By Dan Hinchen

There is a bit of a lull in the action this week at the Society with only two public programs on the slate. Up first is the next episode of the MHS Brown Bag talks. On Wednesday, 24 July, bring a lunch to hear NERFC Fellow Michael Blaakman, Yale Univeristy, as he presents “Speculation Nation: Land Speculators and Land Mania in Post-Revolutionary America.” Mr. Blaakman will discuss research for a dissertation which traces the causes and consequences of large-scale land speculation between 1776 and 1812 in order to ask: Why and how had the new United States become a land of speculation? What effect did land speculation have on society, politics, and the evolving capitalist economy during the revolutionary settlement? On the formation of the American state? What about speculation was uniquely American, and what about the nascent republic was distinctly speculative? Brown Bag lunch talks are free and open to the public and begin at 12:00 PM.

And on Saturday, 27 July, the Society will host The History and Collections of the MHS, a 90-minute docent-led tour that explores all of the public rooms in the building while touching on the art, architecture, history, and collections of the Society. The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.