Stay engaged with the MHS this year!
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“A perfect Memory exists not...a Memory retentive of every Idea that ever was in the Mind. Nor is the Man who has the strongest Memory always the fittest to make a Will. For the observation is very common that Men of the strongest Memories have not always the soundest Judgments.”
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Last Horse-Drawn Street Car in Boston
This 1917 photograph depicts the last horse-drawn street car in Boston. The first line of horse-drawn street cars began operation on 26 March 1856. The street car pictured here is from the Back Bay line, operating on Boylston, Dartmouth, and Marlborough Streets. Handwriting on the back of the photograph identifies the scene: “Boston/Horse car/ The last in Boston/Dartmouth Street/ near Old South Church/ Give by (?)/ May 5, 1917.”
By the 1880s the streets of Boston had become clogged with traffic, and street-car horses were injured frequently while carrying their heavy loads. These street cars dominated Boston’s public transportation for 40 years until the first electric street car opened in 1888 and quickly became more popular. In 1897, Boston introduced the first subway system in the United States with underground tracks running from Park Street to Tremont Street, and from Boylston Street to Park Street.
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This Week is Members Week
Members-Only Exhibition Hours
MHS Members are invited to preview the new presentation of Our Favorite Things. The exhibition will be open to Members Monday, and Wednesday through Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:45 PM; Tuesday, from 10:00 AM to 7:45 PM; and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
Featured Member Week Event
Join us online for our featured Member Week event. On 19 May, at 6:00 PM, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and historian Annette Gordon-Reed presents Writing On Juneteenth. The event is FREE for Members. Be sure to register!
Members who visit the MHS during Member Week will be gifted a copy of Gordon-Reed’s book, On Juneteenth.
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The Object of History Podcast
Listen to episode 10, “The Letter of Phillis Wheatley.” In this episode, experts examine a group of letters written by the poet Phillis Wheatley to her friend Obour Tanner. These documents offer a window into the relationship of two young Black women during the period of the American Revolution. In Wheatley’s letters to Tanner, we catch a glimpse of their spiritual lives, their joint efforts to publish Wheatley’s poetry volumes, and the support they provided one another in their lives of hardship.
Listen to episode 10 here on the MHS website, or wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.
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Contact Your Mass State Senators in Support of National History Day in Mass
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National History Day (NHD) in Massachusetts, MHS’s hallmark educational program, equips young people with tools for taking action to improve local communities.
To demonstrate to legislators that NHD is a vital program for Massachusetts students, we need your help!
Thanks to your advocacy this past April, we were able to triple the number of co-sponsors of our House amendment over that of last year, but unfortunately, we were not included in the FY23 House budget. We need the support of the Senate to be included in the FY23 budget, so your advocacy now is more important than ever!
Check out our NHD advocacy page for everything you’ll need to be an advocate, including contact information for your senator and suggested scripts for your phone calls, emails, or social media posts.
Contact us at nhd@masshist.org with any questions. Thank you so much for showing your support for NHD!
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Making History Gala
With your generous support, we raised almost $400,000 for “Living Civics” and the students who benefit directly from participating in National History Day research programs!
There is still a chance to help tip us over our goal by making a tribute donation to one of the honorees, the Hon. Levin H. Campbell or Hubert E. (Hubie) Jones, or in support of civic education HERE. Thank you for making this a banner year for the Making History Gala!
To see more images go HERE. Keep checking back to the link, more pictures will be posted! Stay tuned for an edited Gala video to enjoy the program virtually.
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May events will be virtual. June events will be a mix of virtual and hybrid. Please be sure to register which way you will attend.
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Writing On Juneteenth
On Thursday, 19 May, at 6:00 PM, Annette Gordon-Reed presents, Writing On Juneteenth, in conversation with Catherine Allgor.
Every Member who visits the MHS during this week, 16 to 21 May, will receive a copy of On Juneteenth, by Annette Gordon-Reed.
Annette Gordon-Reed will speak with Catherine Allgor about her process of writing On Juneteenth. Listed as one of the 10 Best Books of 2021 by the New York Times, the book weaves together American history, dramatic family chronicles, and searing memories from the author’s life. The book provides a historian’s view of the country’s long road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and the enormous hardships that African Americans have endured in the century since. While critically acclaimed, the release of On Juneteenth overlapped with a significant increase in partisan attacks on the teaching of history and, highlighting the divisions that still exist in America, became a target of criticism in some media outlets.
This is a virtual event. $20 per person fee, free for Members and EBT Cardholders.
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On Thursday, 26 May, at 6:00 PM, Paul Lee, Retired Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP; Phil Tajitsu Nash, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Representative Tram Nguyen; and moderated by the Honorable Catherine Ham, Associate Justice, Massachusetts Superior Court, present Confronting Racial Injustice: Rising Asian American Voices, with prerecorded remarks by Mayor Michelle Wu. This is a virtual event.
On Monday, 6 June, at 6:00 PM, Danny Harris, Elite’s Gay Club; Jackson Davidow, Tufts University; Georden West, Emerson College; and Indee Mitchell, co-director, Last Call, present Hidden in Plain Sight: Remembering Queer Nightlife. This is a hybrid event.
On Saturday, 11 June, at 2:00 PM, Anthea Hartig, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History; Louise Mirrer, New York Historical Society; and Catherine Allgor, MHS, present Annual Fiori Lecture: Old Institutions, New Things. This is a hybrid event.
On Monday, 20 June, at 6:00 PM, Robert Gross, University of Connecticut; John Brooke, Ohio State University; David Waldstreicher, City University of New York; and Christine Heyrman, University of Delaware, present Reflecting on the Work of Robert Gross. This is a hybrid event.
2022 Conrad E. Wright Conference
From 14 to 16 July, Underrepresented Voices of the American Revolution. Registration now open!
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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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Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:45 PM
Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Please note that the last admission for exhibition visitors will be 45 minutes prior to closing.
An advanced appointment is strongly encouraged for all researchers. Please visit our Appointment Request Form to select your preferred visit dates.
Please check our calendar for hours and closings due to holidays and other events.
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