slavery, and the status of women.

John replied “No,” but he used the moment to flirt with his wife:
“But your Letter was the first Intimation that another Tribe more numerous and powerfull than all the rest were grown discontented.—This is rather too coarse a Compliment but you are so saucy, I wont blot it out. Depend upon it, We know better than to repeal our Masculine systems. Altho they are in full Force, you know they are little more than Theory. We dare not exert our Power in its full Latitude. We are obliged to go fair, and softly, and in Practice you know We are the subjects. We have only the Name of Masters, and rather than give up this, which would compleatly subject Us to the Despotism of the Peticoat, I hope General Washington, and all our brave Heroes would fight.” Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 14 April 1776.

National History Day Call for Judges!

MHS is looking for 60 judges for the upcoming state competition, and this time it will be IN PERSON! The NHD Mass state competition will take place on Saturday, 9 April 2022, from 8:00 AM‒2:00 PM at Winchester High School, 80 Skillings Road, Winchester, MA 01890.

To sign up, please visit www.ma.nhd.org and create a judge profile, where you will indicate your preferences.

A few notes on being a judge:

  • We are returning to the in-person schedule: Paper and Website judges will receive their projects to review in advance, while Performances, Documentaries, and Exhibits will review their projects on the day of the competition.

  • Judges will arrive on Saturday morning for orientation and afterward attend interviews with students and review their projects for several hours. After lunch, judge teams will meet to rank the projects and write their feedback forms.

  • Teacher judges will be able to earn 10 PDPs for professional development by participating.

  • New to judging? Check out the Judges tab on our registration website for more information about the NHD project, judging, COVID-19 protocols, and contest day!

Please let the NHD team in Mass know if you have any questions, and thank you again for being part of the amazing NHD community here in Massachusetts—this program could not happen without you! 
Events in March will be a mix of virtual or hybrid, with a choice of in-person or virtual attendance. Please be sure to register in the way you plan to attend.
Would It Play in Peoria?: Digital Data & Mass Culture in Progressive America

On Tuesday, 22 March, at 5:15 PM, Samuel Backer, Johns Hopkins University, presents Would It Play in Peoria?: Digital Data & Mass Culture in Progressive America, with comment by Derek Miller, Harvard University, a Digital History Seminar. This is an online seminar.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the United States saw a massive expansion of popular entertainment. Scholars have long pointed to the importance of this burgeoning industry, linking its products to the changing racial dynamics, gender relations, and structures of consumption that defined the Progressive Era. However, research has struggled with the sheer size of the phenomenon under description. Despite the ready availability of evidence documenting the evolution of such forms, researchers have lacked the ability to analyze trends at scale. Using computational techniques and data mining to reconstruct the touring patterns of American Vaudeville, this project examines the interaction between local demand and centralized decision-making that structured the early years of mass entertainment in the United States. In doing so, it considers the potential of the digital humanities to generate new possibilities for cultural history and the history of capitalism.

Reflecting on Repercussions of COVID-19: Cultural Institutions

On Thursday, 24 March, at 6:00 PM, Matthew Teitelbaum, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Vikki Spruill, CEO of the New England Aquarium; and Catherine Allgor, President of the MHS, present Reflecting on Repercussions of COVID-19: Cultural Institutions. This is a hybrid event.

Cultural organizations have faced unique challenges during the last two years of the pandemic. Income from admissions disappeared as organizations closed their doors. Adapting to online offerings created unseen challenges and didn’t replace the income from visitors. Some institutions were forced to lay off staff, losing institutional memory, and faced a historically difficult labor market as they reopened. Join us as the heads of the New England Aquarium, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Massachusetts Historical Society reflect on the difficulties experienced by cultural institutions of varying sizes and purposes throughout COVID-19.

In person $10 fee, virtual $5 fee, no charge for MHS Members or EBT Cardholders.


The MHS offers both virtual and hybrid programs. For hybrid events, please be sure to register which way you will attend. Visit www.masshist.org/events for updates, cancellations, and to register.
On Tuesday, 29 March, at 5:15 PM, Chana Lee, Harvard University, presents Medical Racism & Political Death: The Case of Juliette Derricote, with comment by Kate Clifford Larson, Brandeis University WSRC Scholar, a Malgeri Modern American Society & Culture Seminar. This is a virtual seminar.

On Wednesday, 30 March, at 6:00 PM, Marylou Sudders, Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services; Dr. Paul Biddinger, Director of the Center for Disaster Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, advisor to Governor Charlie Baker, and leader of the Vaccine Advisory Board; and Dr. Sandra Bliss Nelson, doctor in the Infectious Diseases Division at Massachusetts General Hospital, and lead doctor on Governor Charlie Baker’s school reopening panel, present Reflecting on Repercussions of COVID-19: Policy Makers & Policy Advisors. This is a hybrid event.

On Wednesday, 6 April, at 6:00 PM, Mary Bilder, Boston College Law School, presents Female Genius: Eliza Harriot & George Washington at the Dawn of the New Constitution. This is a hybrid event.

On Thursday, 7 April, at 5:15 PM, Michael Jirik, Carleton College, presents Black Abolitionists & the Meaning of Higher Learning, with comment by Craig Steven Wilder, MIT, an African American History Seminar. This is a hybrid event.

On Monday, 11 April, at 6:00 PM, Nicholas Guyatt, University of Cambridge, presents The Hated Cage: An American Tragedy in Britain’s Most Terrifying Prison. This is a hybrid event.

On Tuesday, 12 April, at 5:15 PM, Elizabeth Hameeteman, Boston University, presents Pipe Dreams: The Pursuit of Desalination & the Promise of a Water-Abundant Future in the 1950s & 1960s, with comment by Megan Black, MIT, an Environmental History Seminar. This is a virtual event.

On Wednesday, 13 April, at 6:00 PM, Samuel Foreman, MD, presents Ill-Fated Frontier: Peril & Possibilities in the Early American West. This is a hybrid event.

On Thursday, 14 April, at 5:15 PM, David Ferrara, University of Alabama, presents Queer Abby: Newspaper Advice Columnists as Allies for Gays & Lesbians, 1960–1980, with comment by Lauren Gutterman, University of Texas at Austin, a History of Women, Gender & Sexuality Seminar. This is a virtual event.

On Wednesday, 20 April, at 6:00 PM, Barbara Gannon, University of Central Florida, presents 54th Unmarked Dead in Olustee, Florida. This is a hybrid event.

On Thursday, 21 April, at 6:00 PM, John Demos presents Narrative History, in conversation with Catherine Allgor, MHS. This is a hybrid event.


On Tuesday, 26 April, at 5:15 PM, Michael Glass, Boston College, presents A Decent Home: The 1950s Suburban Boom in Long Island, with comment by Rebecca K. Marchiel, University of Mississippi, a Malgeri Modern American Society & Culture Seminar. This is a hybrid event.

On Wednesday, 27 April, at 6:00 PM, Jim Vrabel, and Susan Wilson present Film Club: The Bostonians. This is a virtual event.

On Thursday, 28 April, at 5:15 PM, Edward Miller & Bryan Winston, Dartmouth College, present The Dartmouth Digital History Initiative: Digital Humanities, Data Visualization & Oral History Archives, with comment by Janneken Smucker, West Chester University, a L. Dennis Shapiro and Susan R. Shapiro Digital History Seminar. This is a hybrid event.

On Thursday, 28 April, at 6:00 PM, Michael Liu, Author of Forever Struggle: Activism, Identity and Survival in Bostons Chinatown; David Moy, Hyams Foundation; Lydia Lowe, Chinatown Community Land Trust; and Carolyn Chou, Asian American Resource Workshop, present Confronting Economic Injustice: The Story of Parcel C, moderated by Margaret Woo, Northeastern University School of Law. This is a virtual event.

Purchase Your Tickets Today!

Join us on Monday, 2 May, at 6:00 PM (5:30 PM Sponsor Reception) for cocktails, dinner, entertainment, and speakers at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, with Heather Cox Richardson and GBH’s Jared Bowen.

Learn more and purchase tickets at www.masshist.org/gala.
Interested in Viewing Past Programs?
If you missed a program or would like to revisit the material presented, please visit www.masshist.org/video or our YouTube channel. A selection of past programs is just a click away.
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