Stay engaged with the MHS this year! |
|
“Marli is the most curious and beautifull Place I have yet seen. The Water Works here, which convey such a great Body of Water from the Seine to Versailles, and through the Gardens at Marli, are very magnificent. The Royal Palace here is handsome, the Gardens before it are grand. There are six Pavillions on each Side of the Garden, that is six Houses, for the Use of the Kings Ministers, while the Royal Family is at Marli, which is only for 3 Weeks. There is nothing prettier than the Play of the Fountains in the Garden. I saw a Rainbeau in all its Glory in one of them.
The Shades, the Walks, the Trees, are the most charming, that I have seen.”
|
|
Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book
Thomas Jefferson kept excellent records about his gardens at Monticello and Shadwell. The volume called the Garden Book spans the years 1766 to 1824 and contains information about the varieties of fruits and vegetables grown at the properties, sowing locations, harvesting dates, and notations about soil and weather conditions. The excerpts below are from 1771.
“Mar. 6.
sowed a patch of peas after steeping them in water 24. hours. (note the seed came from J. Bolling’s)
rain snow & hail with an Easterly wind for 4. days.
cleared up cold with a North West wind...
May. 8.
eat peas at Barclay in Charles-City.
eat strawberries at Docr. Rickman’s
the greatest flood ever known in Virginia.
peas of Mar. 6. come to table.”
Note that Jefferson’s entries are not every day, but only when he has something of note to record, such as the peas sowed on March 6 and eaten on May 8! His notes about where he procured seeds are also interesting information that could be helpful to botanical historians. Take this as a reminder that it’s now spring and time to start gardening again!
|
|
The Making History Gala is almost here! We are thrilled to announce Hubert E. (Hubie) Jones and the Honorable Judge Levin H. Campbell as recipients of the Society’s John Codman Ropes Award. The award is granted in recognition of extraordinary service to history.
Jones is a civil rights activist and founder of the Boston Children’s Chorus, which will be performing a musical tribute at the Gala.
Judge Campbell is a former US Circuit Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Campbell has penned more than 1,000 legal opinions. His work has included allowing girls to play Little League baseball and maintaining a healthy separation between church and state.
|
|
March and April will feature a mix of virtual and hybrid events, with a choice of in-person or virtual attendance. Please be sure to register in the way you plan to attend.
|
|
Female Genius: Eliza Harriot & George Washington at the Dawn of the New Constitution
The perfect exemplar of a radical new idea in the English-speaking world during the 1780s—the Age of the Constitution—was Eliza Harriot Barons O’Connor and her position on the female genius. She was a pathbreaking educator who delivered a University of Pennsylvania lecture attended by George Washington, in which she argued that women had equal capacity and deserved an equal education and political representation. In recovering this pioneering life, Female Genius makes clear that America’s framing moment did not belong solely to white men.
This is a hybrid event. The in-person reception starts at 5:30 and the program begins at 6:00. There is a $10 in-person fee (no charge for virtual attendees, MHS Members, or EBT Cardholders.)
|
|
Black Abolitionists & the Meaning of Higher Learning
How did Black abolitionists engage the meaning of higher learning at a time when American colleges were financially and intellectually tied to the political economy of Atlantic slavery? This paper focuses on Black abolitionist thought on higher learning and its implications for the colleges of the antebellum United States. Using Black abolitionist writings and records of their organizations, the paper demonstrates that understandings of college education were contested as it developed in the early United States and that Black abolitionists conceptualized an alternative vision for higher learning and its purpose. This is a virtual event.
|
|
The Hated Cage: An American Tragedy in Britain's Most Terrifying Prison
After the War of 1812, more than five thousand American sailors were marooned in Dartmoor Prison on a barren English plain; the conflict was over, but they had been left to rot by their government. Although they shared a common nationality, the men were divided by race: nearly a thousand were Black, and at the behest of the white prisoners, Dartmoor became the first racially segregated prison in US history. The Hated Cage documents the extraordinary but separate communities these men built within the prison—and the terrible massacre of nine Americans by prison guards that destroyed these worlds.
This is a hybrid event. The in-person reception starts at 5:30 and the program begins at 6:00. There is a $10 in-person fee (no charge for virtual attendees, 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 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 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 on 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 6:00 PM, Michael Liu, Author of Forever Struggle: Activism, Identity and Survival in Boston’s 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.
|
|
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.
|
|
Help us improve your experience with the MHS.
Adjust your e-mail preferences by updating your profile below,
and we will adjust our e-mails to you accordingly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
