2019 SHEAR Annual Meeting

Conference Fee Waived

Thursday: Margherita Desy, maritime and early U.S. Navy historian, leads a 90-minute walking tour of Salem’s waterfront. Afterwards, visit the Peabody Essex Museum for a presentation by maritime historian George Schwartz, PhD and self-tour the international collections in the PEM galleries. Bus seating is limited, and reservations are required. Bus departs hotel at 12:00; returns by 5:30.

Thursday: NPS Rangers will lead tours of 1675 Narbonne House, the 1762 Derby House, and the 200-year-old Salem Custom House. Afterwards, visit the Peabody Essex Museum for a presentation by maritime historian George Schwartz, PhD and then self-tour the international collections in the PEM galleries. Bus seating is limited, and reservations are required. Bus departs hotel at 12:00; returns by 5:30.

Thursday: Go behind-the-scenes at Massachusetts Historical Society with Adams Papers’ editors who will showcase treasures from the family’s manuscripts. Next, enjoy a Park Ranger guided tour through Old House at Peace field, home of two presidents, two first ladies and a family dedicated to public service. Bus seating is limited, and reservations are required. Bus departs hotel at 12:30; returns by 5:30.

Thursday: Boston history expert Bob Allison will guide a tour from Boston Common to the North End. Along the way, visit the 1713 Old State House, the 1742 Faneuil Hall, and two colonial-era burying grounds. Space is limited, and reservations are required. Tour sets off from 73 Tremont St at 1:00 pm.

SHEAR’s 41st annual conference opens at 6:00 with the President’s Plenary, “Constituting the United States: Living in the Wake of Revolution.”

Plenary Reception. In the Marriott immediately following the President’s Plenary, from 7:30 to 9:00 pm.

Plenary Reception. In the Marriott immediately following the President’s Plenary, from 7:30 to 9:00 pm.

Andy Shankman and David Waldstreicher invite graduate students and early career scholars to meet for an informal early-morning conversation. Reservations requested but walk-ins welcome.

Friday: Ninety-minute guided tour of the Boston Museum of African American History, including the Abiel Smith School (1835) and the adjacent 1806 African Meeting House, the oldest extant black church building in the U.S. and the hub of Boston's nineteenth-century African American community. On their own, participants may follow the 1.6-mile Black Heritage Trail that focuses on Boston's free black community and their efforts in the abolition movement, the Underground Railroad, and early struggles for equality and justice. Meet at 2:30 the MAAH, 46 Joy Street.

Friday: Kate Monea, archivist, and Harrie Slootbeek, collections manager, of the USS Constitution Museum share rare materials from the Museum. Next, Margherita Desy, U.S. Navy historian for USS Constitution, gives a one-hour tour of “Old Ironsides.” NOTES: A government-issued photo I.D. is required to board the USS Constitution. Tour includes standing and climbing ladderways between decks; comfortable shoes are recommended. Space is limited, and reservations are required. Bus departs hotel at 3:15 and returns by 6:30.

The American Antiquarian Society and the Massachusetts Historical Society welcome SHEARites at a reception from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Massachusetts Historical Society (1154 Boylston St.).

The American Antiquarian Society and the Massachusetts Historical Society welcome SHEARites at a reception from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Massachusetts Historical Society (1154 Boylston St.).

Graduate students from the area will welcome their colleagues at an informal gathering beginning at 9:00 p.m. at The Pour House Bar and Grill (907 Boylston St.).

Graduate students from the area will welcome their colleagues at an informal gathering beginning at 9:00 p.m. at The Pour House Bar and Grill (907 Boylston St.).

The women of SHEAR will gather from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. for their eleventh annual breakfast honoring the life and career of long-time SHEAR member and supporter Jeanne Boydston. Tickets are $25.00 for a hearty and heartening breakfast and we encourage senior scholars to sponsor a graduate student or early-career scholar. Reservations are required.

The 2019 presidential address begins at 7:00 pm in Milstein Hall at Harvard Law School. President Annette Gordon-Reed will discuss "Jefferson Matters: Situating an Eighteenth-Century Founder in Twenty-First-Century America." The President’s Address is free and open to all conference participants. Shuttle buses will circle between hotel and HLS starting at 6:00 and run until 10:00 pm.

Saturday 20 July. The SHEAR awards reception follows immediately after the presidential address in Milstein Hall at Harvard Law School. Shuttle buses will circle between hotel and HLS starting at 6:00 and run until 10:00 pm.

Saturday 20 July. The SHEAR awards reception follows immediately after the presidential address in Milstein Hall at Harvard Law School. Shuttle buses will circle between hotel and HLS starting at 6:00 and run until 10:00 pm.

Sunday 21 July. Led by Concord history expert Bob Gross, tour begins at the Minuteman National Historical Park. Visit the Old North Bridge, the Old Manse (home of Ralph Waldo Emerson and later Nathaniel Hawthorne) and Robbins House (home of multiple African-American families including descendants of Revolutionary War veteran Caesar Robbins). Encounter Revolutionary landmarks such as the Wright Tavern, the First Parish meeting house, and site of Henry David Thoreau’s lectures. Space is limited and reservations are required. Bus departs hotel at 1:15; returns by 5:45.

Sunday 21 July. Walk is led by Dr. Caitlin Hopkins, Lecturer and Research Associate at Harvard University, who is currently investigating Harvard and slavery for the Office of the President. During the walk, she will share recent discoveries on the role of enslaved people and the slave trade in Harvard’s long history. After the walk, you’ll travel by bus to the Royall House and Slave Quarters in nearby Medford for a docent-led tour. This eighteenth century home of the Royall family includes the only extant freestanding slave quarters in the northern United States. Space is limited and reservations are required. Bus departs hotel at 1:30 pm and returns at approximately 5:30 pm.