American Textile History Museum curator Karen Herbaugh looks at the sewing diaries of three New England women and one young girl, compiled in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She examines the history of fashion and fabric revealed by the diaries. This presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.
Two scholars present papers on the history of slavery, the slave trade, and African-American life in New England. The papers are "Creoles and Colonization: African Colonization Movements in Rhode Island and Nova Scotia in the Age of the American Revolution" and "William Lanson and the Vagaries of Early Free Black Life in New Haven, Connecticut, 1800-1831."
Historian Dorris Fanelli discusses the site of the first presidential "White House" in Philadelphia and the discovery that George Washington brought many of his slaves to work there. This discovery led to a new kind of public history and the creation of a commemorative site near the Liberty Bell Center.
Historian Charlie Bahne fleshes out the historical context of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, discussing the role of tea in everyday colonial life and reexamining the event from a modern perspective.
An mp3 version of the lecture may be downloaded.
Author Iris Chang follows the history of Chinese immigration in the U.S., the alternating acceptance and tension between Chinese Americans and "mainstream" U.S. society, and Chinese-American experiences in the U.S. Her presentation includes a question-and-answer session.
Historian Nancy S. Seasholes discusses the history of land creation and landfill projects in Boston. She looks at the social forces that led to the demand for new land, including tensions between Irish immigrants and native Bostonians.
Ken Turino, exhibitions manager for the exhibit "Cherished Possessions," examines the history of New England furniture and decorative objects and the ways in which they were preserved and handed down over time. His presentation includes slides.
Video and audio options are available.
Nancy Carlisle, curator of the exhibit "Cherished Possessions," examines the history of New England furniture and decorative arts objects and the lives of the people who owned them. Carlisle covers objects and people from the 17th to the late 20th century. Her presentation includes slides.
Jan Turnquist, executive director of Orchard House, looks at the history of the Orchard House, childhood home of novelist Louisa May Alcott and her family. Turnquist describes the lives of each family member in detail. The presentation includes slides.
Audio and video options are available.
Ed McCabe and Lory Newmyer of the Hull Lifesaving Museum examines Boston's past as a major shipping port and a center for the development of marine lifesaving devices and shipwreck prevention measures. They focus on the devices and procedures used by the men of the United States Life-Saving Service in the late 1800s and early 1900s.