The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
February starts slowly at the MHS. As we leave January behind it is a fairly quiet week here at the MHS. Here is what is to come: - Wednesday, 1 February, 12:00PM : Pack a lunch and come by for a Brown Bag talk with Andrea Gray of George Mason University and the Thomas [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 29 January, 2017, 12:00 AM

Benedict Arnold’s Heart

Series: From Our Collections
By Rakashi Chand, Reader Services
Unlike any other historical figure, Benedict Arnold’s contributions to the Patriotic Cause were so great that, had he not committed treason, history might have depicted him as a Founding Father. His accomplishments cannot be negated, his leadership and skill as a solider [...] read more

comments: 1 | permalink | Published: Friday, 27 January, 2017, 12:00 AM

“Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, Free Men”: Charles Sumner and the Massachusetts Free Soil Party

Series: From Our Collections
By Susan Martin, Collection Services
It was the summer of 1850, and the Massachusetts Free Soil Party needed a standard-bearer. The party was just two years old and struggled to make headway against the two-party juggernaut of Democrats and Whigs. Free Soilers had seated only a handful of their candidates in [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 25 January, 2017, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Daniel Hinchen, Reader Services
It's a pretty busy week ahead for programs at the Society. Here is what's on tap: - Monday, 23 January, 12:00PM : Come on in at lunchtime for a Brown Bag talk. "'Faraway Women' and the Atlantic Monthly" discusses Ellery Sedgwick, editor of the Atlantic Monthly from [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 22 January, 2017, 12:00 AM

Gertrude Codman Carter’s Diary, January 1917

Series: From Our Collections , From the Reference Librarian 
By Anna Clutterbuck-Cook, Reader Services
In late December, I introduced readers to Lady Gertrude Codman Carter, whose diary we will be exploring month-by-month through 2017. While a fairly regular diarist, Gertrude Carter’s journal skips from the end of December 1916 to February 8, 1917 without clear explanation. [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 20 January, 2017, 12:00 AM

Teacher and Student Fellowships at MHS

Series: Education Programs
By Kathleen Barker, Public Programs & Education
Are you an educator looking for a relaxing and rewarding summer professional development opportunity? Consider applying for a Swensrud Teacher Fellowship! Perhaps you don’t have much time to devote to research this summer, but you have a student (or a few) who would [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 18 January, 2017, 3:57 PM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
The Society is CLOSED on Monday, 16 January, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Here are the events on the schedule this week: - Wednesday, 18 January, 12:00PM : "The Fight for Women's Equality in the Anti-Slavery Movement, 1833-1840" is a Brown Bag talk with [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 15 January, 2017, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
We're back to business here at the MHS, heading into year 226! Our programs begin in earnest this week with a seminar, a brown bag, and a tour. Here's the rundown: - Tuesday, 10 January, 5:15PM : The first seminar of the year is part of the Environmental History series [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Saturday, 7 January, 2017, 1:00 PM

Book Review: "Not A Catholic Nation"

Series: From Our Collections
By Wesley Fiorentino, Reader Services alumnus

New England is perhaps not the first region in which twenty-first century readers place the Ku Klux Klan.  Yet, in Not A Catholic Nation: The Ku Klux Klan Confronts New England in the 1920s, Mark Paul Richard thoroughly dispels the notion that the infamous secret [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 4 January, 2017, 12:00 AM