Lincoln’s Second Inaugural: The Story of a Presidential MasterpieceRecorded Feb. 12, 2020 Shortly before lockdown, in February 2020, Abraham Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer joined us in our Robert H. Smith Auditorium and surveyed the 16th president’s majestic second “malice toward none” inaugural address. At the time, the speech generated entirely partisan responses—and even an assassination…
Read MoreLincoln’s Second Inaugural: The Story of a Presidential MasterpieceRecorded Feb. 12, 2020 Shortly before lockdown, in February 2020, Abraham Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer joined us in our Robert H. Smith Auditorium and surveyed the 16th president’s majestic second “malice toward none” inaugural address. At the time, the speech generated entirely partisan responses—and even an assassination…
Read MoreI Approve This Message, an exhibition about the emotional impact of political advertising in a landscape altered by the internet, was set to open at the New-York Historical Society this September. The COVID-19 lockdown halted those plans, but we want to share a few of the exhibition’s themes, particularly as we barrel towards our new…
Read MoreNew-York Historical houses a vast collection of historic toys. It’s all fun and games, of course, but to us, it’s not just about kids’ play: We view toys as a unique, invaluable window onto how people of past decades lived, what they valued, and how they entertained themselves. It’s for this reason that we’re pleased…
Read MoreIn May, the world lost a titan of activism and protest when Larry Kramer passed away at the age of 84. Described by Susan Sontag as “one of America’s most valuable troublemakers,” Kramer was a playwright and essayist who found the cause of his life in the early 1980s when his community of gay men in New…
Read MoreOur Public Programs series has long explored the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. And one of the most central sites in that history was Birmingham, AL, in the 1960s. Listen to two audio recordings of programs that focus on the city’s indelible place in the story of African American struggle and protest: First, a 2019 conversation between history scholar Eddie…
Read MoreIn 2014, New-York Historical welcomed brothers and presidential historians Tevi Troy and Gil Troy for a fascinating Public Program about the presidents as readers, moviegoers, and fans of pop culture. From Ronald Reagan’s Hollywood-trained showmanship to Bill Clinton’s saxophone playing to Dwight D. Eisenhower’s love of westerns, how have various administrations used culture to communicate and connect…
Read MoreIn the months leading up to the 1952 presidential election, the campaigns were having a vigorous debate—about television. President Harry Truman had declined to run for another term, and the contest was shaping up between Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson for the Democrats and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for the Republicans. At this point in history,…
Read MoreIn an age of constant photo-ops and perpetual press releases, American presidents must cultivate public approval through the channels of ever-changing communication and technology. In this audio recording of a 2016 Public Program, history scholar David Greenberg and CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin provide an in-depth look at how the American presidency has evolved over the…
Read MoreGracie Mansion has been the official residence of New York City’s mayor since the 1940s, but its history goes back much farther than that. It was named for Archibald Gracie, the wealthy merchant who built the house in 1799 as his private residence at what is now East End Ave. and East 88th St. New-York Historical has its…
Read MoreThe internment of Japanese Americans during World War II is one of the ugliest chapters in U.S. history. Starting in 1942, 120,000 citizens of Japanese descent on the Pacific coast were forced to abandon their homes and businesses and relocate to distant concentrations camps. Below, listen to two audio recordings of Public Programs that explore this era: the first, with…
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