The Many Resurrections of Henry Box Brown

On March 23, 1849, Henry Brown climbed into a large wooden postal crate and was mailed from slavery in Richmond, Virginia, to freedom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “Box Brown,” as he came to be known after this astounding feat, went on to carve out a career as an abolitionist speaker, actor, magician, hypnotist, and even faith healer, traveling the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada until his death in 1897.

Strong Passions: A Scandalous Divorce in Old New York

In 1862, Mary Strong stunned her husband, Peter, the scion of a wealthy and influential family, by confessing to a two-year affair with his brother. Peter sued Mary for divorce, but not before she accused him of forcing her into an abortion and having an affair with the abortionist. Then Mary kidnapped their youngest child. New York-based writer Barbara Weisberg recounts the true story of the Strongs’ tumultuous marriage, explosive divorce, and riveting trial that included an array of witnesses from all walks of life and clashing versions of events.

'While Pen, Ink & Paper Can Be Had': Reading and Writing in a Time of Revolution

Instead of the typical focus on the famed trio of Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin, this lecture looks at the American Revolution through the eyes of two relatively unknown individuals. A son and a daughter of families who counted themselves members of Boston’s elite, William Tudor, who served in the Continental Army, and Delia Jarvis, a Loyalist whom he was courting, forged their relationship in a world of divisive turmoil and radical change. A remarkably rich transatlantic literary culture that remained intact in an increasingly embattled world served as their vehicle.

When Hype Becomes History: Adah Isaacs Menken and the Virtue of an Ambiguous Past

History is a social science that demands evidence for its claims, but what happens when the evidence itself is unstable? Adah Isaacs Menken was a Civil War era celebrity who relied on rumor and hearsay to keep her popularity alive. Indeed, one can say that hearsay from the nineteenth-century has led to a resurgence of interest in her in the twenty-first.

Safeguarding History

Kenneth W. Rendell―unrivaled forgery expert and trailblazing dealer of original source materials―has traveled the world to track down, buy, and sell the most significant, iconic historical letters and documents from the Renaissance to the present day. His new book Safeguarding History chronicles his adventures over the course of seventy years, which began with collecting and dealing in rare coins at age 11, searching for out-of-date coins in the Caribbean as a teenager, and then discovering the world of historical letters and documents, which he went on to revolutionize.

Could the British Have Won the American War of Independence?

Renowned British historian Jeremy Black examines the established interpretations of the War of Independence and places the conflict in the context of military history. By focusing on British strengths and American weaknesses, he clarifies the reasons for American success and the extent of the American achievement. Black chairs the History Department at the University of Exeter, England.

Faith and Boundaries: Colonists, Christianity, and Community among the Wampanoag Indians of Martha's Vineyard, 1600-1871

What did it take for New England Indians and colonists to live alongside one another in peace? Was it possible for native communities to maintain distinct cultural and geographic boundaries after the English had seized the balance of power? In this presentation, David J. Silverman answers these questions by using Martha's Vineyard as a case study. He also shows that some island Wampanoag communities, such as Aquinnah (or Gay Head), lasted because their members were willing to adapt in order to preserve their land base and community ties.

The First American Revolution

Everyone knows that the American Revolution started at Lexington Green with the "shot heard 'round the world." Or did it? In his latest book, The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord, researched at AAS, Ray Raphael makes the claim that the American Revolution actually began seven months earlier in rural towns such as Worcester, when thousands of farmers and artisans overthrew the established government by forcing resignations and recantations from all Crown-appointed officials in rural Massachsetts.

Early Nineteenth-Century Musical Performance Traditions

Join historical performance specialist Shirley Hunt as she discusses her recent musical research as a Creative and Performing Artists and Writers Fellow at the American Antiquarian Society. Hunt's research examines performance traditions and cultural contexts surrounding bowed string instruments in early nineteenth-century New England, with a specific focus on the early New England bass viols and violins housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. As a result of her research at AAS, Hunt performed and video-recorded numerous musical selections on the instruments housed in MFA collection.