COO of the New England Genealogical Society D. Brenton Simons explores the criminal history of colonial Boston. He examines such issues as murders and murderers, including a serial murderer; con men; and witch trials. His presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.
Crime historian Karen Elizabeth Chaney examines the case of Lizzie Bordan, accused of killing her father and stepmother with an ax in Fall River, MA, on August 4, 1892. Chaney focuses on the journalistic coverage of the case and the gender issues and sensationalism it dealt in.
Audio and video options are available.
Professor Alan Rogers describes the historical context of the 13 killings by the Boston Strangler from June 14, 1962 to Jan. 4, 1964 and details the crimes; the investigation; and the arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Albert DeSalvo.
Author Hiller Zobel explores the death of Christopher Seider, an 11-year-old shot and killed during a riot on Feb. 22, 1770, and the trial of Boston loyalist Ebenezer Richardson for his murder. Zobel casts this as an event leading up to the Boston Massacre.
Professor Eli C. Bortman describes the case and trials of Ferdinand Sacco (1891-1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1888-1927), Italian-born anarchists charged with the armed robbery and murder of two Massachusetts payroll clerks in 1920. The case, which ended in Sacco and Vanzetti's execution in 1927, drew worldwide attention and criticism, for the alleged anti-immigrant, anti-Italian, and anti-anarchist sentiments that colored it and the uncertain guilt of the men. Bortman looks at the case from both sides—considering the men as both guilty and innocent.
Audio and video options are available.
Author Bruce Watson describes the lives and trials of Ferdinand Sacco (1891-1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1888-1927), Italian-born anarchists charged with the armed robbery and murder of two Massachusetts payroll clerks in 1920. The case, which ended in Sacco and Vanzetti's execution in 1927, drew worldwide attention and criticism, for the alleged anti-immigrant, anti-Italian, and anti-anarchist sentiments that colored it and the uncertain guilt of the men. The presentation includes slides.
Jim McDonald, once lead interpreter of the Wythe House in Colonial Williamsburg, outlines the the murder of George Wythe and the trial that followed.
To listen to this podcast, select "All 2007 podcasts," and scroll to the June fourth program.
Valarie Holmes, an interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, discusses the life of slave Lydia Broadnax, cook to George Wythe, whose role she plays.
The U.S. Department of Justice takes another look at the Emmett Till case in which a 14-year-old African-American boy was brutally murdered by two white men in Mississippi.
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This is a two-day workshop for Boston Public Schools teachers who will be teaching the Civil Rights Movement in their 10th-grade U.S. History courses. The seminar will focus on three units: "The murder of Emmett Till," "Voting Rights: From Selma to Montgomery," and "Desegregation of Boston Schools." All BPS Teachers must also register with the Boston Public Schools at www.mylearningplan.com.