Who Tells Your Story? California Historical Society Exhibitions Link Colonial Histories On The East And West Coasts

The cornerstone of this historical presentation are two simultaneous exhibitions, Alexander Hamilton: Treasures from the New-York Historical Society that examines the life and prolific career of now-popular American statesman Alexander Hamilton (c. 1755–1804) and his lasting influence on shaping the foundation of the modern United States; and Meanwhile Out West: Colonizing California, 1769-1821 that explores Spanish Colonial California during the period of Hamilton's life. 

The exhibitions implicitly ask the questions: Who tells the story of the United States? Who tells the story of California?

"These amazing exhibitions highlight the simultaneity, differences, and similarities of Spanish and British colonialism in North America, and situates California in the broader context of how the United Sates was founded," said Dr. Anthea Hartig, Executive Director of CHS. "By using California as the lens through which we explore these broad historical topics, viewers understand how these historical events not only shaped and the foundation of our country but continue to impact it today."

In Alexander Hamilton: Treasures from the New-York Historical Society, Hamilton's lasting influence on the U.S. government comes to light in this informative exhibition that draws from the collections of the New-York Historical Society. Thanks to the award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton and the best-selling biography by Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton continues to captivate the American public more than two centuries after his death. This exhibition presents original artifacts and documents that have never been seen in the western United States, including two 400-pound statues of the famous Hamilton-Burr duel and replicas of the pistols that shaped the course of history.

"The New-York Historical Society is honored to collaborate with the California Historical Society to present this special installation of artifacts and documents that illustrate the story of Alexander Hamilton's eminent career and infamous death," said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society. "Sharing these treasures and these stories with our west-coast partners brings forth the best of public history-based opportunities for compelling national conversations."

In comparison, Meanwhile Out West: Colonizing California, 1769-1821, demonstrates that pre-conquest, much of what we know as the Southwest and west coast of the United States was the home of hundreds of thousands of Native people and the edge of the Spanish frontier. This exhibition explores the history of the region now known as California during the Spanish era, which roughly coincides with Alexander Hamilton's life and the nation's founding, through exquisite art and manuscripts drawn from CHS's collection, and artifacts borrowed from the Autry Museum of the American West, the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and the Museum of Mission Dolores. The treasures from the CHS Collection include manuscripts created by Spanish military commanders and missionaries, lavishly illustrated folio volumes recording European voyages of exploration to California and the Pacific Northwest, and rare maps illuminating changing geographic understandings of California and the quest for the Northwest Passage. Guest scholars and writers highlight three compelling stories—those of the Gabrieliño woman religious leader Toypurina, the Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra, and the Spanish-speaking settler, midwife, and curandera Eulalia Pérez—providing insight into Native and Hispanic experiences in California during this time of momentous historical change and upheaval. 

"With these powerful exhibitions, we bring together the complicated realities, mythologies, and narratives of Spanish colonial and Native Californian worlds along the Pacific coast," said Dr. Albert Camarillo, Vice Chair of CHS Board of Trustees and Emeritus history professor at Stanford University. "This perspective, along-side with the treasures from the New-York Historical Society's Hamilton collections, situates California in the broader context of how the country was founded, and its profound influence today."

Through the course of the exhibitions, the California Historical Society will also celebrate San Francisco's Old U.S. Mint with a special mini exhibition dedicated to the city landmark and its historical relevance to Alexander Hamilton, who was the nation's first Treasury Secretary and the person who authored the Act that established the U.S. Mint In addition to special tours and a lecture series at The Old U.S. Mint, CHS will hold its annual Gala there on January 11, the 263^rd anniversary of Hamilton's birth. 

The linked exhibitions, Alexander Hamilton: Treasures from the New-York Historical Society and Meanwhile Out West: Colonizing California, 1769-1821 support the California Historical Society's Teaching California initiative that will offer schools, teachers, and students a free and classroom-ready collection of resources designed to engage children in exciting and inspiring investigations of the past.  At the same time, the collection will offer teachers a research-based approach to improve student reading, writing, and critical thinking.  Over the course of the next several years, drawing upon CHS's vast archival resources and those of the libraries across the state and nation, these resources will be carefully curated and tailored to provide K-12 teachers and students with online resources they need to analyze and understand the past in support of California's new History-Social Science Framework. In 2017, CHS received a $5 million state grant to help lead this initiative with the California History-Social Science Project (CHSSP) at UC Davis.

"These two exhibitions showcase how we can bring history to the forefront for a careful examination and educational platform like Teaching California," said Dr. Hartig.  "By making California and our nation's history more accessible to students and teachers, we help ensure that the rich, complex history that has made our state what it is today is understood by future generations."

Alexander Hamilton: Treasures from the New-York Historical Society and Meanwhile Out West: Colonizing California, 1769–1821 are on view now at the California Historical Society, located at 678 Mission Street in San Francisco through February 18, 2018.  The galleries and gift shop are open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 11am-5pm.  Admission to the exhibition is FREE for CHS Members; $10 for non-members. Visit www.californiahistoricalsociety.org to learn more about special events, tours and programming associated with the exhibition. 

SOURCE California Historical Society

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