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Note; this is on lectures series, no pix; there is one just on exhibit with 3 pix

NATIONAL HERITAGE MUSEUM LECTURES ON ‘SEEDS OF LIBERTY’ BEGIN MARCH 17

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LEXINGTON, MASS. — On March 17, the National Heritage Museum will kick off its spring Lowell Lecture Series in conjunction with its new exhibition, “Sowing the Seeds of Liberty: Lexington and the American Revolution.” This lecture series will delve into topics related to the exhibition, examining in particular the daily activities and politics of a community on the brink of war.

On Saturday, March 17, at 2 pm, Dr T.H. Breen of Northwestern University will present, “It Rained Cats and Dogs the Day the Revolution Began: A Forgotten Story of Popular Mobilization in 1775.” He will discuss popular Eighteenth Century publications and how they mobilized colonists into action.

Drawn from his work, America’s Insurgency: Popular Political Resistance to Imperial Rule, 1775–1776, Breen will show how a popular English publication called The Crisis served as a model for America’s own early press.

On Sunday, April 1, at 2 pm, Dr Steven Bullock, professor of history at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, will speak on “Building the Temple of Liberty: Freemasonry and the Founding of America.” He will discuss Freemasonry in the Revolutionary era, noting its role in the coming break with England, in the war that followed, and in the new American nation that emerged out of it.

On Sunday, April 29, at 2 pm, Dr Sharon Salinger, professor of history at the University of California at Irvine, will address “Taverns and Drinking in Eighteenth Century Massachusetts.”

She will explore the European and English origins of the tavern and its importance in the social and political world of colonial Massachusetts. Salinger will examine the laws that controlled these establishments, the groups of people who frequented them and the use of tavern space in fomenting revolution.

The series will conclude Sunday, May 6, at 2 pm, with “A Decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind: The Creation of a Revolutionary Aspiration.”

A distinguishing feature of the Revolutionary War was its leaders’ determination to win freedom in a way that would earn the respect of other nations. Dr Richard Ryerson, senior historian at the David Library of the American Revolution, will explore the late colonial origins of this respect, its practical value in winning European military support and its powerful effect on colonists’ conduct in the war for independence.

The museum is at 33 Marrett Road. For information, www.nationalheritagemuseum.org or 781-861-6559.