On Thursday, January 30, Chapin hosted its 18th Gilder Lehrman Lecture in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. This annual event was extra special this year because, for the first time, we welcomed a Chapin alumna as the speaker!
Amanda Brickell Bellows, Class of 2004, is a historian of the United States and teaches at Eugene Lang College at The New School. She is an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer, a Fellow of the Explorers Club and a member of the Society of Women Geographers. Amanda received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The evening began with an introduction from Head of School Suzanne Fogarty, followed by remarks from Bob Daum, a member of Gilder Lehrman’s Board of Trustees and the father of three Chapin alums. Arielle Patrick ’07, a fellow Chapin alum and trustee who sits on Gilder Lehrman’s President’s Council, then introduced Amanda, saying she has been a “role model” she has “always looked up to.”
Joining Amanda in conversation was Ellen Baylor, Head of Chapin’s Upper School History Department, and advisor to Amanda for her Class 12 Individual Study Project. The two took their seats at the front of the Assembly Room and began an illuminating discussion.
Here to discuss her newest book, The Explorers: A New History of America in Ten Expeditions, Amanda began by giving a brief summary to the audience—made up of current and former professional community members, students (including all of Class 11), parents and alums.
“It’s truly an honor to be back at the school where I learned to read, research and write,” Amanda began. This book, she said, tells the story of ten “often overlooked adventures whose discoveries shaped the course of U.S. history.”
As each person represents a particular era, Amanda decided to divide her book into two parts: American explorers traveling the U.S. during the westward expansion followed by American explorers who went beyond the continental U.S. Included in the book, among others, are Sacagawea, James Beckwourth, Florence Bailey, Harriet Chalmers Adams, Matthew Henson and Sally Ride. While Amanda’s first book was written for an academic audience, she wanted this one to incorporate human elements with “a narrative arc.”
Referring to Amanda’s use of the phrase “often overlooked,” Ms. Baylor asked, “What kinds of people have been left out in history and how did you amplify their stories?”
“Women and people of color, in particular,” Amanda replied. Noting that racism and sexism play a role in whose stories get told, she gave the example that we have no first-hand expedition account from Sacagawea’s perspective. As well, Robert Peary—a white officer in the U.S. Navy—often gets the credit for leading the first expedition to the North Pole. Since this happened during the Jim Crow era, the white-owned newspapers lauded Peary without acknowledging Matthew Henson’s critical contributions, while Black-owned newspapers with smaller circulations recorded and celebrated Matthew.
When asked about the role technology plays in discovering new frontiers, Amanda underscored that technological advancement is vital to the effort. “In 1804, the Corps of Discovery spent two years traveling to the West Coast and returning to St. Louis,” she said. Then, 65 years later came the Transcontinental Railroad, which cut travel across the United States to a week, followed by the invention of the airplane, which reduced that journey to a matter of hours. “Amelia Earhart took weeks trying to fly around the world in 1937, but 50 years later, Sally Ride circumnavigated the globe in the Space Shuttle Challenger 16 times in one day—thanks to rocket power!”
“What makes a successful explorer?” Ms. Baylor inquired.
“Not dying,” Amanda joked before offering, “I thought explorers were successful by working in isolation.” She learned, however, that huge teams of people make expeditions possible. The space race, for example, involved over 1,000 individuals. “The ability to work as part of a team and adaptability are traits that make a great explorer.”
Delving into her excitement over the possibility of new frontiers, Amanda highlighted deep sea exploration, noting that “only 5% of our oceans have been explored.” She also emphasized the vast potential for space and exoplanet research.
“I’m interested in your career journey,” Ms. Baylor said. “How you went from a student sitting in this room to a teacher in this room. Can you tell us a little bit about that?”
“I had the best experience at Chapin,” Amanda gushed. “I had wonderful teachers and friends. We were exposed to challenging and elevated texts…the skills you learn here are so transferable to all fields. We learned to think critically, how to formulate research questions and construct an argument.” Amanda went on to major in History at Middlebury College and worked in Finance for two years before heading to UNC Chapel Hill for their History Ph.D. program. “I’ve been teaching at The New School since 2016.”
For the students in the room interested in History, Amanda emphasized the myriad paths historians take from working in a museum or library, as an archivist, to teaching. After an engaging Q&A, heartfelt applause burst from the audience. “This is a special gift to me as your former teacher,” Ms. Baylor said. “Thank you, Amanda!”
