By Anna J. Cook

On Tuesday, 1 March, Sara Martin and Sara Sikes of the Adams Papers gave a presentation on the Adams family’s perspective of the French Revolution, as chronicled in their correspondence. During that period of upheaval in France (the 1780s and 1790s) the Adams’ network of family and friends extended up and down the Eastern United States and across the Atlantic in both Britain and on the European continent. Abigail (Nabby) Adams Smith was living with her family in London; John Quincy and Thomas Boylston Adams were in The Hague; and Charles Adams spent considerable time with his father, John Adams, in Philadelphia where John was serving as Vice President in the Washington administration. The correspondence during this period is particularly rich as the family endeavored to keep in touch with one another, across geographic distance.

Sara Martin and Sara Sikes observed how the Adams family privileged first-hand accounts of the turmoil over published newspaper reports, despite the fact that personal letters often took months to travel across the Atlantic – at times not arriving at all. Nabby would write home to her parents describing the first-hand accounts of friends in London who had been in Paris during the Terror, while Abigail wrote to her daughter about the public support in the United States for the revolutionaries. Members of the Adams family publically and privately expressed their disapproval of the way in which the French Revolution so quickly devolved into violence. In reflecting back upon both the American and French revolutions in later years, John Adams wrote to his friend Benjamin Rush, “Have I not been employed in mischief all of my days?”

Discussion following the presentation centered on the question of differences between the French Revolution and the American Revolution. Specifically, participants wondered what about the French Revolution was different enough from the American Revolution that one led to continued violence and ultimate failure of the revolutionaries while the other succeeded in establishing a viable government following the war with England. It was suggested by several present that a rebellion by colonists against the metropole is fundamentally different than an uprising of citizens against an established government in their own nation.

“What does Massachusetts have to do with … the French Revolution?” was part of an ongoing series highlighting collections at the MHS that contain material on unexpected topics. The next installment will take place on Tuesday, March 15, at 12:00pm and is titled: What does Massachusetts have to do with … Tahiti, Pirates, and Graham Crackers? The event is free and open to the public. Bring your lunch; beverages will be provided.

By Elaine Grublin

Today marks the 241 anniversary of the events that came to be known as the Boston Massacre.

On our website and in our reading room, you can read contemporary accounts of the events of that day or study visual representations such as Paul Revere’s engraving (based on an original drawing by Peter Pelham) which captures a less than historically accurate view of the event, but speaks volumes about how the event was interpreted for years to come.

For the hands-on learner, the Bostonian Society is offering a day full of interpretive events at the Old State House, culminating in a re-enactment of the Massacre at 7:00 PM.

By Tracy Potter

As the late-winter thaw creeps over New England, melting away the snow banks that dwarf the average person and New Englanders pray for no more snow until next December, we cannot help but look toward the one glimmer of hope of the coming spring: Red Sox spring training at Fort Myers, Florida. This week spring training is in full swing as the Red Sox face off against various teams, warming up for the 2011 baseball season. In honor of this treasured time of year I give a nod to the beginnings of one of America’s most loved pastimes: Baseball.

When this idea was first proposed, I was asked to scour our collections for anything related to baseball that we could use to connect to spring training. Just as I thought “What on earth do we have related to baseball here?” I received a phone call from a young woman who wished to view a carton from our Globe Newspaper Co. Records. As I checked the carton to make sure the materials were in order, what did I stumble upon but an 1872 baseball scrapbook assembled by none other than George Wright, one of the first men to play for the professional baseball club the Boston Red Stockings.

In 1869, George’s brother Harry Wright managed the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. Two years later Harry moved east to manage the Boston Red Stockings. George, a talented shortstop and occasional second baseman, followed his brother from Cincinnati to Boston. He was team captain of four time association winners the Boston Red Stockings from 1871 to 1875. While in Boston, he kept a scrapbook of newspaper statistics and articles written about the professional baseball games played during the 1872 season. In 1920 he gave the scrapbook to the sports editor of the Globe Newspaper Co., Walter S. Barnes. According to a note found inside the scrapbook, the volume was rescued from a trash can in 1948 and placed in the company’s records.

Inside Wright’s scrapbook I found a two page layout of clippings from the New York Clipper analyzing each of the “Boston Nine” (a name given to the nine starters) including George Wright. These clippings demonstrate that in baseball some things will never change. Teams will always be on the lookout for a good captain to lead the team, for catchers who can actually catch their pitchers crazy pitches, for players who do not talk back to the umpires and cause a ruckus on the field, for pitchers who know how to outthink the batters, and for players who keep up their training through the offseason and enter the new season in tiptop shape (see image below), not arriving bloated and slow from too much alcohol, food, and other mischievous amusements.

As the Red Sox players arrived in Fort Myers over the past few weeks, I found myself hoping that each arrived uninjured, ready to throw some balls, hit some home runs, and run like he has never run before. We New Englanders are counting on them to pull us out of these winter doldrums and into a season of sun, warmth, and wins.

To view the full image of Wright’s ‘Boston Nine’ described in clippings from the New York Clipper, click here.