Fall 2024
Living in New England in the Age of Revolutions
Instructor: Dr. Joseph M. Adelman, Framingham State University
Popular accounts of the American Revolution often emphasize the contributions of New England. When they invoke the region, they frequently mean Massachusetts, more specifically Boston, and often a set of fifteen to twenty men in particular—occasionally narrowed down simply to two Adamses, a Hancock, perhaps an Otis and Cushing, and maybe a Benjamin Edes or Paul Revere. This course will expand that perspective. New England encompassed a broad geography and range of experiences during the second half of the eighteenth century. There were, of course, those anti-imperial protestors who later founded a state and a nation. But many in New England were Loyalists, and many more than that avoided taking sides. Thousands of women, children, African Americans, and Indigenous people navigate the tumult in their own ways.
In the 1750s, “New England” encompassed just four colonies—perhaps part of a fifth, depending on how one feels about New York’s claims to the territory that would become Vermont. By the 1820s, the northeastern corner of the United States was home to six states that contained the full spectrum of American economic and cultural activity. We will explore the dramatic changes that New Englanders experienced through these decades and how they shaped the world around them. That will include study of the origins of the American Revolution, interactions between Native and European peoples, the anti-slavery movement, the rise of industry, women’s work, the impact of revolutions in France, Haiti, and Latin America, and more. The collections at the American Antiquarian Society are ideal for an investigation into many aspects of life in revolutionary New England. The AAS holds manuscript collections related to hundreds of individual men and women, town, colony, and state records, and a plethora of printed material from books and pamphlets to thousands of newspaper issues. Over the course of the semester, we will explore how these sources can illuminate life in New England during this transformative era.
About the American Studies Seminar
The theme and leader of each year's American Studies Seminar change, but all provide a rare opportunity for undergraduates enrolled at one of the five participating institutions to do primary, in-person research in a major research library.
Admission to the seminar is coordinated by the following faculty representatives on each of the five participating campuses:
- Assumption University: John F. Bell, jf.bell [at] assumption.edu (jf[dot]bell[at]assumption[dot]edu)
- Clark University: Meredith Neuman, meneuman [at] clark.edu (meneuman[at]clark[dot]edu)
- College of the Holy Cross: Gwenn Miller, gmiller [at] holycross.edu (gmiller[at]holycross[dot]edu)
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Prof. Steven C. Bullock, HUA, sbullock [at] wpi.edu (sbullock[at]wpi[dot]edu)
- Worcester State University: Tona Hangen, thangen [at] worcester.edu (thangen[at]worcester[dot]edu)
When and Where
The seminar will meet Thursday afternoons, from 2-4 p.m., at the American Antiquarian Society, 185 Salisbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts.
About the Instructor
Dr. Joseph Adelman is associate professor of history at Framingham State University and assistant editor for digital initiatives at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. He has written several articles on printers during the Revolution, and his book, Revolutionary Networks: The Business and Politics of Printing, 1763–1789, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2019. Adelman was elected to American Antiquarian Society membership in October 2019. He was a Stephen Botein Fellow in 2007-08 and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow in 2001-12.
Eligibility and Application
The seminar welcomes applications from students enrolled at one of the five participating institutions whose academic record, personal statement, and letter of recommendation indicate a commitment to academic excellence, the ability to work independently, and a sincere interest in the seminar’s subject matter.
Eligible students may contact one of the faculty representatives listed above for more information.