In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, we speak with Rachel Wiedman. She discusses her dissertation research on gender and political culture in the Civil War era North, tracing a shift in how Northerners evaluated political leadership from an ideal of restrained manhood that valued moderation and compromise to one of martial manhood that prized principle, moral courage, and confrontation. At the MHS, Rachel has been working with letters written by constituents to figures such as John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, and Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew, revealing how ordinary Northerners used the language of manhood to praise and condemn their political representatives.

Rachel Wiedman is a recipient of the Marc Friedlaender Fellowship from the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-36-Wiedman

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Prof. Christopher Willoughby discusses his research on racial science and medicine in antebellum America, tracing how northern medical schools, including Harvard Medical School, taught and institutionalized theories of biological racial difference. At the MHS, he has been working with the papers of John Collins Warren, examining how this notable Harvard surgeon assembled a skull collection drawn largely from enslaved people and Indigenous communities.

Prof. Willoughby is a recipient of the Elizabeth Woodman Wright Fellowship from the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-35-Willoughby

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Prof. Chelsi Arellano discusses her research on the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and its ripple effects across the British Empire, with a particular focus on the Bostonian Revolt of 1689. She explores how colonists in Massachusetts Bay, frustrated by the dissolution of their charter under James II and the creation of the Dominion of New England, were inspired by events in England to depose their own royal governor. Prof. Arellano also examines the largely overlooked role that women, people of color, and the poor played in that revolt.

Prof. Arellano is a recipient of the Samuel Victor Constant Fellowship from the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts administered by the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-34-Arellano

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)