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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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Revolutionary Spaces

**Revolutionary Spaces ** connects people to the history and continuing practice of democracy through the intertwined stories of two of the nation’s most iconic sites—Boston’s Old South Meeting House and Old State House. We foster a free and open exchange of ideas, explore history, create gathering places, and preserve and steward historic buildings.

https://www.bostonhistory.org

  • Highlights From Joan Gatturna: Petticoats at the Revolution

    Thu, Feb 20, 2014
    Actor and storyteller Joan Gatturna portrays Rachel Revere sharing the story of the Boston Tea Party, the Midnight Ride and the Siege of Boston through the eyes of a woman who kept the home fires burning while her husband fanned the flames of rebellion. Her characterization of Rachel Revere was developed with assistance from the staff of the Paul Revere House.
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  • The Ether Dome and Beyond: Anesthesia and Its Development

    Thu, Dec 8, 2011
    "Perhaps the best-known story in the history of Massachusetts General Hospital is the pivotal discovery and first use of ether as an anesthesia in 1846. But, that surgical first was only the beginning of a series of technological innovations that helped increase patient comfort and survivability during surgery. Warren Zapol, Emeritus Anesthetist-in-Chief of MGH, will discuss how the discovery of ether was only the start in a series of critical care developments. This program was presented as part of the December Middays at the Meeting House series 'Milestone in Public Care: The 200th Anniversary of Massachusetts General Hospital' and was cosponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital."
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  • Anthony Sammarco: Lost Boston

    Thu, May 29, 2014
    In 1876 the Old South Meeting House was auctioned off for the value of its parts and was being dismantled when people rallied to save it! But other historic structures in Boston have not fared so well. The original Museum of Fine Arts in Copley Square, John Hancock's Beacon Hill mansion, the Huntington Avenue Grounds and the original Boston Opera House are just a few of the places that have been lost to decline or the wrecker's ball. Discover just how much we have lost when historian Anthony Sammarco takes us on a nostalgic and eye-opening journey to a wide range of Boston places that can no longer be seen.
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  • Loren Spears: A Prism of Information - Indigenous Knowledge and Public History

    Thu, Mar 13, 2014
    Lorén Spears, Narragansett artist, educator, and executive director of the Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum in Rhode Island, one of the oldest tribal museums in the nation, shared her extensive experience teaching the public about Southern New England's Native residents. Through an illustrated lecture, storytelling and song, Spears explained how today's indigenous educators help broaden our understanding of history through collaborations with local historians, oral history projects and performing arts programs.
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  • Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy

    Mon, Jun 15, 2009
    Author and Constitutional lawyer David O. Stewart reveals how the first President Impeachment Crisis was wrought with corruption and greed. In 1868 when the nation was healing from a bloody civil war, the US Congress impeached Lincoln's successor, President Andrew Johnson. Attempting to secure the rights of the freed slaves and prevent the southern states from falling under control of the rebels, congressional Republicans seized the opportunity to impeach President Johnson, a man who took a narrow view of federal powers and was untroubled by racial violence. The conflict between the President and the Congress threatened to tear the nation apart, in a clash that strained the Constitution to the breaking point. This program is generously funded by the Lowell Institute.
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    Belinda Rathbone: Tea with Miss Rose

    Thu, Dec 17, 2009
    Belinda Rathbone, co-author of *Tea with Miss Rose*, talks about the life and times of Rose Nichols, the Bostonian spinster who gathered a regular crowd at her townhouse on Beacon Hill in the 1950s to discuss art, politics, and world affairs over a cup of Hu-Kwa. Rathbone describes these famous tea parties and shares recipes for tea cakes and the best "ingredients" for lively conversations for a proper tea party.
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  • Stimulating Beverages: Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate in Early America

    Thu, Jan 7, 2010
    Amanda Lange, curator at Historic Deerfield, explains how tea, coffee, and chocolate--originally prescribed as cures for ailments ranging from headaches and depressions--became counted among the necessities of daily life. Before 1650, a New England breakfast often included a mug of ale, beer, or hard wine. Yet, with the introduction of tea, coffee, and chocolate, the tastes of the Western world were forever changed.
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  • The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

    Thu, Oct 8, 2009
    Katherine Howe discusses how New England's historic past is woven into her work of fiction, *The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane*. Scholars of the Salem Witch Trials have long discussed what caused the tragic witchcraft hysteria, but author Katherine Howe asks: What if the magic was real? In her spellbinding new novel, Howe weaves the story of graduate student Connie Goodwan with the tale of Deliverance Dane, accused of practicing "physick" in 1690s Salem.
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  • Slavery and Abolition at Boston's Old South Meeting House

    Wed, Sep 30, 2009
    James W. Crawford, Minister Emeritus of Boston's Old South Church, discusses how the concept of liberty and destiny so tied in with the church's identity, flavored the congregation's stance on slavery and how Lincoln's influence provided inspiration during the Civil War. Boston's Old South Meeting House has a long connection with abolition, reaching back to the 1700 publication of New England's first anti-slavery tract by prominent congregation member Samuel Sewall. But by the 1850s, Old South, known for its role in the fight for American independence, was split on the question of how to achieve the abolition of slavery.
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  • The Colorful Politician, James Michael Curley

    Wed, Jan 20, 2010
    William Bulger, who served as president of both the Massachusetts Senate and the University of Massachusetts, author of *James Michael Curley: a Short Biography*, explains why the "rascal" politician James Michael Curley was such and inspiration to the generation that followed him. James Michael Curley dominated the political scene for over half a century as Boston councilor, alderman, mayor, Massachusetts governor and congressman. Eloquent, passionate, every loyal to his constituents, Curley was a lightening rod for controversy throughout a political career extending from 1897 through 1955. Sponsored by the Lowell Institute.
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