“The flames of sedition spread.” So wrote General Thomas Gage in September 1774 after armed colonists forced the closure of the county courts in Springfield and Great Barrington. The crisis was escalating—and revolution was drawing near. Discover the story in “The Massachusetts Court Closures: The Flames of Sedition Spread.” And when spring arrives, why not see the history for yourself? “Lexington’s Historic Landmarks: Tracing the Roots of the Revolution” highlights nine sites in Lexington that bring the opening chapters of the Revolution to life.
Henry David Thoreau loved springtime. While it’s true that he had something to say about every season, he seemed to wax more poetic not only in the spring but about the spring. When the earth came alive after a long cold winter, Thoreau’s observations came to life as well.
On May 8, 1859, John Brown was back in Concord. The tall, humorless abolitionist had grown a flowing white beard, making him look like an Old Testament prophet. Like he did during his first visit in 1857, Brown spoke on his anti-slavery activities in Kansas to a large crowd at the Town Hall; he had come east in the hope of raising money for those activities. As in 1857, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau were again in the audience, and they supported Brown; intellectually, philosophically, and monetarily.
