The Legacy of 1812: How a Little War Shaped the Trans-Atlantic World

Don Hickey in dialogue with Bob Allison
Pre-Talk ceremony at 6:15, the Mill Talk itself will begin at 7PM
Co-sponsored by The Society of the War of 1812 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

In this engaging dialogue, noted historians Don Hickey and Bob Allison explore the enduring legacy of the War of 1812—how a seemingly small conflict reshaped the relationships among the United States, Britain, and Canada. They’ll discuss the war’s political and economic reverberations in New England, its impact on trans-Atlantic trade and diplomacy, and the ways it continues to influence North American identity and memory today. This topic has particular resonance here at the Charles River Museum, at the site of Francis Cabot Lowell’s Boston Manufacturing Company, whose prosperity was only possible due to trade disruptions caused by the War of 1812.

Public Ceremony: 6:15 PM

Join The Society of the War of 1812 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation for a public recognition of Professor Don Hickey, widely regarded as the foremost scholar of the War of 1812, and Suffolk University Professor Robert Allison, President of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts and Chair of Revolution 250.

The Society will present each scholar with a commemorative medallion in recognition of their lifetime contributions to the field of American history.

Speaker Bio: Don Hickey

Don Hickey, a retired history professor, is a longtime student of the War of 1812. He taught for many years at Wayne State Colleg in Wayne, NE. Called "the dean of 1812 scholarship" by the New Yorker, he has written a dozen books and more than a hundred articles. He is best known for The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict, which has been in print since 1989 and is generally considered the standard American treatment of the subject. His latest book is Tecumseh's War: The Epic Conflict for the Heart of America.

Links:

< hickeyhistory.com >

In Dialogue With: Bob Allison

Robert J. Allison, a professor of history at Suffolk University, also teaches in the Harvard Extension School. He has written a series of short books about the American Revolution, on the histories of Boston and of Cape Cod, as well as longer works on the Barbary Wars and Naval hero Stephen Decatur. He edited an edition of The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Allison created two classes for The Teaching Company’s series “The Great Courses,” on colonial America (“Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies) and “The Age of Benjamin Franklin,” drawn from his teaching which has covered all phases of American history, though his primary focus is the American Revolution and the early American republic. He is president of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts (https://www.colonialsociety.org/), a scholarly organization which publishes primary documents on early American history, a life-trustee of the USS CONSTITUTION Museum, and as chair of Revolution 250 Allison hosts its weekly podcast, (https://www.buzzsprout.com/1336051) a series of conversations on the Revolution with historians, museum curators, and re-enactors.

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Host or Publisher Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation