Stay engaged with the MHS this year.

“After an excessive hot morning, we had several thunder showers— Walked in the Garden towards Evening.— I begin to be able to read a little again; and have resumed Wieland’s Agathon.”
Manuscript Map of Boston Harbor, 1775

This manuscript map of Boston Harbor created by MHS founder Jeremy Belknap in 1775 presents a perspective of Eastern Massachusetts and the islands in the Massachusetts Bay. The image here shows the major settlements and developments in Boston, Dorchester, and Charlestown, as well as Bunker Hill and Castle Island, while the full map indicates settlements in Massachusetts and roads to other towns, such as Providence, Worcester, Malden and Concord.

MHS’s online programs are held on the video conference platform Zoom. Registrants will receive an e-mail with a link to join the program.
From the River to the Sea: The Untold Story of the Railroad that Made the West

On Tuesday, 1 June, at 5:30 PM, John Sedgwick presents From the River to the Sea: The Untold Story of the Railroad that Made the West, in conversation with John L. Larson, Purdue University.

In 1869, the first transcontinental railroad made history by linking East and West. Relying heavily on federal grants, it left an opening for two brash new railroad men—General William J. Palmer, the Civil War hero behind the Rio Grande, and William Barstow Strong, the hard-nosed manager of the corporate of the Santa Fe—to build the first transcontinental to make money, bringing to life such out-of-the-way places as San Diego, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Denver, and Los Angeles. Remarkably, it transformed Boston, too. An early railroad hub, Boston was a major financial sponsor of Western expansion, backing that first transcontinental, the Union Pacific. Bostonians also backed the Santa Fe in its quest to become the second. The Santa Fe’s headquarters were on Boston’s Devonshire Street, and its board drawn from the city’s moneyed elite, providing a local angle to this epic story of the greatest railroad war of all time.
In Print: Boston’s LGBT Publications during the Gay Liberation Movement

On Thursday, 3 June, at 5:30 PM, Amy Hoffman, Dallas Denny, Shane Snowden, and Michael Bronski present In Print: Boston’s LGBT Publications during the Gay Liberation Movement, moderated by Russ Lopez.

This panel will look at the grassroots LGBT periodicals that originated in Boston during the modern gay liberation era. How did these magazines, journals, and newsletters influence and inform self-identity, politics, and activism nationwide? What kind of ideological debates played out in the pages of these publications? Our panelists will describe why Boston was a particularly good incubator for this type of activist media and examine how these periodicals worked to amplify the unique concerns and demands of LGBT communities nationally.
On Wednesday, 9 June, at 6:00 PM, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Dean, Boston University School of Law; Hon. Leslie Harris (ret.), Suffolk Juvenile Court; and Renée Graham, Columnist, The Boston Globe, present Confronting Racial Injustice: The Charles Stuart Story: White Lies and Black Lives, moderated by Kim McLaurin, Associate Dean, Suffolk University Law School.

On Monday, 14 June, at 5:30 PM, Christina Groeger, Lake Forest College, presents The Education Trap: Schools and the Remaking of Inequality in Boston, in conversation with Michael Glass, Boston College.

On Tuesday, 15 June, at 5:30 PM, Lynne Cheney presents The Virginia Dynasty: Four Presidents and the Creation of the American Nation, in conversation with Catherine Allgor, MHS.

On Wednesday, 30 June, at 5:30 PM, Jeff Shesol presents Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War, in conversation with E.J. Dionne.

Visit www.masshist.org/events for more information and to register for programs.
Interested in Viewing Past Programs?
If you missed a program or would like to revisit the material presented, please visit www.masshist.org/video or our YouTube channel. A selection of past programs is just a click away.
Share Your COVID-19 Experience(s)

The MHS invites you to contribute your COVID-19 experience(s) to our collection. Record your experiences on a daily, weekly, or intermittent basis. You can contribute your thoughts and images online. Visit our COVID-19 web display to learn more and to share your thoughts. Or you can keep a journal and donate it to the MHS. Contact collections@masshist.org for more information.  
 
Thank you to everyone who has shared so far. If you have not yet done so or would like to contribute again, please visit www.masshist.org/projects/covid/index.php. You can also read what others have shared.

Our Members are the heart of the MHS community and an integral part of the MHS story. Become a Member to help make possible the Society’s mission to promote the study of American history. Receive benefits including invitations to enhanced Member-only events; free or discounted admission to special programs; and access to publications such as our calendar of events, newsletter, and Annual Report.
Learn more at www.masshist.org/members.