Historian gives voice to the common man

A lecture that emphasized the importance of documenting the history of women, minorities and the common people brought renowned historian Gary Nash to the city Saturday, drawing a small crowd to the Franklin Institute's Messer Theater. The lecture -- entitled "Remembering Philadelphia: Patrons, Politics, and Popular Culture in Reconstructing the City's History" -- was part of a series dedicated to the memory of Frederic Miller, curator of the Urban Archives Center at Temple University, who passed away in March 1998. Drawing on his extensive work, Nash discussed different ways to go about collecting documents, artifacts and information about the city, stressing that it is just as important to research the lives of the average person as it is for the elite. "Even in an American society that regarded itself as unique because it was so thoroughly democratic in its outlook and institution, history was nearly the personal property of the elite because it was written, with a few exceptions, by those who were white, male, Protestant and patrician," Nash said. What people remember about a society, Nash said, is often dependent on what was documented. Since Philadelphia's elite more often collected information, it is important to rediscover what was left out in that collection. Nash later commented on the "full flowering" in the last few decades of a history that includes women, minorities and the common people. "Although this recent redistribution of the property of history has its critics, it has invigorated, I would argue, and increased the popularity of history," Nash said. After the speech, audience members generally praised Nash, explaining that his talk was relevant to the work of Miller, the former museum curator. "Gary was the ideal person to do it," said Temple University Dean Morris Vogel, who introduced Nash. "He speaks to the public awareness that history needs to have in order to be effective." "[The lecture] touched all kinds of issues that Fred [Miller] was so interested in in his lifetime, such as the importance of collecting and organizing materials that are not just about politicians and socially prominent people," said Naomi Miller, Fred Miller's widow. "In a city that's drawing massive amounts of tourists, I think it's important to understand our past and how to interpret it," noted Jennifer Lawrence, a doctoral candidate in American History at Temple University. Nash was born and raised in Philadelphia and has written several books including Forging Freedom: The Formation of Philadelphia's Black Community, 1720-1840; The Urban Crucible; and Quakers and Politics: Pennsylvania, 1681-1726. The series will consist of annual lectures alternating between locations in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. A memorial fund in memory of Miller and a donation drive for the lecture series raised $15,000 to fund this lecture and six or seven more. Rutgers University History Professor Howard Gillette, who introduced the series, said, "We hope that whoever we have will continue a dialogue which we think is absolutely essential to the life of any exhibit community."