“
I hope, I may find not so much stimulus in the active scenes of life, as to lose all enjoyment in those that are passive.
”
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Featured Item from the MHS Collection
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Alexander Hamilton wrote this letter to Theodore Sedgwick just hours before meeting Aaron Burr on the dueling grounds in Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton never mentions his deadly assignation, nor suggests in any way that this could be his final letter. Instead, Hamilton briefly informs Sedgwick, a Massachusetts judge and fellow Federalist, of his distaste of his distaste for politics and his negative views of current talk regarding the secession of the New England states and democracy in general. Hamilton writes: "... our real Disease ... is Democracy, the poison of which by a subdivision will only be the more concentrated in each part, and consequently the more virulent."
Read more about the letter
.
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In the past 30 years, more Oscar-winning films have been set in Boston than any other American city except New York and Los Angeles. Why? Though a small city, Boston plays a large role in the American consciousness. Many of the films set in Boston depict a white, working-class, Irish Catholic community that is often rocked by violence or crime. Yet, today, Boston has the third-highest cost of living in the US and is the epicenter of biotechnology and venture capital. So why is the city's gritty image so resonant nationally and what is left out? Hosted in partnership with The Brattle Theater and Emerson College, this series will explore the evolution of this film genre; examine films about Boston that offer a different image; and look at the future of film in Boston. The
first program
will take place on Thursday, 9 July.
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On
Thursday, 9 July, at 5:30 PM
, Ty Burr,
Boston Globe
, Robert Allison, Suffolk University, and others present
Boston in Film: From Eddie Coyle to Manchester by the Sea
.
The 1973 film The Friends of Eddie Coyle was not a box office smash but it became a cult classic and was particularly popular among filmmakers and film critics. The movie may have been the first to depict Boston as a working-class and violent city but it certainly was not the last. With Academy Award-winning films including
The Departed
,
Mystic River
,
Goodwill Hunting
,
and
Manchester by the Sea
, one might say there is a gritty Boston genre. Our discussion will explore what these films say about Boston and what the city represents nationally. This is the first in a series of three conversations in partnership with The Brattle Theater and Emerson College.
Register for the online program
.
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On
Thursday, 23 July, at 5:30 PM
, Ned Hinkle,
Jim Vrabel,
Brattle Film Foundation, and more present
Boston in Film: Beyond the Oscars.
This is the second in a series of three conversations in partnership with The Brattle Theater and Emerson College.
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Share Your COVID-19 Experience(s)
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The MHS invites you to contribute your COVID-19 experience(s) to our collection. Record your experiences on a daily, weekly, or intermittent basis. You can contribute your thoughts and images online. Visit our
COVID-19 web display
to learn more and to share your thoughts. Or, you can keep a journal and donate it to the MHS. Contact
collections@masshist.org
for more information.
Thank you to everyone who has shared so far. If you have not yet done so or would like to contribute again, please visit:
www.masshist.org/projects/covid/index.php
.
You can also read what others have shared.
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Our Members are the heart of the MHS community and an integral part of the MHS story. Become a Member to help make possible the Society’s mission to promote the study of American history. Receive benefits including invitations to enhanced Member-only events; free or discounted admission to special programs; and access to publications such as our calendar of events, newsletter, and Annual Report. Learn more at
www.masshist.org/support/members
.
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