Countdown to April 19th, 1775: The Gathering Storm
When:
Tuesday, Apr 02, 2024 7:00p -
8:30p
Tuesday, Apr 02, 2024 7:00p -
8:30p
Where:
Acton Memorial Library
472 Main Street, Room 209
Acton, MA 01720
Admission:
FREE
Hosted by:
Categories:
Accessible Spots, History, Lectures & Conferences, Virtual
Event website:
https://www.actonma.gov/250
The Acton 250 Committee presents noted historian and author J. L. Bell. Please register for the talk at: http://tinyurl.com/APR-02-Bell.
Context: As the year 1774 began, Massachusetts politicians worried about how the royal government in London would respond to the Boston Tea Party. The force of that reaction became clear in the return of troops to Boston, the Coercive Acts, and the Massachusetts Government Act. In late summer the province’s people rebelled by shutting down government functions in rural counties, seizing weapons in ports, and electing their own legislature. The engine of that resistance was a little-understood institution: the colonial militia. By fall, it was clear that the new royal governor had no leverage outside Boston. This talk traces the end of British power in most of Massachusetts even before the war began.
J. L. Bell has explored the end of British royal government in Massachusetts by following the contest for artillery pieces in his acclaimed book, The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War. He also maintains the Boston 1775 blog, which offers daily helpings of history, analysis, and unabashed gossip about Revolutionary New England.
Remote Participation: You can participate in the Q&A using ZOOM http://tinyurl.com/Acton250-ZOOM or watch live at Acton TV http://tinyurl.com/Acton-TV. Please visit the Acton 250 website https://www.actonma.gov/250 for all programming. Generously supported by the Acton Lions Club.
