Past Events
Video recordings of past events can be viewed at this link.
Upcoming Events
February 26, 2026 • Stated Meeting at 3:00 p.m. Kirsten E. Wood, Professor of History, Florida International University, will speak on “Accommodating the Republic: Taverns and Citizenship in the Early United States.”
As Americans surged westward in the early nineteenth century, entrepreneurial men went to taverns to raise capital, promote businesses, and rally support for causes—often while drinking staggering amounts of alcohol. Their unrivaled freedom to use taverns in their pursuits of happiness helped shape the evolving meaning of citizenship. Yet sharing tavern spaces with other Americans intensified struggles to define what, and for whom, taverns—and the nation—should be.
Professor Wood specializes in the social and political histories of the early United States. Her work explores taverns, Peggy Eaton and Andrew Jackson's presidential sex scandal, enslaving widows' social and economic power, and opportunities for joy and pleasure in the young nation's public places. She earned her PhD and MA from the University of Pennsylvania and her BA from Princeton University.
If you are unable to attend in person, join the live stream by clicking on this link: CSM Live Stream
To submit a question for the speaker during the presentation, please email [email protected]
April. 16, 2026 • Stated Meeting at 3:00 p.m. Roger L. Hall, Director, Center for American Music Preservation, will speak on “More than Yankee Doodle: Songs of Patriotism and Protest in the American Revolution.”
May 22-23, 2026 - 2026 Graduate Student Forum. Proposals are due February 20, 2026. For further Information see https://www.colonialsociety.org/forum
June 4, 2026 • Donald R. Friary Symposium at 6:00 p.m. A conversation on the Material Culture of African-American History among three leaders in the field: Kabria Baumgartner, Dean’s Associate Professor of History and African Studies, Northeastern University; Alexandra Chan, archaeologist, author of Slavery in the Age of Reason: Archaeology of a New England Farm; and Kyera Singleton, Executive Director, Royall House and Slave Quarters. Thank you to Robert A. Hall for suggesting we host this conversation!
June 29-July 1, 2026 • Summer Seminar 2026 "Thinking and Teaching Early American History." Applications will be accepted until Monday, April 20, 2026.
All in-person events take place at 87 Mount Vernon St., Boston Ma 02108 and are free and open to the public. They can also be joined online at https://bit.ly/ColSocEvent. To participate in an online-only event, use the Zoom link posted on this website next to the listing for that event.