Intellectual Pursuits

The future of birds may seem grim, but surprisingly, some bird populations are soaring.

Servingness at the (FY27) Table

Open discussion meeting on a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction works, new and classics. Meets on second Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. Hybrid.

This group of thinkers congregates monthly to discuss relevant topics framed by texts, media, and experiences we agree on as a group.

Discover the inspiration, planning and creative decisions that shaped Isamu Noguchi: “I am not a designer” in an insider conversation and Q&A.

Join PEM and High Museum of Art curators for a conversation celebrating the opening of Isamu Noguchi: "I Am Not a Designer."

Mark your calendar for the sixth annual Preservation in a Changing Climate conference, hosted by Salem’s Preservation in a Changing Climate Partners.

Judge William G. Young explores how Salem and Boston maritime conflicts (1800–1840) shaped early American admiralty law post Revolution.
Learn about the establishment of American Admiralty Law in Salem and Boston following the American Revolution, tracing how early 19th-century maritime conflicts in these port cities shaped the development of American jurisprudence. The lecture will examine how disputes over cargo, salvage, and prize cases during the period tested and refined the young nation’s legal system. Judge Young will also discuss the pivotal role played by Judge John Davis in establishing practical precedents for handling these cases — precedents that would go on to influence the broader framework of American admiralty law.

About the Speaker:
The Honorable William G. Young has served as a Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts since 1985, following eight years on the Massachusetts Superior Court. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, he served as a U.S. Army officer before beginning his legal career as law clerk to Chief Justice Raymond S. Wilkins of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He later practiced law with Bingham, Dana & Gould and served as Special Assistant Attorney General and Chief Counsel to Governor Francis W. Sargent. An acclaimed teacher of evidence and trial advocacy, Judge Young has taught at Harvard, Boston College, and Boston University. He is also a prolific legal scholar and the author of several influential works on evidence, trial practice, and federal jurisprudence.
While admission is free space is limited; registration is strongly encouraged.

This program is part of the Conflict & Community: Salem, Essex County, and the American Revolution lecture series. This series is a partnership between Essex Heritage and Salem Maritime National Historical Park and highlights the unique role of Essex County communities during the American Revolution. CLICK HERE or more information about Conflict & Community programs.

Judge William G. Young explores how Salem and Boston maritime conflicts (1800–1840) shaped early American admiralty law post Revolution.

Learn about the establishment of American Admiralty Law in Salem and Boston following the American Revolution, tracing how early 19th-century maritime conflicts in these port cities shaped the development of American jurisprudence. The lecture will examine how disputes over cargo, salvage, and prize cases during the period tested and refined the young nation’s legal system. Judge Young will also discuss the pivotal role played by Judge John Davis in establishing practical precedents for handling these cases — precedents that would go on to influence the broader framework of American admiralty law.

About the Speaker:

The Honorable William G. Young has served as a Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts since 1985, following eight years on the Massachusetts Superior Court. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, he served as a U.S. Army officer before beginning his legal career as law clerk to Chief Justice Raymond S. Wilkins of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He later practiced law with Bingham, Dana & Gould and served as Special Assistant Attorney General and Chief Counsel to Governor Francis W. Sargent. An acclaimed teacher of evidence and trial advocacy, Judge Young has taught at Harvard, Boston College, and Boston University. He is also a prolific legal scholar and the author of several influential works on evidence, trial practice, and federal jurisprudence.

Join ornithologist Alan Poole for an exploration into the Resplendent Quetzal — a dazzling, legendary bird of the highland forests of Central America.

Join curator and scholar Christina Hiromi Hobbs for a talk on Isamu Noguchi's voluntary incarceration at the Poston War Relocation Center during WWII.

With independence from Britain secured, in the 1780s American began trading to Asia for themselves. They bought tea in China. They sailed to the East India Company-administered India for cloth, to Yemen and Dutch Java for coffee, to Sumatra for pepper, and to many other ports in between. The trade to Asia accelerated as the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) kept European traders out of Asian waters, creating a tussle between British and American crews to supply French-occupied Europe with Asian goods. This process created a new class of American investor-capitalists and the first American millionaires. Yet such wealth came at a cost, as the ever growing and increasingly wealthy American trading fleet was a tempting target for foreign states and pirates—from Britain and France to Barbary and Yemen—against which the U.S. Navy was not always a match.
James Fichter, is an historian of early America, the British Empire, and international trade. His book, So Great a Proffit: How the East Indies Transformed Anglo-American Capitalism (Harvard: 2010), examined the relationship between the American (especially Salem) and British trades to the East Indies in the late 1700s and early 1800s. His book, Tea: Consumption, Politics, and Revolution, 1773-1776 (Cornell, 2023) charted the rise and collapse of tea politics in North America. His article, “The Palimpsest Captive” (Huntington Library Quarterly) reconsiders the 1806 loss of the Salem merchantman, Essex, in the Red Sea. His forthcoming work includes the books, The Real Boston Tea Party, and Mammon: The American Revolution and the Slave Trade, as well as an article on the fate of the Salem merchantman, Friendship, attacked by “pirates” in 1831.
While admission to this event is free, space is limited; registration is strongly encouraged.
CLICK HERE to register
After the lecture, join James Fichter for a book signing. A limited number of copies of So Great a Proffit: How the East Indies Trade Transformed Anglo-American Capitalism will be available for purchase. Since supplies are limited, you are welcome to bring a copy of any of his other books you already own to be signed as well.                    

This program is part of the Conflict & Community: Salem, Essex County, and the American Revolution lecture series. This series is a partnership between Essex Heritage and Salem Maritime National Historical Park and highlights the unique role of Essex County communities during the American Revolution. CLICK HERE or more information about Conflict & Community programs.