A City of History
21/05/2007 10:49 PM
Today we received a history lesson
from none other than Hannah Adams, the first professional female
American writer. We visited a long list of places that had impacts
on the development of the colonies into an independent nation. We
began our journey on the Freedom Trail at the Boston Common, which
was the first public park in the US (a fact that made me quite
happy). The first subway system in America was built right
underneath it, and we used that subway stop many times to get from
our hostel to the heart of Boston.
On the way through history, we saw the graves of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and James Otis, who we found out was a huge help in the revolution but was forgotten in history because he went a little crazy later in life. We saw the site of the first Anglican Church the British insisted on building. Because no one in Boston wanted the church there, the British took it upon themselves to build it right on top of half of a graveyard; today it is a Unitarian Universalist church. Hannah showed us the Old South Meeting House, a building that was used for many pivotal meetings during the time period. For example, on the night of the Boston Tea Party, a meeting was being held there, and people became enraged during the speeches to help support dumping the British tea.
Our final stops were the site of the Boston “Massacre” and Faneuil Hall. Hannah told us the story of what really happened the night of the Boston Massacre, when only a few were killed. She explained that the propaganda following the incident really became a reason for people on the fence to join the revolution because what most people saw was a print that included a dead dog in addition to a few adults sprawled on the ground. The image in most minds was of an injustice that had been done to the Bostonians. The last stop, Faneuil Hall, has been in operation since 1742 as a meeting place for politicking and important city, state and national discussions. The bottom floor of the building has always been a marketplace. Still used today as it was when it was built, Faneuil Hall hosted John Kerry during his concession speech in the 2004 election.
Hannah gave us some useful advice (if we lived during the revolutionary time period and were British): In order to avoid being caught as a British spy, always remember when someone asks you what is atop Faneuil Hall that it is a grasshopper; if you dare to call it a cricket, you’d better watch out, you British spy, you!
On the way through history, we saw the graves of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and James Otis, who we found out was a huge help in the revolution but was forgotten in history because he went a little crazy later in life. We saw the site of the first Anglican Church the British insisted on building. Because no one in Boston wanted the church there, the British took it upon themselves to build it right on top of half of a graveyard; today it is a Unitarian Universalist church. Hannah showed us the Old South Meeting House, a building that was used for many pivotal meetings during the time period. For example, on the night of the Boston Tea Party, a meeting was being held there, and people became enraged during the speeches to help support dumping the British tea.
Our final stops were the site of the Boston “Massacre” and Faneuil Hall. Hannah told us the story of what really happened the night of the Boston Massacre, when only a few were killed. She explained that the propaganda following the incident really became a reason for people on the fence to join the revolution because what most people saw was a print that included a dead dog in addition to a few adults sprawled on the ground. The image in most minds was of an injustice that had been done to the Bostonians. The last stop, Faneuil Hall, has been in operation since 1742 as a meeting place for politicking and important city, state and national discussions. The bottom floor of the building has always been a marketplace. Still used today as it was when it was built, Faneuil Hall hosted John Kerry during his concession speech in the 2004 election.
Hannah gave us some useful advice (if we lived during the revolutionary time period and were British): In order to avoid being caught as a British spy, always remember when someone asks you what is atop Faneuil Hall that it is a grasshopper; if you dare to call it a cricket, you’d better watch out, you British spy, you!