Hatpins and Cursing

At the library we are continuously looking to make our resources more available to the public. In the past we digitized a number of public documents from our collection as well as all of Massachusetts’ Acts and Resolves. Currently we are in the process of digitizing Massachusetts’ Legislative Documents – all filed bills from the late 1700s, and have already put a number of them online for anyone to search through.

Digitization is a long process, including scanning of the material, creating and editing metadata, and uploading these files so that they are searchable and findable. During the process of editing the metadata, I came across a number of bills that today may have seemed slightly ludicrous. Of course, not all bills become law, but many of these bills seemed to reflect the time that they were filed.

For example, there was a lot of debate about hatpins at the turn of the 20th century, when they were quite fashionable for women to wear with oversized hats and long hair. Massachusetts passed an act in 1913 regulating the use of hatpins, making it unlawful for any person to wear a hatpin in public longer than one half inch. This was an issue all over the country, as women were using the pins as weapons against those harassing them and some saw the hatpins as a symbol of female empowerment at a time when women’s rights were at the center of politics. In 1943, with hatpins being out of fashion, a bill was filed and passed to repeal the hatpin law. Luckily, hatpins have not been a problem since.

There are other bills that today would seem difficult to handle or for police to enforce. In 1936, a bill was filed in the house, “prohibiting the use of obscene or sacrilegious language and swearing at theatrical exhibitions or entertainments”. Perhaps even harder to believe, a bill was filed in 1956, “prohibiting profane, obscene, impure language or slanderous statements directed at participant of sporting event.” When I read this bill, I found it very quaint that the legislatures of 1957 tried to get New England sports fans under control. But it turns out this bill came up again in 1957 and actually passed into law in 1963. In fact, it is still law today. Many people (including myself) may owe a fine of $50 after a visit to The Boston Garden or Fenway Park.

There are many more bills and acts worth looking into, including the intent of a bill filed in 1937, “making it unnecessary for women twenty years of age or over to give their exact age in order to be listed as residents of any city or town or permitted to Vote therein.” While we only have some of the legislative documents from 1913 to the 1980s and early 1990s currently online, we are working to make all of them eventually available!

Stephanie Turnbull
Reference Librarian

Chickadees in a Cracker Jack box

The State legislature designated the chickadee as the “bird or bird emblem of the commonwealth” in 1941. A few years ago, in preparation for an upcoming exhibition on birds in Massachusetts*, the State Library’s Special Collections Department started collecting objects and images relating to our state bird. A surprising number of friends and family members had chickadee memorabilia to contribute, and the collection has continued to grow through donations.

Acts and Resolves passed by the General Court. 1941 Chapter 0121.

In early 2015 a small gift joined the collection: a prize from a 1940’s Cracker Jack box. The prize was a miniature booklet (2 ¾”h x 2 1/8”w) titled Chickadee, by John H. Eggers, with a copyright date of 1941. Not necessarily of great research value, but this item will be a charming addition the next time we do an exhibition on printing techniques, or birds, or state emblems.

*Amazing Birds: The Wild Side of Massachusetts, June-August 2012; see images on the State Library’s Flickr page.

Special Collections Department

March Author Talk: John Stauffer

Picturing Frederick Douglass by 

John Stauffer, Zoe Trodd, and Celeste-Marie Bernier 

Thursday, March 24, 2016—Noon to 1:00 pm

State Library of Massachusetts—Room 341, Massachusetts State House

If someone were to ask you to name the most photographed American of the 19th century, what would your answer be? Abraham Lincoln? Ulysses S. Grant? Walt Whitman? According to author John Stauffer, the answer is Frederick Douglass.

Why did abolitionist and political activist Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) sit for so many portraits? This is the question that Harvard University Professor John Stauffer and his co-authors, Zoe Trodd and Celeste-Marie Bernier, explore in their recently published book, Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth-Century’s Most Photographed American. As it turns out, Douglass loved photography and spoke and wrote on the topic extensively. Douglass also recognized the power of photography to more accurately portray black Americans during this pivotal time in American history. Picturing Frederick Douglass presents a visual biography of Douglass with 160 of his portraits, arranged chronologically, and generous annotations by the authors. 

In addition to Picturing Frederick Douglass, Professor Stauffer has written or edited eighteen other books, including The Portable Frederick Douglass, Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, and The Black Hearts of Men: Radical Abolitionists and the Transformation of Race. Professor Stauffer is one of the leading authorities on the Civil War era, antislavery, social protest movements, and photography, and he is an award-winning professor of English and American Literature, American Studies, and African American Studies at Harvard University.

Please join us for an Author Talk with Professor Stauffer on Thursday, March 24, at noon at the State Library. Professor Stauffer’s talk is free and open to the public, and copies of the book Picturing Frederick Douglass will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Please register online and join us on March 24 at the State Library.

Laura Schaub

Cataloging Librarian

Friends of the Library Newsletter -- March issue available

Legislative Research: Archival Collections

Gov. Foster Furcolo in 1960.
Photograph from the Foster Furcolo
Papers (Ms. Coll. 86) 

Depending on where and how far your legislative research takes you, the research process may involve searching for materials that supplement the official published documents housed in the State Library.  This often requires visiting other institutions and looking at archival collections relevant to the information you are seeking, and it’s important to be aware of what’s available out there.  Here are some examples that should be kept in mind the next time you research legislation:

• Committee files:  When a bill is assigned to a legislative committee and goes through a public hearing, committee staff will often compile a bill folder that includes submitted testimony.  The folder is retained throughout the legislative session by the committee; however its ultimate disposition varies.  Many of these records are deposited at the State Archives for permanent retention.  If you are unable to find the hearing records or other committee files you are looking for, it’s important to contact the relevant committee to determine where they are housed.
• Example:  an ArchiveGrid search for [“Joint Committee on the Judiciary” Massachusetts] yields many results including hearing, legislative, and subject files for the committee.
• The State Library also maintains a small selection of committee records; finding aids can be viewed in our DSpace digital repository.
• Many hearings and formal legislative sessions are also videotaped; in addition are videos of selected hearings in the library’s collection.
• Governor’s legislative files:  These files include those produced by the Governor’s Legislative and Legal Counsel staff members and can provide background information on legislation from the perspective of the Executive Branch.  Recent records can be accessed by contacting the Governor’s Legislative Office; earlier records (starting in 1964) are housed at the State Archives.  In addition, the executive records of Massachusetts governors (1802-present) are also at the Archives.  For more information visit: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arccol/colidx.htm

• Legislative (or “Bill”) packages:  These are the original manuscript records compiled for each bill (aka proposed legislation).  Passed legislation is filed by its act chapter number, while unpassed legislation is filed by final bill numbers.  More recent (past 10 years or so) packages are housed at the Secretary’s Regulations and Publications Division; earlier packages can be found at the State Archives.
• Papers of elected officials:  The State Library collects records of Massachusetts legislators. The collections, which span from the early 20th through 21st centuries, include those of Calvin Coolidge, Andrew Natsios, Lois Pines, Foster Furcolo, and Barbara Gray.  These collections contain little personal material and primarily include records relating to legislation, issues of concern to the legislator, and constituents.  Finding aids to these collections can be accessed in the library’s DSpace digital repository.  Records (or manuscript) collections such as these may be deposited at other institutions as well; ArchiveGrid is a useful tool to use to help track them down.

Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department

Massachusetts Boards and Commissions

Within the Massachusetts Government, there are a large number of boards and commissions that are associated with state agencies. Often when I am adding public documents to our digital repository, I will find reports that were authored by or for certain commissions or boards I know nothing about. These boards have a wide range of responsibilities. Some have very narrow missions while others watch over large numbers of licensed business and professionals or supervise government spending. These boards and commissions are an important part of our state government, but it is not always understood who these groups are or what responsibilities they may have.

Boards and commissions are governmental organizations that work with specific agencies to set standards and agendas, act as advisors, influence policies and regulations, assist with business strategies, or create studies of industries or specific topics. Members of these boards and commissions are appointed by the appointing authority (often the Governor but this can vary depending on the board.) Members are appointed based on skill, interest, or experience in a certain field. Many boards and commissions have seats saved for members with very specific backgrounds or qualifications but others are open to anyone looking to get involved with state government or have issues they believe to be important. Usually, these positions are unpaid besides reimbursement for some expenses, so it is a commitment many citizens choose to make because they care about certain topics or problems and wish to make a difference.

One of the best resources to find out more on this subject is the Boards and Commission website run by the Office of the Governor. Recently, Governor Patrick started a database that allows citizens to search through state agencies for boards, their legal authority, purpose, board members and vacancies that may be available. While the boards here are only those that the Governor is the appointing authority, it is a great way to find out about hundreds of boards and commissions and the type of work they do.  If you are interested in how to be appointed to a board, the Commission on the Status of Women put out a basic guide back in 2012 about the appointment process that has helpful advice and ideas. With these resources and a little research into specific organizations, we can better understand the rolls of these commissions and the work they do.

Stephanie Turnbull

Reference Librarian

How Massachusetts Became a “Blue State”

Patrick Joseph Kennedy,
shown here as a state
representative serving
Boston in 1888, was a
son of Irish immigrants
and grandfather to
John F. Kennedy.

When one thinks of the quintessential “blue states” in the U.S., Massachusetts is always on or near the top of the list.  This wasn’t always the case, however. The transition from a strong Republican state government to a strong Democratic state government began in 1928 and continued through 1958--with the Republican Party further weakening into the 1970s.  This shift is evidenced in the political complexions of the House and Senate, and the year 1958 marks the turning point in which the Democrats truly become the majority party in the General Court.  Although this change appears quite recent, the history leading up to it goes much further back in time.

James Michael Curley in 1901 during
 his campaign for Massachusetts
State Representative. He was the
son of Irish immigrants and served
multiple terms as Mayor of Boston
and in the U.S. House of
Representatives. Image courtesy
of Images of America: A Journey
Through Boston Irish
History by Dennis P. Ryan.

The most important historical factors that contributed to the weakening of the Republican Party and the ascension of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts were immigration and birth rates, both which greatly changed the state’s population patterns.  Beginning in the early to mid-19th century  Massachusetts, which was once an “old-stock Yankee Protestant state,” saw the mass arrival of Irish Catholic immigrants escaping the potato blight and famine that was devastating Ireland.  Due to conflict with Republican Yankees, who had absorbed the anti-Catholic members of the dissolved Know Nothing Party, the majority of Irish and other Catholic immigrant groups largely identified as Democrats.  Over the course of thirty or so years, from the 1860s through the 1890s, the Irish also began to dominate local Democratic ward committees, municipal positions (police officers, firemen, etc.), and labor unions—which strengthened the group’s political clout in the state.  Immigrant groups also greatly increased birth rates and tended to have larger families than the Yankee Protestants.  These changes in the state’s demographics also affected the once polarized party ideologies:  the Democratic Party became “de-radicalized” and the Republican Party became less conservative.

While this blog post touches upon what are considered to be the biggest historical influences, there were other factors that also played a part in the political shift.  Here are some suggested resources for further reading, all of which are available in the library:

• Leading the Way: A History of the Massachusetts General Court, 1629-1980
• Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“Bird Books”) [online resource], which contain photographs and biographies of legislators beginning in 1885 up through the 2009-2010 session.
• The Boston Irish: A Political History
• Boston’s Immigrants, 1790-1880: A Study in Acculturation
• Boston’s Labor Movement: an Oral History of Work and Union Organizing[online resource]; also available in the library.

Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department