Stay engaged with the MHS this year!
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“BECAUSE the demand for the ballot is made by only a small minority of women and the majority of women do not want it.
BECAUSE woman suffrage has always added greatly to the percentage of stay-at-home voters—the greatest possible menace to government—and increased the cost of government without any counterbalancing good.
BECAUSE the basis of government is physical force. It isn’t law, but law enforcement, that protects society, and the physical power to enforce the law is neither possible nor desirable for women.”
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Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Victory Parade: Instructions for Marchers
In 1879, Massachusetts passed a law allowing women to vote for school committee members, a seemingly radical act in a culture where, according to suffragist Harriet Robinson, “it was thought to be a rash and dreadful act for a woman to appear at the polls, or near the ballot box, in company with the MEN.” Suffrage activists protested that the measure was insultingly limited and, because of poll taxes, discriminated against poor women who were unable to pay for the privilege. They continued to campaign for full suffrage rights and by 1915 the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association claimed over 58,000 members.
On 16 October 1915, the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association held a parade and rally in support of a ballot measure that would have amended the Massachusetts Constitution to grant women the right to vote. This broadsheet contains instructions for marchers participating in the parade and, on the reverse, songs to be sung during the parade and at the rally held immediately following.
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Listen Now to The Object of History Podcast
Listen to episode 8, “The Ledger Art of Ft. Marion” This episode examines the sketches produced by Comanche, Kiowa, and Cheyenne men imprisoned at Fort Marion, Florida, in the 1870s. They were interned for nearly three years in an effort by the US military to combat further Indigenous resistance, as part of its campaigns against the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Arapaho, and Comanche Nations in the Red River War. The prisoners, including Making Medicine, Bear’s Heart, and Howling Woolf, produced a collection of artworks during their internment, documenting their memories and experiences.
Listen to it on the MHS website here, or wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.
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Call for Seminar Papers!
The MHS invites proposals (500 words) and CVs from researchers interested in presenting in our six seminar series in the 2022–2023 season. Seminars involve discussion of precirculated works in progress, especially article or chapter-length papers (20–40 pages) that the author submits approximately three weeks before the program.
Sessions may take place virtually, in person, or in a hybrid format conditions depending. In your proposal, please indicate which series you are applying to, when your paper will be available for distribution, and your preference (fall or spring) based on when the seminar’s feedback would be helpful to you. Please advise us of any special scheduling conditions, such as planning a trip to Boston or dates when you cannot make a presentation. The steering committee will consider all proposals for the session slots, and their authors will be notified by early summer. Learn more.
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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.
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The Translations of Our Bodies, Ourselves: Comparing Feminist Self-Help Handbooks in the 1970s West Germany and the United States
On Tuesday, 15 March, at 5:15 PM, Claudia Roesch, German Historical Institute, presents The Translations of Our Bodies, Ourselves: Comparing Feminist Self-Help Handbooks in the 1970s West Germany and the United States, with comment by Jennifer Nelson, University of Redlands, a History of Women, Gender & Sexuality Seminar. This is an online seminar.
This paper investigates the transnational history of the feminist self-help handbook Our Bodies, Ourselves in the 1970s and 1980s. It follows sociologist Kathy Davis’s approach of investigating feminism as an epistemological project and examines from a history of knowledge perspective how concepts of feminist self-help travelled across the Atlantic. By taking the chapters on birth control as case studies, this paper will compare the German adaptions and translations of Our Bodies, Ourselves to the American versions and examine how different themes evolved regarding the handbooks’ position towards scientific knowledge, physicians as experts and the pharmaceutical industry.
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Film Club: Little Women
On Wednesday, 16 March, at 6:00 PM, Jan Turnquist, Executive Director of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, and Heather Rockwood, MHS, present Film Club: Little Women. This is an online event.
Join Jan Turnquist, Executive Director of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, and Heather Rockwood, MHS, as we discuss 2019’s Little Women, starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, and more. It is the seventh film adaptation of the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott, chronicling the lives of the March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy—in Concord, Massachusetts, during the 19th century. Watch the film at home and discuss your thoughts with us! Little Women is available through Hulu, Amazon Video, Google Video, Starz, HBO Max, and other streaming sites.
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George Washington’s Hair: How Early Americans Remembered the Founding Fathers
Mostly hidden from public view, scores of putative locks of George Washington’s hair are held, more than two centuries after his death, in the collections of America’s historical societies, public and academic archives, and museums. Excavating the origins of these bodily artifacts, Keith Beutler uncovers a forgotten strand of early American memory practices and emerging patriotic identity, as exemplified by the craze for collecting locks of Washington’s hair. As Beutler recounts, ordinary Americans successfully enlisted memory practices rooted in the physical to demand a place in the body politic, powerfully contributing to antebellum political democratization.
The series is presented hybrid style, both in-person and virtual, be sure to register for which way you will attend. The in-person reception starts at 5:30 PM, the program begins at 6:00 PM. $10 per person fee for in-person event, no charge for online attendance, MHS Members or EBT cardholders.
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The MHS offers both virtual and hybrid programs. For hybrid events, please be sure to register which way you you will attend. Visit www.masshist.org/events for updates, cancellations, and to register.
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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.
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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.
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Interested in Viewing Past Programs?
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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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