Free!: Salem Women and Abolition
Art historian Abaigeal Duda looks at the work of African-American artist Lucy Cleveland (1780-1866), whose textile sculptures provide a record of the abolition movement prior to and during the Civil War.
Art historian Abaigeal Duda looks at the work of African-American artist Lucy Cleveland (1780-1866), whose textile sculptures provide a record of the abolition movement prior to and during the Civil War.
PhD candidate Margot Minardi discusses Boston abolitionist activity, particularly its use of Revolutionary War resonances in its propaganda and oratory. The presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.
Professor David W. Blight examines the character and legacy of fervent abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879). Blight looks at his private character and his public image, and how his ideals and technique might be received, used, and remembered today.
Audio and video options are available.
Julie Winch discusses the highly successful African-American Remond family and their business of catering lavish parties in Boston and Newport in the 1800s. Winch focuses on the Remonds as free African Americans and supporters of abolitionism during the era of slavery.
Tom Crouch, Chairman of Aeronautics at the National Air and Space Museum, discusses the Wright brothers' invention of the airplane, placing it in the context of the centuries-long study of flight and of the enormous impact airplanes have had on human life.
Biographer and history professor James O'Toole describes the lives of the Healy brothers, children of a multiracial slave couple, in mid-19th-century East Coast society. Three of the brothers successfully passed as white and gained prominent social positions: one as a a bishop; one as Georgetown University's president; and one as a priest, rector, and seminary director.
Author Anne Sebba follows the life of American-born Jennie Jerome, wife of Randolph Churchill and father of Winston Churchill. Sebba examines Jennie's early life, the romantic affairs that assisted her husband's career, her relationship with her son, her social reform work, and other aspects of her very active life. The presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.
Professor Philip F. Gura traces the intellectual genealogy of America's first group of public intellectuals, who profoundly shaped 19th-century American literature and social reform.
Audio and video options are available. The video can be viewed with or without captions.
Curator Sally Pierce and associate curator Catharina Slautterback review the history of the Boston Atheneaum's collections of prints and photographs, beginning with the Atheneaum's founding in 1807. They look at the contents of the collections; how the items were obtained, collected, and exhibited; and what they indicate about changes in tastes and available materials over time. The presentation includes slides.
The lecture's audio is also available for download.
Library of Congress scholar-in-residence Catherine Parisian details the history of the first White House Library, founded by the 13th U.S. President, Millard Fillmore, and later dispersed. Parisian reconstructs its contents and considers its significance in 19th-century U.S. history. The presentation includes slides.
The lecture can also be downloaded as an MP3.