November 2023
Author’s Talk – King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father
John Hancock is often associated with the radical commencement of the Revolution and his audacious signature at the bottom of the Declaration of Independence, but his politics were not nearly as bold as they may have seemed. Throughout the Revolution, he frustrated both patriots and loyalists alike but remained the most popular and powerful man in Massachusetts through his ability to find middle ground amidst political turmoil. In her new book, historian Brooke Barbier examines the life and leadership of…
Find out more »Lecture – A Client State or a Great Power: Radicals vs. Moderates in the Diplomacy of the American Revolution
During the Revolution, American policymakers were divided into two factions—radicals and moderates. Radicals saw the United States as a great power, equal to France and worthy of alliances with as many foreign powers as possible. Moderates, however, doubted American military power and were content to rely on military assistance from France alone. In each case, battlefield results determined who held the upper hand when it came to diplomacy. Radicals prevailed when the war went well, but power quickly shifted in…
Find out more »Lunch Bite – A Handkerchief Commemorating the Reign of King George III
Museum Collections and Operations Manager Paul Newman discusses a handkerchief commemorating the reign of British monarch King George III, made ca. 1812. The large printed handkerchief chronicles contemporary events in a lavishly decorated manner and includes several portraits of notable British figures from the period. This Lunch Bite will focus on the various depictions on the printed textile, with a particular focus on how the American Revolution is referred to within the artifact and contextualized in the broader scope of…
Find out more »December 2023
Author’s Talk – God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America’s Most Hated Man
For more than two centuries, all most Americans have ever known about Benedict Arnold is that he committed treason—yet he was more than a turncoat. He was a superb leader, a brilliant tactician, a supremely courageous soldier and one of the most successful military officers of the early years of the Revolutionary War. His capture of Fort Ticonderoga, his Maine mountain expedition to attack Quebec, the famous artillery duel at Valcour Island and the turning point at the Battle of…
Find out more »Lecture – Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America
On the night of December 16, 1773, a party of Bostonians boarded three British vessels and dumped over three hundred chests of tea into Boston Harbor. In addition to objecting to taxation without representation, the participants were also protesting the Tea Act of 1773, which forced them to pay a tax on top of the monopoly prices set by the East India Company and benefitted the family of the royal governor of Massachusetts. To commemorate the 250th anniversary of this…
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