Jews and Puritans in Colonial New England

Jews and Puritans in Colonial New England

by | Nov 10, 2019 | 2019 History Bites

by Dr. Michael Hoberman

VIEW VIDEO

When the early New England Puritans chose to reject the excessive ritual and structure of the Roman Catholic and established Anglican churches, they went back to the Bible for guidance and found a ready-to-hand model for governance in its depiction of the ancient Jews. But their relations with contemporary Jews were more problematic, as was the application of biblical law to their everyday problems, and the issues of transatlantic trade.

Dr Michael Hoberman of Fitchburg State University is the author of New Israel/New England: Jews and Puritans in Early America. He will share the findings of his historical studies in the American colonial era.

Memory Lands: Native American Perspectives on King Philip’s War

Memory Lands: Native American Perspectives on King Philip’s War

by | Nov 8, 2019 | 2019 History Bites

by Dr. Christine DeLucia

VIEW VIDEO

Dr. Christine DeLucia will discuss her new book, Memory Lands, in which she offers a major reconsideration of the violent seventeenth-century conflict in northeastern America known as King Philip’s War, providing an alternative to Pilgrim-centric narratives that have conventionally dominated the histories of colonial New England. DeLucia grounds her study of one of the most devastating conflicts between Native Americans and European settlers in early America in five specific places that were directly affected by the crisis, spanning the Northeast as well as the Atlantic world. She examines the war’s effects on the everyday lives and collective mentalities of the region’s diverse Native and Euro-American communities over the course of several centuries, focusing on persistent struggles over land and water, sovereignty, resistance, cultural memory, and intercultural interactions.

Scars of Slavery

Scars of Slavery

by | Oct 25, 2019 | 2019 History Bites

by Dr. Bruce Laurie

VIEW VIDEO

On July 4, 1863, one of the most widely read magazines in the country during the Civil War published an image capturing the abhorrent cruelties of slavery — the side portrait of an escaped slave with terrifying, streaking scars across his back caused by a whipping from his owner.

The day after the Battle of Gettysburg ended, Harper’s Weekly published “A Typical Negro,” which included the image of the tortured former slave. He was misidentified as Gordon (his name was Peter), and the photo was accompanied by a narrative that bore little resemblance to the facts.

It did, however, provide readers in the North with some of the most powerful visual evidence of the wickedness of slavery and the abuses that slaves endured.

Recent research by Dr Bruce Laurie, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, into two local men who fought for the Union Army during the Civil War era — Henry S. Gere of Northampton and Marshall S. Stearns of Northfield — provided new clues about the true identity of the former slave brought to national attention by Harper’s.

Stories in Stone

Stories in Stone

by | Sep 27, 2019 | 2019 History Bites

by Ta Mara Conde

VIEW VIDEO

There is a cemetery in every town and whether it is a colonial burial ground from the beginning of our country or the modern memorial garden on the outskirts of the city; it holds the history of that town. It tells the story of the people, their attitudes towards death, and the industries in which they worked. The cemetery can even show us the geology of the local landscape. These outdoor museums hold a wealth of information which is accessible and open to the average person. The stones reveal the stories, even the mysteries of the town, through the monuments to the people who lived there and whose stories are written in stone.

Heaven is a World of Love

Heaven is a World of Love

by | Sep 13, 2019 | 2019 History Bites

by Rev. Peter Ives

VIEW VIDEO

Reverend Peter Ives will present a new perspective on the life, ministry, and theology of Congregational minister Johnathan Edwards (1703-1758) , widely regarded as one of America’s most important and original philosophical theologians and a key figure in the first Great Awakening. Rev. Ives was minister of the First Congregational Church in Northampton; the same church where Edwards ministered.

100 Years of Silk in the Valley

100 Years of Silk in the Valley

by | May 10, 2019 | 2019 History Bites

by Dr. Marjorie Senechal

VIEW VIDEO

Silk has been made in China for thousands of years, but its history in the Pioneer Valley only spans about a hundred years, from 1830 to 1930. Dr Marjorie Senechal, who spearheaded The Silk Project a few years ago, gives us a wide-ranging overview of this important chapter in our history.