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Indians in Mashpee Demand Self-Government
Indians in Mashpee Demand Self-Government
On this day in 1833, the Mashpee of Cape Cod signed what amounted to an Indian Declaration of Independence. They reminded officials in Boston that "all men are born free and Equal, as says the...
News of Peace Treaty Reaches Boston
News of Peace Treaty Reaches Boston
On this day in 1815, news reached Boston that the War of 1812 was over. The U.S. had at first been a neutral party in a conflict between Britain and France. But when the British...
Edward Everett Gives Gettysburg Address
Edward Everett Gives Gettysburg Address
On this day in 1863, Edward Everett spoke at the dedication of Gettysburg's National Cemetery, giving what is remembered today as the other Gettysburg Address. The Boston orator was the obvious choice for the occasion....
New Bedford Strikers Cast Vote
New Bedford Strikers Cast Vote
On this day in 1928, after a bitter six-month strike, the members of New Bedford's Textile Council voted to accept a compromise offer. Faced with overproduction and falling profits, the mill owners had imposed a...
Revere Beach Opens
Revere Beach Opens
On this day in 1896, 45,000 people gathered in Revere to celebrate the opening of the first public beach in the nation. In 1895 the newly-created Metropolitan Parks Commission had taken ownership of the longest...
Activists Erect Tent City in Boston
Activists Erect Tent City in Boston
On this day in 1968, hundreds of demonstrators occupied a parking lot in Boston's South End. Houses on the site had recently been demolished, and their occupants displaced. To protest this kind of "urban renewal,"...
"Snow Hurricane" Hits Massachusetts
"Snow Hurricane" Hits Massachusetts
On this day in 1804, a "snow hurricane" struck Massachusetts. The storm began with winds so powerful that whole forests were leveled. Houses, barns, chimneys, and church steeples came crashing down. Even when the wind...
German U-Boat Attacks Cape Cod
German U-Boat Attacks Cape Cod
On this day in 1918, people in the Cape Cod town of Orleans were astonished to see a German U-boat surface offshore and begin firing on an unarmed tugboat and the four barges it was...
Boston Celebrates First Evacuation Day
Boston Celebrates First Evacuation Day
On this day in 1901, the City of Boston officially celebrated Evacuation Day for the first time. In early March of 1776, Continental troops managed to move heavy cannon to the top of Dorchester Heights....
Eli Whitney Patents the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney Patents the Cotton Gin
On this day in 1794, Westborough native Eli Whitney applied for a patent on the cotton gin. Raised on a farm in Massachusetts, he invented a machine that made growing cotton so profitable that the...