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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

Igniting the American Revolution

Mon, Jun 20, 2016

Historian **Derek W. Beck** shares highlights from his book, _The War Before Independence: 1775-1776_ (2016), which draws on previously unpublished documents, letters, and diaries to explore pivotal events of the violent years of 1775 and 1776. From the Boston Tea Party to Paul Revere's famous midnight ride, from the lesser-known William Dawes's journey to Lexington, to Benedict Arnold's taking of Fort Ticonderoga and the letters of Gen. Thomas Gage, from the Battle of Bunker Hill to the exciting conclusion of the Boston Campaign, the book transports readers to this tumultuous chapter in the American story. (Photo: [Flickr/Ken Lund](https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlund/67839322 "Paul Revere statue"), image cropped)

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David McCullough and Brent D. Glass: Essential Historic Sites

Wed, Jun 15, 2016

Acclaimed prize-winning author **David McCullough** and expert historian **Brent D. Glass**, Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, discuss the importance of experiencing and preserving our essential historic sites and their stories: compelling struggles of democracy and self-government; the dramatic impact of military conflict; the powerful role of innovation and enterprise; the inspiring achievements of diverse cultural traditions; and the defining influence of the land and its resources. The book _50 Great American Places: Essential Historic Sites Across the U.S._ (2016), written by Glass with a foreword by McCullough, is a one-of-a-kind guide to fifty of these places - including Boston and sites on the Freedom Trail and Black Heritage Trail - that reveal a national narrative that is often surprising, sometimes tragic, and always engaging. (Photo: [Flickr/Brandon Turner](https://www.flickr.com/photos/brandonturner/8505133195 "Freedom Trail cover McCullough and Glass"), image cropped)

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Picturing Frederick Douglass: The Most Photographed American of the 19th Century

Tue, Mar 29, 2016

Newly discovered photographs of Frederick Douglass reveal that he – not Lincoln, Whitman, or General Custer, as previously claimed – was the most photographed American of the 19th century. Douglass understood the promise of his country’s new fascination with the camera and believed that photography could be a catalyst for reform. He used these widely circulated portraits to create a black public persona, counter racist iconography, and promote equality. University of Nottingham Professor Zoe Trodd traces Douglass’s visual journey from fugitive slave to elder statesman, and outlines the legacy of these 160+ photographs.

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Old South Meeting House and Historic Preservation in America

Wed, May 25, 2016

**Erica Lindamood** of Old South Meeting House and **Alison Frazee** of the Boston Preservation Alliance discuss the Meeting House's important place in the historic preservation movement throughout New England and across the nation. From America's first stay of demolition, to creative fundraising solutions involving the "Mary Had a Little Lamb" namesake and a fiery speech by Wendell Phillips, there's a story for historians and preservation buffs of all stripes. (Image: [Flickr/Boston Public Library](https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/2350740709 "OSMH preservation cover"))

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Talk Matters: Civic Oration Yesterday and Today

Fri, Apr 22, 2016

For 2,500 years, from the Greek agoras to today's TED Talks, civic society has relied on public oration as a way to discuss and debate social and political issues. However, the prevalence of mass media in the 21st century has nearly obliterated the live and impassioned public speech that marked historical activism – including public responses to the Boston Massacre, and the "Meetings of the Body of the People" that led to the Boston Tea Party. So what has taken its place? Boston College professor **Celeste Wells** and spoken word poet **Danny DeLeon** discuss the history of civic oration and today’s different but equally powerful citizen orators.

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Frederick Douglass: Orator for the Ages

Fri, Apr 8, 2016

On July 5th, 1852, Frederick Douglass told a group of abolitionists in Rochester, NY, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” Join Harvard professor and Mass Humanities board member John Stauffer as he discusses the significance of Douglass's speech in its time, the public programs it has inspired, and its resonance in 21st-century America.

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I Now Pronounce You: Lucy Stone

Fri, Mar 25, 2016

Meet Lucy Stone, the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree and a lifelong supporter of human rights. As a scholar, Stone studied Greek and Hebrew and argued that the Holy Bible was mistranslated to oppress and objectify women. In her personal life, she demanded that her marriage vows be rewritten and refused to take her husband’s surname, leading to the moniker "Lucy Stoner" for a woman who does just that. As a public speaker, Stone campaigned for equal rights for women and African-Americans, and inspired many women, including Susan B. Anthony, to join the suffrage movement. Critically acclaimed actress **Judith Kalaora** portrays this outspoken 19th-century "feminist-abolitionist" in this performance, written by the actress herself. (Image: [Public domain], via [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lucy_stone.jpg "LucyStone"), image cropped)

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From the Living to the Telling

Thu, Jan 28, 2016

What is it like to hold your life up for the world to examine? How do writers sift through memories and shape them into a story? Critically acclaimed authors Alysia Abbott and Howard Axelrod know. Abbott authored _Fairyland_, about growing up with her gay father in 1980s San Francisco – a book the New York Times Book Review calls a "daughter’s compassionate, clear-eyed reckoning" with her "girlhood at the dawn of the gay liberation movement." Axelrod penned _The Point of Vanishing_, which describes his two years in solitude in the Vermont woods after a freak accident. Booklist, in a starred review, calls his work an "elegant, questioning memoir." The two memoirists speak about their experiences - both living them, and re-telling them decades later. (Photo: [Flickr/Meagan](https://www.flickr.com/photos/peroshenka/7064964081/in/photolist-bLiMFx-4DoGC6-4DoHxe-4DsYTo-afUuYG-61nW25-8srXQ9-9KdQ3C-5jM41D-6ZLBkd-3jxhx4-5xYt9i-5QPait-8spKrV-7aQA1q-8ssQMm-8ssBpU-GKR34-9JU28w-GqM8i-2XSX7H-9aMg7X-GKR2K-5rZVkS-ae7SQ4-3pXRU-9JYkQv-cjx6SU-8ssLpN-9KdQ2N-4cGxKF-4xq47n-99RTvh-dHv2nM-3aL2kF-iTpoZ-5cTfmc-7Cu3Db-bBMypD-5tfysk-GKR2V-5Rsi88-rnP8hr-6rUyhs-9JYghT-9KdPZQ-9KaZSc-eSgy2p-oJurL9-eXzxXW "JournalsMemoirs"), resized)

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The Rituals of Tea: Bostonians Yesterday and Today

Fri, Dec 11, 2015

From ancient to modern times around the globe, tea drinkers have practiced distinctive “tea rituals.” Elaborate routines accompanying tea drinking followed colonists from Europe to America – making the rejection of tea in the face of unwanted taxes all the more consequential. Modern day tea rituals may not follow the strict guidelines of a ceremony, but they still provide us with a sense of structure, comfort, and familiarity. Learn from tea traveler, researcher and writer Katrina Munichiello about some of the colorful tea rituals in Boston’s history. We’ll see that while the details may have changed, the spirit of tea rituals has remained the same. Image: Michel-Barthélémy Ollivier [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Boston's First Department Store

Tue, Nov 10, 2015

Author **Anthony Mitchell Sammarco's** upcoming book covers Jordan Marsh, the store that transformed the city by bringing "department shopping" to downtown Boston. Located in a 5-story building on Washington Street, now recognized as Macys, Jordan Marsh offered its customers a vast selection of luxury goods for over 100 years - including furs, furniture, toys and carpets - along with easy credit, art exhibits, musical performance and the adage that “the customer is always right.” Don't miss this special opportunity to see memorabilia from Sammarco's extensive archive documenting the colorful history of “the greatest department store in the world.”

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