Public Reception Celebrating a Stunning New Biography of George S. Boutwell, Feb. 2, Groton Inn
George S. Boutwell just might be the most famous politician you’ve never heard of, but with writer and historian Jeffrey Boutwell’s biography of his distant relative, BOUTWELL: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy, coming out next week, that’s poised to change. One hundred and twenty years after his death, George Boutwell (1818 – 1905) is gaining the attention he has long deserved.
“Boutwell the man was a hero, and Boutwell the book is a revelation, a gripping tale of how Americans struggled to make the promise of equality into something more than mere words,” writes Kermit Roosevelt, author of The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America’s Story.
In celebration of Jeffrey Boutwell’s groundbreaking biography of the illustrious 19th-century politician who made Groton his family’s home, the Groton History Center is hosting a free public reception at the Groton Inn on Sunday, February 2, beginning at 1 pm with socializing over hors d’oeuvres, followed by a multimedia presentation at 2 pm, and book signing at 3. Registration at grotonhistory.org/programs is required (universal access onsite) for this free event co-sponsored by the Groton Public Library with support from W.W. Norton Publishers.
Boutwell’s career took him from the Massachusetts State House to Washington, D.C., where he served under presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Andrew Johnson (whose impeachment he aided). An ardent abolitionist, during Reconstruction George Boutwell crafted the 14th and 15th civil rights amendments. Summing up his subject’s career, Jeffrey said, “For seven decades, George Boutwell sought to redeem America's promise” through racial equality, economic equity, and “the humane use of American power abroad.”
Groton is honored to be one of the first stops on Jeffrey Boutwell’s book-signing tour.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/2833464-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2833464-2
