VIRTUAL: George Boutwell – The Most Consequential American Political Figure You’ve Never Heard Of

Listen in as historian Jeffrey S. Boutwell discusses his new biography, Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy.

George S. Boutwell is the most consequential American political figure you’ve probably never heard of.  For seven decades, George Boutwell sought to “redeem America’s promise” through racial equality, economic equity, and the humane use of American power abroad.  During his career from 1839 to 1905, he was Governor of Massachusetts, served in the U.S. House and Senate, was Treasury Secretary for Ulysses Grant, and Commissioner of Internal Revenue for Abraham Lincoln, he also helped create the Republican Party in the 1850s, and challenged the efforts of Presidents McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt to annex the Philippines in 1900 following the Spanish-American war.  Boutwell was instrumental in framing the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, initiating the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, and investigating white vigilante violence against blacks in Mississippi in the 1870s.  

This virtual program will be held in collaboration with the Bacon Free Library and the Ashland Public Library.  It is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.

Please register here for the Zoom link. 

About the Author

Jeffrey Boutwell is a writer, historian, and science policy specialist living in Columbia, Maryland, after a 40-year career in journalism, government and with international scientific research organizations.  He has written and spoken widely on issues ranging from nuclear weapons arms control to Middle East peace to environmental degradation and conflict.  He’s passionate about Shakespeare, Alpine skiing, improving US-Cuba relations, and road trips in his Mini Cooper.  Jeffrey and George share a common ancestor, the indentured servant James Boutwell who emigrated in 1632 from England to Salem, Mass. 

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.