This Week @ MHS

It's a new month and here at the Society we keep on rolling with our public programs. This is what we have on tap in the week ahead:

- Tuesday, 3 April, 5:15PM : Brendan McConville of Boston University starts the week with an Early American History seminar, "Terror Twice Told: Popular Conventions, Political Violence, and the Coming of the Constitutional Crisis, 1780-1787." This paper argues that the wave of political violence after the American victory at Yorktown in 1781 ultimately reflected conflicts within the American political community over who could be an American, what institutions constituted “the people” in a republic, and the character and limits of the “the people’s” power to form self-governing institutions. These disputes played an important role in creating the 1787 constitutional crisis.

Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.To RSVP: email seminars@masshist.org or call (617) 646-0579.

- Wednesday, 4 April, 12:00PM : This week's Brown Bag lunch talk is given by research fellow Natalie Joy of Northern Illinois University. "Native Americans in the Antislavery Movement" explores Native American participation in the American antislavery movement from the 1830s to the 1860s. In addition to attending meetings, Indians signed petitions, donated money, organized fundraising fairs, held positions in antislavery societies, and assisted fugitive slaves. Most significantly, they influenced abolitionist thought on a number of issues. This talk is free and open to the public.

- Wednesday, 4 April, 6:00PM : "Private Land" is the first event in a new series called This Land is Your Land. Some of the early efforts to preserve open space for the physical and spiritual benefits offered by access to nature came from private organizations. Mount Auburn Cemetery was the first large-scale designed landscape open to the public in North America and as such began the rural cemetery movement that later led to public parks. In 1853 the Laurel Hill Association was founded in Stockbridge, inspiring a national Village Improvement Society movement. Later generations have benefited from the first private, statewide conservation and preservation organization, The Trustees of Reservations. Historic New England has saved traditional farms and Mass Audubon and other private organizations preserve and manage open space across the state. How common is this preservation by private organizations? How sustainable is this concept for future generations? This talk is open to the public though registration is required with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Members or Fellows, EBT Cardholders, and Members of Co-Sponsoring Institutions). A pre-talk reception kicks-off at 5:30PM followed by the speaking program at 6:00PM.

- Thursday, 5 April, 6:00PM : "Distilling Boston: From the Colonial Period to the Present" is a special event for MHS Fund Giving Circle Members, Fellows, and Members, who are invited to a lively evening that explores the culture and history of alcohol consumption in Boston. Using illustrations, photos, and multimedia clips, Stephanie Schorow will speak about Boston’s drinking history beginning in the colonial period, continuing through Prohibition and into the current craft cocktail scene. Following the talk, enjoy a reception, sample cocktails, and continue the conversation. Registration required at no cost. This progam begins at 6:00PM.

This is the final week to view our current exhibition, Yankees in the West! The exhibit closes on Friday, 6 April. The next exhibition, Entrepreneurship & Classical Design in Boston's South End: The Furniture of Isaac Vose & Thomas Seymour, 1815-1825, opens to the public on 11 May.

There is no building tour this week.