Question:

What is important in Boston History?

Indian friends

When the Mayflower first landed in Massachusetts, the pilgrims were met by the native Wampanoag Indians. They lived in small villages along the coastline of both Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Indian which helped them the most was "Squanto", who had visited England before and knew how to speak English and work with these visitors.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. He spent many years in England, Russia and France developing his style. He is most famous for his portraits and etchings - notably, "Whistler's Mother".

Seating Arrangements at the First Thanksgiving

The Wampanoag Indians normally ate sitting on the ground, on furs. For this special occasion, they sat at the tables with the Pilgrims. The Indian women and men both ate together. Pilgrim women didn't have this equal status though - they had to stand behind their menfolk, dutifully waiting until the men were done and full before they were allowed to eat anything.

The Big Dig

This huge highway project actually was first talked about in the 1950s, when traffic began to be a big problem for Boston. Over the years more proposals were offered. Funding officially began in 1987 with the Transportation Authority Bill, passed by US Congress despite President Reagan's veto.

Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)

Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) was born in Lowell, Massachusetts as "Jean-Louis Kerouac". He was born to a working-class French-Canadian family and grew up speaking more French than English. He is famous for his stream-of-consciousness works, most notably "On The Road". His group of writers was called the Beat Generation.

National Holiday in 1863

Many states began having their own Thanksgiving celebrations in the fall, to give thanks for bountiful harvests. Abraham Lincoln made it official, and set aside the third Thursday as the national holiday in 1863.

Alvan Fisher (1792-1863)

Alvan Fisher (1792-1863) was born in Needham, Massachusetts and set up a studio in Boston. He is famous for his pastoral and landscape paintings.

The Great Fire of 1872

On November 12, 1872, a huge fire wiped out 65 acres of Boston, destroying most of Boston's financial district. Many people had warned that a fire was likely, given the crowded nature of the city and lack of fire equipment. It is unknown what sparked the fire.

Christmas in the 1700s

By the 1700s, the strictly religious settlers in Massachusetts had done without 'silliness' like Christmas for over 100 years, and were quite content without it. Diaries and records from these times show December 25th being just another normal wintery day. While others in Europe might celebrate with pagan-inspired rituals, the Massachusetts settlers felt they had brought religion back to a pure state.

Bussing Issues of 1974

On June 21, 1974, US District Judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr. ruled that Boston had to start bussing students in order to have its schools be more racially diverse. There was a lot of violence when the bussing began, as whites fought to prevent it, and blacks fought to protect themselves and their children.

What was served at the first Thanksgiving?

As there were over 90 Indians at the first Thanksgiving, they brought a lot of the food with them. There was turkey, deer, berries, squash, cornbread, and beans.

Great Molasses Flood

The Great Molasses Flood took place in Boston on January 15, 1919. At the time, Molasses was used in most baking to provide sweetness, and there were huge vats and tanks of it around Boston.

The tank that burst was 50' tall and held 2.5 million gallons. The wall of molasses was 20' high or more, and moved at 30 miles an hour while it was flowing. 21 people were killed.

Indians Bringing Food

The pilgrims invited their two key Indian helpers, Squanto, Samoset, plus Chief Massasoit, to share in their Thanksgiving since they had been so instrumental in the pilgrims' successes that summer. The Indians brought their families, numbering over 90 people. The pilgrims were overwhelmed, and didn't have enough food, so the Indians brought along their own supplies for the feast.

Roberts vs Boston - Segregation

This landmark case began when Sarah Roberts had to walk past five "white" schools in order to reach her own "colored" school. The case actually ended in finding that it was OK for her to have to do so, but public sentiment had been aroused and legislation passed on April 28, 1855 barring segregation.

Christmas in the 1600s

The early settlers of Massachusetts thought Christmas Day not much more than a pagan holiday that had been taken over (which in many ways is true). In order to strip down religion to its true and religious meanings, they did not celebrate Christmas. Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony even said in 1621 that on "the day called Christmas Day," that everybody should keep working. For those few that tried to take the day off, "he would spare them until they were better informed." Some of those few tried to celebrate outside anyway, and he sent them into their homes.

Christmas in the 1800s

Until the early 1830s, the strict religious teachings of Massachusetts had not celebrated Christmas as a way of purifying the church. However, around this time Dutch and English began coming over in larger and larger numbers, and bringing with them decadent celebrations with lots of presents, mulled wine, decorations and parties. The Dutch brought with them the tradition of St. Nicholas. While the locals tried to resist, they began to get drawn into these displays. By the 1880s, Massachusetts was pretty wide-spread in its Christmas celebrations.

Wampanoag Indians

When the Pilgrims first landed in Massachusetts, they were met by the native Wampanoag Indians. They lived in small villages along the coastline of both Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They fished, farmed, and were generally peaceful and friendly. They lived in wigwams, and wore deerskin outfits.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco were accused of shooting a guard in South Braintree. After a trial which many feel was very biased against the two Italians, they were electrocuted to death on August 23, 1927. For many years, this helped Italians and other immigrants feel that Boston City Hall was not a friend of theirs.

1919 Boston Police Strike

On September 9, 1919, 1117 Boston policemen all went on strike due to labor issues with the city. For the next two days there was violence and looting in the city, as criminal elements took advantage of the lack of police coverage. Governor Coolidge is famous for saying, ""there is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time."

By December 13th, the government had hired enough new policemen to make up for those that had striked, and the policemen had to try to find new jobs.