2024 Lecture Series

Athenaeum Proprietor Jack McGee presents Levi Woodbury: From 'Baby Judge' to U.S. Supreme Court (and Threshold of the White House). Born in Francestown, New Hampshire, Levi Woodbury established a legal practice there in 1812.  He was named to New Hampshire's highest court in 1816 at age 26.  In 1823 he was elected Governor of NH; […]

Both scholars and the public remember Franklin Pierce, the only person from New Hampshire elected to the American Presidency, as one of the nation’s worst chief executives, largely because he exacerbated the sectional crisis that led to the Civil War. Pierce is often portrayed as a political lightweight without strong opinions who often served the interests […]