Shays’ Rebellion

Shays’ Rebellion

by | May 27, 2021 | 2021 History Bites

by Dr. Barbara Mathews

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At a time when the survival of the American experiment in government by and for the people was neither destined nor assured, the Massachusetts uprising labeled “Shays’ Rebellion” fueled speculation that the new United States could not survive for long. While most widely known for the bloody confrontation at the United States Arsenal at Springfield in January 1787, the lasting legacy of the Massachusetts Regulators and their sympathizers was in the creation and ratification of the United States Constitution.

Dr. Barbara Mathews is the Public Historian and Director of Academic Programs at Historic Deerfield. She was the content director, historian, and writer for the website From Revolution to Constitution: Shays’ Rebellion & the Making of a Nation, a collaboration among the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Springfield Technical Community College, and the Springfield Armory funded through a We The People grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

DuBois Library Special Collections

DuBois Library Special Collections

by | May 21, 2021 | 2021 History Bites, Uncategorized

by Aaron Rubinstein

“Expanding our great national reservoir of knowledge and intellectual thought:” past, present, and future of the Special Collections at UMass Amherst.

Former Chancellor Randolph Bromery’s ambitious words, written in 1974, presage a transformation of the Special Collections at UMass that began with the acquisition of the W. E. B. Du Bois Papers and blossomed after the arrival of Robert Cox in 2004. The new Head of the Special Collections, Aaron Rubinstein, will discuss the this transformation and how it sets the stage for the future of the department.

Aaron Rubinstein is the Head of the Special Collections and University Archives at UMass Amherst. Aaron grew up in Amherst, graduated from UMass, and has worked in SCUA for over a decade. Before SCUA, he was the Archivist for Digital Collections at Tufts University, and before that Collections Manager at the Yiddish Book Center.

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The Black Cats of Amherst

The Black Cats of Amherst

by | Apr 23, 2021 | 2021 History Bites

by Jim Hamilton

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Shortly after the United States declared war on Germany in April of 1917, a group of Amherst residents, including townspeople, students, and college professors, enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve in an ambulance unit supporting French soldiers. Driving Model T and Fiat trucks, this unit, nicknamed the Black Cats of Amherst, served with distinction in France and Belgium during the last year of World War I. Jim Hamilton will describe their exploits using contemporary photographs, newspaper articles, diary accounts, letters, and quotes from their unit history.

Jim Hamilton is a graduate of Amherst College and the grandson of a Black Cat. He has published two books related to the Black Cats. The first is The Black Cats of Amherst and the second is We Unite to Serve: The Wartime Diaries of Reverend Stoddard Lane. For more information on Jim’s writing projects, see www.greenharbor.com.

Early Days at the Valley Advocate, part 2

Early Days at the Valley Advocate, part 2

by | Apr 9, 2021 | 2021 History Bites

by Chris O’Carroll and David Sokol

In September 2020, Mr Chris O’Carroll reminisced about his time working at the Valley Advocate in the 1970’s. Now he will return, teamed up with the Advocate Music Editor to tell us more about some of the acts (Bob Dylan, Jane Fonda, Marcel Marceau) he covered as Arts and Entertainment Editor for the local weekly, and about the ways in which arts & entertainment coverage can overlap with hard-news political stories — for example, when local activists picket a movie theatre, or when artists espouse political causes and perform at fundraising converts.

Mr. Chris O’Carroll was an editor at the Valley Advocate from 1975-1980 – arts and entertainment editor for most of that time, then briefly managing editor. After his years at the newspaper, he worked as a freelance journalist and a writer and editor at various magazines published by UMass.

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Native American Stone Structures

Native American Stone Structures

by | Mar 26, 2021 | 2021 History Bites

by Dr. Curtiss Hoffman

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Scattered throughout the woodlands and fields of the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada are tens of thousands of stone monuments. These stone constructions have been the subject of debate among archaeologists and antiquarians for the past seventy-five years. Dr Curtiss Hoffman of Bridgewater State University, the author of Stone Prayers, will share his findings and insights, based on an examination of over 5,000 sites.

Curtiss Hoffman holds a PhD from Yale University in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures (1974), and since 1973 has directed field operations at archaeological sites in southern New England. He is Full Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts and is past president of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society and currently serves as the editor of its Bulletin.

The Gritty Berkshires

The Gritty Berkshires

by | Mar 12, 2021 | 2021 History Bites

by Maynard Seider

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In his book, The Gritty Berkshires, Dr Maynard Seider tells how the Berkshires offer insight into so many crucial aspects of the American experience. Moving from the early 1800s to the present, Seider weaves a narrative that details the area’s vibrant immigrant history, slavery’s role in its textile industry, the battle for national unions and the ideological struggles with corporate elites over who best speaks for the community. Enriched by dozens of photographs, these stories focus on the voices of ordinary people as they often do extraordinary things.

Maynard Seider is an Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (formerly North Adams State College), where he taught 1978-2010.