This Week @ MHS

By Dan Hinchen

We are back again with the round-up of events in the week to come here at the Society. Like last week, this one is a bit top-heavy and dominated by Brown Bag lunch talks. And here is what is tap.
Starting with Monday, 21 July, there is a Brown Bag lunch talk presented by Brendan Gillis of Indiana University. “Cosmopolitan Parochialism: Magistrates and Imperial Revolution in New England, 1760-1800” investigates how shared assumptions about magisterial authority contributed to the construction of new jurisdictions incorporating non-English lands and peoples. In New England, this British model of local government proved so adaptable that it allowed justices of the peace to assert independence during a period of imperial crisis. This talk is free, open to the public, and begins at 12:00PM.

On Tuesday, 22 July, also at noon, is another Brown Bag lunch talk, this time presented by Jeffrey Egan, University of Connecticut. “Watershed Decisions: Arthur Shurcliff’s Vision of the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts, 1922-1945” provides a brief historical overview of the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts, a massive public-works project that led to the disincorporation of four rural towns in the western poriton of the Commonwealth and radically transformed 39 square miles of land during the 1930s and 1940s. It will then delve into the environmental wordlview and vision of the Quabbin project held by Arthur Shurcliff, the landscape architect employed by the Boston Metropolitan District Commission to reform the grounds surrounding this new, artificial lake. 

The third and final brown bag talk of the week will take place at noon on Wednesday, 23 July. This time, long-term research fellow Jonathan Grinspan, University of Virginia/Jeffersno Scholars Foundation, presents “The Virgin Vote: Young Americans in the Age of Popular Politics.” Young people fueled American democracy at its most popular. Between 1840 and 1900, children, youths and young adults turned out at rallies and elections, searching for identity, advancement, and fun. Many viewed the political system as a route to adulthood, during a period of major social instability. At the same time, politicians wooed first-time “virgin voters,” lobbied young women to influence the men in their lives, and recruited children as future partisans. Their interest helped bring about the highest voter turnouts in U.S. history. This project explores this fascinating and forgotten relationship between public politics and personal aspirations.

And on Saturday, 26 July, join us for a free tour of the Society’s building on Boylston Street in Boston’s Back Bay. “The History and Collections of the MHS” is a 90-minute, docent-led tour of the public spaces in the building. The tour touches on the art, architecture, history, and collections of the Historical 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.

Remember to keep an eye on the Society’s online events calendar to see what is coming up in the near future and that our current exhibition, “Letters and Photographs from the Battle Country: Massachusetts Women in the First World War” is now on display. The gallery is open Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, free of charge. 

 

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