Shaping Identity and Public Memory in 19th Century America
In September 1855, seventeen-year-old John Milton Hay arrived at Brown to pursue his studies. Five and a half years later, with an A.M. from Brown under his arm, he was heading off to Washington as Assistant Private Secretary to the newly elected President of the United States.
A January 3 – March 6, 2008 exhibit here explored the story of John Hay, his time at Brown, and his evolving relationship with the man who would help shape his life's work — and whose public image Hay, in turn, would help to shape for the American people in generations to come. You'll find much of that information and many digitized primary source materials on this site.