This week we have a couple of evening programs, a biography seminar, a brown-bag lunch program, and a gallery talk. Here is a look at what is planned:
On Monday, 21 October, at 6:00 PM: Saving America’s Cities: Ed Logue & the Struggle to Renew Urban America in the Suburban Age with Lizabeth Cohen, Harvard University. Edward J. Logue was a giant of 20th-century East Coast urban redevelopment. From the 1950s through the 1980s, he worked to revive a declining New Haven, became the architect of the “New Boston,” led New York State’s Urban Development Corporation, and ended his career working to turn around the South Bronx. Prizewinning historian Lizabeth Cohen analyzes Logue’s complicated legacy in urban renewal as a dramatic story of heart- break and destruction, but also of human idealism and resourcefulness. A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30. There is a $10 per person fee (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members or EBT cardholders).
On Wednesday, 23 October, at 12:00 PM: Towards an Intellectual History of Reconstruction: Ideas about Democracy, Nation, & Race in the era of Reconstruction with Peter Wirzbicki, Princeton University. What were the philosophical and intellectual ideas that Northern Republicans used to justify Reconstruction? This project analyzes the way that the Civil War and Reconstruction reshaped American ideas about democracy, nationalism, and race. Looking at works of political philosophy, popular pamphlets and polemics, and personal writing, this project demonstrates that, in order to justify Reconstruction, Northern thinkers had to remake their ideas about the nature of American sovereignty and what the American nation was. This is part of the Brown-bag lunch program. Brown-bags are free and open to the public.
On Wednesday, 23 October, at 6:00 PM: Queen Victoria: The Making of an Icon with Polly Putnam, Historic Royal Palaces. This talk considers the development of Queen Victoria’s public image over the course of her 63-year reign. Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and later Empress of India, is only second to Queen Elizabeth II as the longest ruling monarch in British history. Queen Victoria ruled from June 20, 1837 until her death on January 22, 1901. Ms. Putnam’s presentation reveals how Queen Victoria made a virtue of and shared her personal life with the people of Great Britain, which ensured not only her popularity but also an enduring public image. The event is co-sponsored by the Algonquin Club Foundation. A reception will follow the presentation at 7:00. There is a $25 per person fee. The event is complimentary for MHS Fund Giving Circle donors and Algonquin Club Foundation members. Registration is required.
On Thursday, 24 October, at 5:15 PM: On the Campaign Trail with Sidney Blumenthal in Conversation in conversation with Megan Marshall. Today it seems you can’t run for president without first putting out a memoir or autobiography. But biographies of presidential candidates – and presidents – are nothing new. Veteran political strategist, Washington insider, and author of the highly acclaimed multi-volume The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, Sidney Blumenthal, returns to Boston, where he got his start as a journalist, to engage in a wide-ranging discussion of lives in politics—from 1860 to 2020—and the uses of biography and, more recently, autobiography in shaping successful campaigns. This is part of the New England Biography Seminar series. Seminars are free and open to the public.
On Friday, 25 October, at 2:00 PM: Abigail Adams: Life & Legacy Gallery Talk. Join an Adams Papers editor to explore how Abigail Adams has come to hold a unique place within the fabric of American life.
Abigail Adams: Life & Legacy Pop-Up Display
Abigail Adams urged her husband to “Remember the Ladies” and made herself impossible to forget. But Abigail is memorable for more than her famous 1776 admonition. This final Remember Abigail display uses documents and artifacts through the ages to consider the way Abigail viewed her own legacy and to explore how and why we continue to Remember Abigail. Join us for gallery talks on 25 October and 22 November at 2:00 PM.