Important 2020 Hatfield Lecture Series Update

We are excited to share that our 2020 Mark O. Hatfield Lecture Series will be presented virtually. While we are disappointed that we cannot share these insightful evenings of history in person, we know that this move to a virtual format is in the best interest of the health and safety of our members and ticket buyers. We are grateful for your continued support as we navigate and adapt to new realities and ways of virtually engaging with our highly anticipated Hatfield speakers during a pandemic.

Much has changed about our daily lives — and yet the mission and vision of the Oregon Historical Society remain steady. Ticket revenue from the Hatfield Lecture Series is a significant source of operating revenue for the Society, and in this moment when COVID-19 has reduced or threatened multiple revenue sources, your support helps OHS continue to meet the new needs of our community. Thank you to our sponsors, series subscribers, and ticket buyers for your loyal support to grow this series and bring the nation’s top scholars to Oregon audiences each year for powerful, thought-provoking evenings of historical discovery.

Attention Patron and Reserve Ticket Holders:

Please visit ohs.org/hatfield to learn about the new exclusive virtual events included with your ticket!

A Message to Current Ticket Holders:

If you purchased tickets to any of the events in this series when it was originally scheduled to be held in person, these tickets will grant you access to the virtual lectures. OHS will send an email one week prior to each lecture with a link and unique password to attend the program. You may access the gathering 15 minutes prior to the start of each lecture. If you are unable to attend the live broadcast of a lecture, we will provide access to a recording of each program to ticket holders. These recordings will be available for 30 days after the lecture. We will send access information to all ticket holders via email following the live lecture.

If you cannot attend a lecture, please consider donating your tickets or sharing them with a loved one. Our friends at Portland'5 have faced serious layoffs. Ticket sales directly affect their ability to bring their staff back to work, which helps our community thrive and maintains our elegant arts venues. Your ticket purchase for the Hatfield Lecture Series also supports critical operational costs for the Oregon Historical Society. 

If you wish to donate your tickets and receive a receipt for tax purposes, please email orhist@ohs.org with details on which ticket you wish to donate.

If you choose to refund your tickets, you may do so until 10 days before the lecture. Refunds will not be given after this time. Please contact Portland’5 at info@portland5.com or 503.248.4910 for partial series or individual lecture refunds. Layoffs have reduced this team to two people, so please allow them extra time to get back to you.

Thank you for supporting these nights of inspiring and engaging historical perspective—and for all you do for the Oregon Historical Society and our community!

The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War

Joanne B. Freeman, a professor of history and American studies at Yale University, is a leading expert on early American politics and culture. The author of the award-winning Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic, and editor of Alexander Hamilton: Writings and The Essential Hamilton, readers know Freeman best for her expertise in dirty, nasty politics.

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Her most recent book, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War—a New York Times notable book of 2018 and a finalist for the Lincoln Prize—explores the impact and legacies of physical violence in the U.S. Congress in the decades leading up to the Civil War.

Long committed to public-minded history, she has been a historical advisor for writers, documentary filmmakers, the National Park Service, and a playwright; Lin-Manuel Miranda used her work in writing Broadway’s Hamilton. She was also the historical advisor for the immersive exhibit on Hamilton and his world that opened in Chicago in April 2019, produced by the play’s creators.

A co-host of the popular American history podcast BackStory, she is a frequent commentator on PBS, NPR, CNN, the BBC, and MSNBC. She has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and Atlantic Magazine, among other publications. The winner of multiple teaching awards at Yale, her online course, The American Revolution, has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people in homes and classrooms around the world.

2020 Mark O. Hatfield Lecture Series

For over 20 years, the Oregon Historical Society has presented the Mark O. Hatfield Lecture Series, bringing together the nation’s top scholars and award-winning authors for thought-provoking evenings of history.

2020 Mark O. Hatfield Lecture Series Speakers:

• Erika Lee - September 8, 2020 (originally April 28, 2020)–Virtual Lecture
  America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States
• Henry Louis Gates, Jr. - October 27, 2020 (originally April 7, 2020)–Virtual Lecture
  Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow
• Evan Thomas - January 12, 2021 (originally March 17, 2020)–Virtual Lecture
  First: Sandra Day O’Connor
• Joanne B. Freeman - March 16, 2021 (originally March 17, 2020)–Virtual Lecture
  The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War

Single lecture tickets are still available ($30–$80 | $25–$75 for OHS members).

MEMBERS: If you have not received an email containing details on how to access members-only pricing, please contact us at communications@ohs.org or 503.222.1741. Not a member? Join today to receive discounted pricing.

OHS will send an email with a unique link to attend the virtual lecture one week prior to the event.