#massachusetts — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #massachusetts, aggregated by home.social.
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New AI warnings cast shadow over Anthropic’s expansion in Mass. – NBC Boston https://www.byteseu.com/2358787/ #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Cambridge #Massachusetts
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The apple pie (alongside mom, of course) became the symbolic food of a nation – Hartford Courant https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/2601/ #LatestHeadlines #Massachusetts #MassachusettsDining #MassachusettsFood #MassachusettsGroceryStores #MassachusettsRestaurant #NationalNews #News #RestaurantsFoodDrink #ThingsToDo
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The apple pie (alongside mom, of course) became the symbolic food of a nation – Hartford Courant https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/2601/ #LatestHeadlines #Massachusetts #MassachusettsDining #MassachusettsFood #MassachusettsGroceryStores #MassachusettsRestaurant #NationalNews #News #RestaurantsFoodDrink #ThingsToDo
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The apple pie (alongside mom, of course) became the symbolic food of a nation – Hartford Courant https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/2601/ #LatestHeadlines #Massachusetts #MassachusettsDining #MassachusettsFood #MassachusettsGroceryStores #MassachusettsRestaurant #NationalNews #News #RestaurantsFoodDrink #ThingsToDo
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The apple pie (alongside mom, of course) became the symbolic food of a nation – Hartford Courant https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/2601/ #LatestHeadlines #Massachusetts #MassachusettsDining #MassachusettsFood #MassachusettsGroceryStores #MassachusettsRestaurant #NationalNews #News #RestaurantsFoodDrink #ThingsToDo
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Massachusetts food truck owner struggling with increased fuel costs: “I’m just taking it on the chin right now” https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/2535/ #GasPrices #Massachusetts #MassachusettsDining #MassachusettsFood #MassachusettsGroceryStores #MassachusettsRestaurant
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Massachusetts Gluten-Free Food Expo Is Coming to Fitchburg https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/2534/ #articles #Events #FoodDrink #Massachusetts #MassachusettsDining #MassachusettsFood #MassachusettsGroceryStores #MassachusettsRestaurant
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The apple pie (alongside mom) became the symbolic food of a nation https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/2530/ #America250 #ApplePie #FriedApplePie #Massachusetts #MassachusettsDining #MassachusettsFood #MassachusettsGroceryStores #MassachusettsRestaurant #McDonald's
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Western Massachusetts diesel nears 2022 peak, pushing up grocery and retail prices https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/2518/ #AndReuseFood #BadFossilFuelIndustryNews #BadNews #Business #ChangeTheWayYouBuy #cook #eat #food #Home #Massachusetts #MassachusettsDining #MassachusettsFood #MassachusettsGroceryStores #MassachusettsRestaurant #ShopSmarterAtTheGroceryStore #WasteLess #YahooFinance
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Brookline woman identified after knife incident at Taco Bell https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/2514/ #AlarmingIncident #bag #Brookline #BrooklinePoliceDepartment #BrooklineRestaurant #CoolidgeCorner #detectives #group #HarvardStreet #help #juvenile #juveniles #KitchenKnife #knife #LocalTacoBell #Massachusetts #MassachusettsDining #MassachusettsFood #MassachusettsGroceryStores #MassachusettsRestaurant #police #RestaurantLastWeek #TacoBell #WCVB #woman
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#BostonWeekend thru Sun ANTIQUES a bit west of #Boston but its a delight to walk around in fields and buy old stuff at #Brimfield https://www.brimfieldantiqueweek.com #antiques #brimfieldFair #BrimfieldAntiques #massachusetts
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#STANDUP
#Resisters
#Massachusetts
Be a Health Care Defender: Greater Boston Post Card House Party
Monday, September 28
6 – 7:30pm EDT
Sign up for more details.
www.mobilize.us/mobilize/eve...
Be a Health Care Defender: Gre... -
#Resisters
#visibilitybrigade
#Massachusetts
Burlington Massachusetts
Trump Protest
Sundays through Oct 25
1 – 2pm EDT
Sun Nov 1 through Dec 27
1:00pm–2:00pm EST
Bedford Street &
Cambridge Street
Burlington, MA 01821
www.mobilize.us/mobilize/eve...
Trump Protest · Mobilize -
#BostonWeekend for Sep 11-13 2026 - Your thread of #boston area events worth the trip - please boost for reach! Fri & Sat 70's, perfect summer weekend days - inch of rain Sunday. tho, get out there tonight & tomorrow if you can. Enjoy, enjoy your #Massachusetts & broader #NewEngland - begin! 1/x
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Lindsay Clancy juror says Patrick Clancy’s testimony swayed her decision, reveals more about lone holdout
Paula Devlin, a juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, said it was Clancy’s ex-husband’s testimony that might…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #LindsayClancy #Massachusetts #UnitedStates #Us #USA
https://www.newsbeep.com/727729/ -
Woman appears to flash kitchen knife at juveniles inside Brookline restaurant https://www.diningandcooking.com/restaurants/25506/ #AlarmingIncident #bag #Brookline #BrooklinePoliceDepartment #BrooklineRestaurant #CoolidgeCorner #detectives #group #HarvardStreet #help #juvenile #juveniles #KitchenKnife #knife #LocalTacoBell #massachusetts #police #Restaurant #RestaurantLastWeek #Restaurants #TacoBell #WCVB #woman
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Woman appears to flash kitchen knife at juveniles inside Brookline restaurant https://www.diningandcooking.com/restaurants/25506/ #AlarmingIncident #bag #Brookline #BrooklinePoliceDepartment #BrooklineRestaurant #CoolidgeCorner #detectives #group #HarvardStreet #help #juvenile #juveniles #KitchenKnife #knife #LocalTacoBell #massachusetts #police #Restaurant #RestaurantLastWeek #Restaurants #TacoBell #WCVB #woman
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‘We let down Lindsay,’ says juror who served in Clancy trial
‘We let down Lindsay,’ says juror who ser…
#NewsBeep #News #Topstories #2023deaths #civilcase #CoraDawsonCallan #criminalresponsibility #duxbury #Headlines #hungjury #KevinReddington #LindsayClancy #Massachusetts #Massachusettsmother #Mentalhealth #mistrial #NotGuilty #postpartumpsychosis #requiredfinding #Sept29hearing #strangulationdeaths #TewksburyStateHospital #threemurdercharges #TopStories #Trial
https://www.newsbeep.com/726955/ -
He Escaped Belarus. Now, Radio Host Is Running for Office on Staten Island to Fight Socialism https://www.byteseu.com/2354901/ #Belarus #Brooklyn #Massachusetts #RepublicanCandidate #RuslanShamal #StateSenate #StatenIsland #tompkinsville
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Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer asks judge to find her not guilty after mistrial
By ReutersKevin Reddington says prosecution did not offer evidence that client’s killing of her children constituted murder
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/10/lindsay-clancy-lawyer-mistrial
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Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer asks judge to find her not guilty after mistrial https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/10/lindsay-clancy-lawyer-mistrial #Massachusetts #UsNews #UsCrime
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Lindsay Clancy trial: Male juror says he confronted lone holdout
A juror in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial said the lone holdout on the jury exhibited “disgusting” behavior during…
#NewsBeep #News #Topstories #colorimage #courthouse #Headlines #horizontal #Law #LegalTrial #LindsayClancy #Massachusetts #Murder #outdoors #Photography #Plymouth-Massachusetts #TopStories #USA #Violence
https://www.newsbeep.com/726625/ -
“Other #eagles were sourced for the #US from the coastal provinces of #BritishColumbia and #NovaScotia, including 36 from #CapeBreton sent to repopulate #NewJersey and #Massachusetts.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Canada helped save the bald ea... -
“Other #eagles were sourced for the #US from the coastal provinces of #BritishColumbia and #NovaScotia, including 36 from #CapeBreton sent to repopulate #NewJersey and #Massachusetts.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Canada helped save the bald ea... -
“Other #eagles were sourced for the #US from the coastal provinces of #BritishColumbia and #NovaScotia, including 36 from #CapeBreton sent to repopulate #NewJersey and #Massachusetts.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Canada helped save the bald ea... -
“Other #eagles were sourced for the #US from the coastal provinces of #BritishColumbia and #NovaScotia, including 36 from #CapeBreton sent to repopulate #NewJersey and #Massachusetts.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Canada helped save the bald ea... -
“Other #eagles were sourced for the #US from the coastal provinces of #BritishColumbia and #NovaScotia, including 36 from #CapeBreton sent to repopulate #NewJersey and #Massachusetts.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Canada helped save the bald ea... -
Lone Lindsay Clancy jury holdout mimicked the horrific stranglings of killer mom’s three kids: ‘I was shocked’
A male juror in the mistrial of Lindsay Clancy said the lone holdout on the 12-person panel wrapped one of…
#NewsBeep #News #Topstories #Crime #Headlines #LindsayClancy #Manslaughter #Massachusetts #TopStories #trials #USNews
https://www.newsbeep.com/726515/ -
Book Review: As If an Enemy’s Country by Richard Archer
Author: Richard Archer
Title: As If an Enemy’s Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution
Publication Info: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2010.
Summary/Review:I read this book 14 years ago and this reread is for a book group discussion. I actually didn’t remember a lot of the details in the book. Actually, there are historical facts in this book that I thought I learned in more recent years, so I guess I actually learned them again.
This work focus on a period in Boston’s history in the lead up to the American Revolution. It starts with resistance to Parliamentary taxation in the early 1760s which in Boston often involved intimidation and violence against government officials and tax agents as well as smuggling. In response, the British government sent troops to “keep the peace” This lead to 18 months of occupation with increasing tension among the soldiers and the populace culminating with soldiers shooting and killing five civilians. After the “massacre” the troops were pulled from Boston and with the concurrent repeal of taxes a period of normalcy followed, although Bostonians were forever changed by the experience.
I like that this book tests a lot of the assumptions of the Revolutionary period. Classifications of people as “patriots” or “loyalists” didn’t exist, although there was a popular party and a court party. Even here, people who ultimately remained loyal to Britain were still involved in non-importation agreements. I also think that Archer is very even-handed in describing the actions and motivations of all the people involved, for example a sympathetic view of the soldiers involved in the massacre which nonetheless doesn’t excuse them of their culpability. He also effectively describes the role of class and race in these events. This includes the actions of violence and intimidation as being dismissed as the acts of the “rabble,” or outsiders such as sailors. Black men serving as drummers for the British troops also raised the racial animus of the colonists.
All in all this is an excellent work that was worth revisiting.
Favorite Passages:
“In short, during the British occupation of Boston, one man in three was a soldier. Redcoats were everywhere, on duty and off. Theirs was not a casual or unobtrusive presence. In the streets, along the ropewalks, in the taverns, directly outside the Town House where the main guard was located, at checkpoints, on the Common, daytime and night, the people of Boston encountered the representatives of British power. They could not be avoided.”
“There was no mistaking that the Sugar Act was a tax bill. The preamble, declaring its intent to raise funds to help pay for troops in North America, made that clear. Up to this time, Parliament had requisitioned money through colonial legislatures, allowing the constitutional voices of those who were to be taxed to be heard. For the first time, the British government (Crown and all) prepared to tax colonists directly, with no pretense of representation. The Sugar Act delineated taxable commodities and outlined measures for eliminating, or at least significantly reducing, smuggling. It was a tax bill, not a trade bill.”
“To supplement their meager incomes, some soldiers took part-time work. Patrick Dines of the 29th, for example, found employment in a wig maker’s shop. Others hustled jobs with rope makers and did a variety of tasks along the waterfront. But such competition depressed wages, reduced opportunities for locals, and deepened the resentment over the occupation.”
“Promoting desertion was another way to undermine the standing army, as colonists recognized almost immediately, and unhappy soldiers were plentiful among the regiments. Despite the sullen greeting they received as they garrisoned Boston, the troops realized that a new life in the countryside might be an improvement over their current condition; at least forty of the regulars deserted within the first two weeks of the occupation. Bostonians and others apparently encouraged and assisted soldiers to flee.”
“Before the captain reached the troops, Henry Knox literally pulled him aside by the coat. ‘For God’s sake take care of your Men for if they fire your life must be answerable,” Knox pleaded. ‘I am sensible of it,’ Preston peevishly replied and then hurried on to take command.
“As Preston concluded the conversation, a white object was thrown in their direction. It might have been a snowball, a chunk of ice, or a piece of white birch cordwood. Whatever its composition, the missile struck the muzzle of Private Montgomery’s musket. Montgomery stepped back, recovered his balance, and discharged his weapon. Many scurried for cover or ducked down. Surprisingly, quite a few remained frozen in place, unable to believe that a shot had been fired. There was a pause, punctuated incredibly by renewed shouts of ‘Fire!'”
“Estimates of the elapsed time between the first and next shots varied, but most observers agreed that there had been sufficient time, somewhere between a few seconds and half a minute, for Preston to have commanded the men to halt. Prompted by the first shot and without any prohibition from Preston, several of the other soldiers then fired at the crowd.”
“In none of these cases can we know with certainty what a soldier was thinking when he fired his weapon. Montgomery most likely had inadvertently pulled the trigger. The impulse of the others is murkier. Perhaps some did believe they were defending their lives or obeying a command, and perhaps a few discharged their weapons immediately after an adjacent comrade had fired. It is just as likely that several of them, without any premeditation, seized the opportunity to vent their frustration and anger at the hostile residents or to attain revenge. Whatever the case, the massacre on King Street was a soldiers’ riot.”
“Five people died and six others were wounded, but the punishment for Preston and the eight soldiers, beyond incarceration until the conclusion of their trials, was two branded thumbs. The citizens of Boston could take pride that there had been a fair and open trial. There had been no vigilante justice, but neither had there been justice. Had the victims been more prominent, such as the wounded merchant Edward Payne, rather than transient or poor, there might have been more of an outcry. As it was, there was some grumbling, an inflammatory broadside that was pulled down off the door of the Town House, and a series of lengthy newspaper articles by Samuel Adams.Most Bostonians settled for returning to a life without soldiers and with fewer duties on commerce.”
Recommended books:
- The Boston Massacre: A Family History by Serena Zabin
- Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
- The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred F. Young
- Boston Riots: Three Centuries of Social Violence by Jack Tager
Rating: ****
#AmericanHistory #AmericanRevolution #BookReviews #Books #Boston #ColonialAmerica #Massachusetts -
Book Review: As If an Enemy’s Country by Richard Archer
Author: Richard Archer
Title: As If an Enemy’s Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution
Publication Info: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2010.
Summary/Review:I read this book 14 years ago and this reread is for a book group discussion. I actually didn’t remember a lot of the details in the book. Actually, there are historical facts in this book that I thought I learned in more recent years, so I guess I actually learned them again.
This work focus on a period in Boston’s history in the lead up to the American Revolution. It starts with resistance to Parliamentary taxation in the early 1760s which in Boston often involved intimidation and violence against government officials and tax agents as well as smuggling. In response, the British government sent troops to “keep the peace” This lead to 18 months of occupation with increasing tension among the soldiers and the populace culminating with soldiers shooting and killing five civilians. After the “massacre” the troops were pulled from Boston and with the concurrent repeal of taxes a period of normalcy followed, although Bostonians were forever changed by the experience.
I like that this book tests a lot of the assumptions of the Revolutionary period. Classifications of people as “patriots” or “loyalists” didn’t exist, although there was a popular party and a court party. Even here, people who ultimately remained loyal to Britain were still involved in non-importation agreements. I also think that Archer is very even-handed in describing the actions and motivations of all the people involved, for example a sympathetic view of the soldiers involved in the massacre which nonetheless doesn’t excuse them of their culpability. He also effectively describes the role of class and race in these events. This includes the actions of violence and intimidation as being dismissed as the acts of the “rabble,” or outsiders such as sailors. Black men serving as drummers for the British troops also raised the racial animus of the colonists.
All in all this is an excellent work that was worth revisiting.
Favorite Passages:
“In short, during the British occupation of Boston, one man in three was a soldier. Redcoats were everywhere, on duty and off. Theirs was not a casual or unobtrusive presence. In the streets, along the ropewalks, in the taverns, directly outside the Town House where the main guard was located, at checkpoints, on the Common, daytime and night, the people of Boston encountered the representatives of British power. They could not be avoided.”
“There was no mistaking that the Sugar Act was a tax bill. The preamble, declaring its intent to raise funds to help pay for troops in North America, made that clear. Up to this time, Parliament had requisitioned money through colonial legislatures, allowing the constitutional voices of those who were to be taxed to be heard. For the first time, the British government (Crown and all) prepared to tax colonists directly, with no pretense of representation. The Sugar Act delineated taxable commodities and outlined measures for eliminating, or at least significantly reducing, smuggling. It was a tax bill, not a trade bill.”
“To supplement their meager incomes, some soldiers took part-time work. Patrick Dines of the 29th, for example, found employment in a wig maker’s shop. Others hustled jobs with rope makers and did a variety of tasks along the waterfront. But such competition depressed wages, reduced opportunities for locals, and deepened the resentment over the occupation.”
“Promoting desertion was another way to undermine the standing army, as colonists recognized almost immediately, and unhappy soldiers were plentiful among the regiments. Despite the sullen greeting they received as they garrisoned Boston, the troops realized that a new life in the countryside might be an improvement over their current condition; at least forty of the regulars deserted within the first two weeks of the occupation. Bostonians and others apparently encouraged and assisted soldiers to flee.”
“Before the captain reached the troops, Henry Knox literally pulled him aside by the coat. ‘For God’s sake take care of your Men for if they fire your life must be answerable,” Knox pleaded. ‘I am sensible of it,’ Preston peevishly replied and then hurried on to take command.
“As Preston concluded the conversation, a white object was thrown in their direction. It might have been a snowball, a chunk of ice, or a piece of white birch cordwood. Whatever its composition, the missile struck the muzzle of Private Montgomery’s musket. Montgomery stepped back, recovered his balance, and discharged his weapon. Many scurried for cover or ducked down. Surprisingly, quite a few remained frozen in place, unable to believe that a shot had been fired. There was a pause, punctuated incredibly by renewed shouts of ‘Fire!'”
“Estimates of the elapsed time between the first and next shots varied, but most observers agreed that there had been sufficient time, somewhere between a few seconds and half a minute, for Preston to have commanded the men to halt. Prompted by the first shot and without any prohibition from Preston, several of the other soldiers then fired at the crowd.”
“In none of these cases can we know with certainty what a soldier was thinking when he fired his weapon. Montgomery most likely had inadvertently pulled the trigger. The impulse of the others is murkier. Perhaps some did believe they were defending their lives or obeying a command, and perhaps a few discharged their weapons immediately after an adjacent comrade had fired. It is just as likely that several of them, without any premeditation, seized the opportunity to vent their frustration and anger at the hostile residents or to attain revenge. Whatever the case, the massacre on King Street was a soldiers’ riot.”
“Five people died and six others were wounded, but the punishment for Preston and the eight soldiers, beyond incarceration until the conclusion of their trials, was two branded thumbs. The citizens of Boston could take pride that there had been a fair and open trial. There had been no vigilante justice, but neither had there been justice. Had the victims been more prominent, such as the wounded merchant Edward Payne, rather than transient or poor, there might have been more of an outcry. As it was, there was some grumbling, an inflammatory broadside that was pulled down off the door of the Town House, and a series of lengthy newspaper articles by Samuel Adams.Most Bostonians settled for returning to a life without soldiers and with fewer duties on commerce.”
Recommended books:
- The Boston Massacre: A Family History by Serena Zabin
- Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
- The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred F. Young
- Boston Riots: Three Centuries of Social Violence by Jack Tager
Rating: ****
#AmericanHistory #AmericanRevolution #BookReviews #Books #Boston #ColonialAmerica #Massachusetts -
Book Review: As If an Enemy’s Country by Richard Archer
Author: Richard Archer
Title: As If an Enemy’s Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution
Publication Info: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2010.
Summary/Review:I read this book 14 years ago and this reread is for a book group discussion. I actually didn’t remember a lot of the details in the book. Actually, there are historical facts in this book that I thought I learned in more recent years, so I guess I actually learned them again.
This work focus on a period in Boston’s history in the lead up to the American Revolution. It starts with resistance to Parliamentary taxation in the early 1760s which in Boston often involved intimidation and violence against government officials and tax agents as well as smuggling. In response, the British government sent troops to “keep the peace” This lead to 18 months of occupation with increasing tension among the soldiers and the populace culminating with soldiers shooting and killing five civilians. After the “massacre” the troops were pulled from Boston and with the concurrent repeal of taxes a period of normalcy followed, although Bostonians were forever changed by the experience.
I like that this book tests a lot of the assumptions of the Revolutionary period. Classifications of people as “patriots” or “loyalists” didn’t exist, although there was a popular party and a court party. Even here, people who ultimately remained loyal to Britain were still involved in non-importation agreements. I also think that Archer is very even-handed in describing the actions and motivations of all the people involved, for example a sympathetic view of the soldiers involved in the massacre which nonetheless doesn’t excuse them of their culpability. He also effectively describes the role of class and race in these events. This includes the actions of violence and intimidation as being dismissed as the acts of the “rabble,” or outsiders such as sailors. Black men serving as drummers for the British troops also raised the racial animus of the colonists.
All in all this is an excellent work that was worth revisiting.
Favorite Passages:
“In short, during the British occupation of Boston, one man in three was a soldier. Redcoats were everywhere, on duty and off. Theirs was not a casual or unobtrusive presence. In the streets, along the ropewalks, in the taverns, directly outside the Town House where the main guard was located, at checkpoints, on the Common, daytime and night, the people of Boston encountered the representatives of British power. They could not be avoided.”
“There was no mistaking that the Sugar Act was a tax bill. The preamble, declaring its intent to raise funds to help pay for troops in North America, made that clear. Up to this time, Parliament had requisitioned money through colonial legislatures, allowing the constitutional voices of those who were to be taxed to be heard. For the first time, the British government (Crown and all) prepared to tax colonists directly, with no pretense of representation. The Sugar Act delineated taxable commodities and outlined measures for eliminating, or at least significantly reducing, smuggling. It was a tax bill, not a trade bill.”
“To supplement their meager incomes, some soldiers took part-time work. Patrick Dines of the 29th, for example, found employment in a wig maker’s shop. Others hustled jobs with rope makers and did a variety of tasks along the waterfront. But such competition depressed wages, reduced opportunities for locals, and deepened the resentment over the occupation.”
“Promoting desertion was another way to undermine the standing army, as colonists recognized almost immediately, and unhappy soldiers were plentiful among the regiments. Despite the sullen greeting they received as they garrisoned Boston, the troops realized that a new life in the countryside might be an improvement over their current condition; at least forty of the regulars deserted within the first two weeks of the occupation. Bostonians and others apparently encouraged and assisted soldiers to flee.”
“Before the captain reached the troops, Henry Knox literally pulled him aside by the coat. ‘For God’s sake take care of your Men for if they fire your life must be answerable,” Knox pleaded. ‘I am sensible of it,’ Preston peevishly replied and then hurried on to take command.
“As Preston concluded the conversation, a white object was thrown in their direction. It might have been a snowball, a chunk of ice, or a piece of white birch cordwood. Whatever its composition, the missile struck the muzzle of Private Montgomery’s musket. Montgomery stepped back, recovered his balance, and discharged his weapon. Many scurried for cover or ducked down. Surprisingly, quite a few remained frozen in place, unable to believe that a shot had been fired. There was a pause, punctuated incredibly by renewed shouts of ‘Fire!'”
“Estimates of the elapsed time between the first and next shots varied, but most observers agreed that there had been sufficient time, somewhere between a few seconds and half a minute, for Preston to have commanded the men to halt. Prompted by the first shot and without any prohibition from Preston, several of the other soldiers then fired at the crowd.”
“In none of these cases can we know with certainty what a soldier was thinking when he fired his weapon. Montgomery most likely had inadvertently pulled the trigger. The impulse of the others is murkier. Perhaps some did believe they were defending their lives or obeying a command, and perhaps a few discharged their weapons immediately after an adjacent comrade had fired. It is just as likely that several of them, without any premeditation, seized the opportunity to vent their frustration and anger at the hostile residents or to attain revenge. Whatever the case, the massacre on King Street was a soldiers’ riot.”
“Five people died and six others were wounded, but the punishment for Preston and the eight soldiers, beyond incarceration until the conclusion of their trials, was two branded thumbs. The citizens of Boston could take pride that there had been a fair and open trial. There had been no vigilante justice, but neither had there been justice. Had the victims been more prominent, such as the wounded merchant Edward Payne, rather than transient or poor, there might have been more of an outcry. As it was, there was some grumbling, an inflammatory broadside that was pulled down off the door of the Town House, and a series of lengthy newspaper articles by Samuel Adams.Most Bostonians settled for returning to a life without soldiers and with fewer duties on commerce.”
Recommended books:
- The Boston Massacre: A Family History by Serena Zabin
- Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
- The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred F. Young
- Boston Riots: Three Centuries of Social Violence by Jack Tager
Rating: ****
#AmericanHistory #AmericanRevolution #BookReviews #Books #Boston #ColonialAmerica #Massachusetts -
Book Review: As If an Enemy’s Country by Richard Archer
Author: Richard Archer
Title: As If an Enemy’s Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution
Publication Info: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2010.
Summary/Review:I read this book 14 years ago and this reread is for a book group discussion. I actually didn’t remember a lot of the details in the book. Actually, there are historical facts in this book that I thought I learned in more recent years, so I guess I actually learned them again.
This work focus on a period in Boston’s history in the lead up to the American Revolution. It starts with resistance to Parliamentary taxation in the early 1760s which in Boston often involved intimidation and violence against government officials and tax agents as well as smuggling. In response, the British government sent troops to “keep the peace” This lead to 18 months of occupation with increasing tension among the soldiers and the populace culminating with soldiers shooting and killing five civilians. After the “massacre” the troops were pulled from Boston and with the concurrent repeal of taxes a period of normalcy followed, although Bostonians were forever changed by the experience.
I like that this book tests a lot of the assumptions of the Revolutionary period. Classifications of people as “patriots” or “loyalists” didn’t exist, although there was a popular party and a court party. Even here, people who ultimately remained loyal to Britain were still involved in non-importation agreements. I also think that Archer is very even-handed in describing the actions and motivations of all the people involved, for example a sympathetic view of the soldiers involved in the massacre which nonetheless doesn’t excuse them of their culpability. He also effectively describes the role of class and race in these events. This includes the actions of violence and intimidation as being dismissed as the acts of the “rabble,” or outsiders such as sailors. Black men serving as drummers for the British troops also raised the racial animus of the colonists.
All in all this is an excellent work that was worth revisiting.
Favorite Passages:
“In short, during the British occupation of Boston, one man in three was a soldier. Redcoats were everywhere, on duty and off. Theirs was not a casual or unobtrusive presence. In the streets, along the ropewalks, in the taverns, directly outside the Town House where the main guard was located, at checkpoints, on the Common, daytime and night, the people of Boston encountered the representatives of British power. They could not be avoided.”
“There was no mistaking that the Sugar Act was a tax bill. The preamble, declaring its intent to raise funds to help pay for troops in North America, made that clear. Up to this time, Parliament had requisitioned money through colonial legislatures, allowing the constitutional voices of those who were to be taxed to be heard. For the first time, the British government (Crown and all) prepared to tax colonists directly, with no pretense of representation. The Sugar Act delineated taxable commodities and outlined measures for eliminating, or at least significantly reducing, smuggling. It was a tax bill, not a trade bill.”
“To supplement their meager incomes, some soldiers took part-time work. Patrick Dines of the 29th, for example, found employment in a wig maker’s shop. Others hustled jobs with rope makers and did a variety of tasks along the waterfront. But such competition depressed wages, reduced opportunities for locals, and deepened the resentment over the occupation.”
“Promoting desertion was another way to undermine the standing army, as colonists recognized almost immediately, and unhappy soldiers were plentiful among the regiments. Despite the sullen greeting they received as they garrisoned Boston, the troops realized that a new life in the countryside might be an improvement over their current condition; at least forty of the regulars deserted within the first two weeks of the occupation. Bostonians and others apparently encouraged and assisted soldiers to flee.”
“Before the captain reached the troops, Henry Knox literally pulled him aside by the coat. ‘For God’s sake take care of your Men for if they fire your life must be answerable,” Knox pleaded. ‘I am sensible of it,’ Preston peevishly replied and then hurried on to take command.
“As Preston concluded the conversation, a white object was thrown in their direction. It might have been a snowball, a chunk of ice, or a piece of white birch cordwood. Whatever its composition, the missile struck the muzzle of Private Montgomery’s musket. Montgomery stepped back, recovered his balance, and discharged his weapon. Many scurried for cover or ducked down. Surprisingly, quite a few remained frozen in place, unable to believe that a shot had been fired. There was a pause, punctuated incredibly by renewed shouts of ‘Fire!'”
“Estimates of the elapsed time between the first and next shots varied, but most observers agreed that there had been sufficient time, somewhere between a few seconds and half a minute, for Preston to have commanded the men to halt. Prompted by the first shot and without any prohibition from Preston, several of the other soldiers then fired at the crowd.”
“In none of these cases can we know with certainty what a soldier was thinking when he fired his weapon. Montgomery most likely had inadvertently pulled the trigger. The impulse of the others is murkier. Perhaps some did believe they were defending their lives or obeying a command, and perhaps a few discharged their weapons immediately after an adjacent comrade had fired. It is just as likely that several of them, without any premeditation, seized the opportunity to vent their frustration and anger at the hostile residents or to attain revenge. Whatever the case, the massacre on King Street was a soldiers’ riot.”
“Five people died and six others were wounded, but the punishment for Preston and the eight soldiers, beyond incarceration until the conclusion of their trials, was two branded thumbs. The citizens of Boston could take pride that there had been a fair and open trial. There had been no vigilante justice, but neither had there been justice. Had the victims been more prominent, such as the wounded merchant Edward Payne, rather than transient or poor, there might have been more of an outcry. As it was, there was some grumbling, an inflammatory broadside that was pulled down off the door of the Town House, and a series of lengthy newspaper articles by Samuel Adams.Most Bostonians settled for returning to a life without soldiers and with fewer duties on commerce.”
Recommended books:
- The Boston Massacre: A Family History by Serena Zabin
- Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
- The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred F. Young
- Boston Riots: Three Centuries of Social Violence by Jack Tager
Rating: ****
#AmericanHistory #AmericanRevolution #BookReviews #Books #Boston #ColonialAmerica #Massachusetts -
Book Review: As If an Enemy’s Country by Richard Archer
Author: Richard Archer
Title: As If an Enemy’s Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution
Publication Info: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2010.
Summary/Review:I read this book 14 years ago and this reread is for a book group discussion. I actually didn’t remember a lot of the details in the book. Actually, there are historical facts in this book that I thought I learned in more recent years, so I guess I actually learned them again.
This work focus on a period in Boston’s history in the lead up to the American Revolution. It starts with resistance to Parliamentary taxation in the early 1760s which in Boston often involved intimidation and violence against government officials and tax agents as well as smuggling. In response, the British government sent troops to “keep the peace” This lead to 18 months of occupation with increasing tension among the soldiers and the populace culminating with soldiers shooting and killing five civilians. After the “massacre” the troops were pulled from Boston and with the concurrent repeal of taxes a period of normalcy followed, although Bostonians were forever changed by the experience.
I like that this book tests a lot of the assumptions of the Revolutionary period. Classifications of people as “patriots” or “loyalists” didn’t exist, although there was a popular party and a court party. Even here, people who ultimately remained loyal to Britain were still involved in non-importation agreements. I also think that Archer is very even-handed in describing the actions and motivations of all the people involved, for example a sympathetic view of the soldiers involved in the massacre which nonetheless doesn’t excuse them of their culpability. He also effectively describes the role of class and race in these events. This includes the actions of violence and intimidation as being dismissed as the acts of the “rabble,” or outsiders such as sailors. Black men serving as drummers for the British troops also raised the racial animus of the colonists.
All in all this is an excellent work that was worth revisiting.
Favorite Passages:
“In short, during the British occupation of Boston, one man in three was a soldier. Redcoats were everywhere, on duty and off. Theirs was not a casual or unobtrusive presence. In the streets, along the ropewalks, in the taverns, directly outside the Town House where the main guard was located, at checkpoints, on the Common, daytime and night, the people of Boston encountered the representatives of British power. They could not be avoided.”
“There was no mistaking that the Sugar Act was a tax bill. The preamble, declaring its intent to raise funds to help pay for troops in North America, made that clear. Up to this time, Parliament had requisitioned money through colonial legislatures, allowing the constitutional voices of those who were to be taxed to be heard. For the first time, the British government (Crown and all) prepared to tax colonists directly, with no pretense of representation. The Sugar Act delineated taxable commodities and outlined measures for eliminating, or at least significantly reducing, smuggling. It was a tax bill, not a trade bill.”
“To supplement their meager incomes, some soldiers took part-time work. Patrick Dines of the 29th, for example, found employment in a wig maker’s shop. Others hustled jobs with rope makers and did a variety of tasks along the waterfront. But such competition depressed wages, reduced opportunities for locals, and deepened the resentment over the occupation.”
“Promoting desertion was another way to undermine the standing army, as colonists recognized almost immediately, and unhappy soldiers were plentiful among the regiments. Despite the sullen greeting they received as they garrisoned Boston, the troops realized that a new life in the countryside might be an improvement over their current condition; at least forty of the regulars deserted within the first two weeks of the occupation. Bostonians and others apparently encouraged and assisted soldiers to flee.”
“Before the captain reached the troops, Henry Knox literally pulled him aside by the coat. ‘For God’s sake take care of your Men for if they fire your life must be answerable,” Knox pleaded. ‘I am sensible of it,’ Preston peevishly replied and then hurried on to take command.
“As Preston concluded the conversation, a white object was thrown in their direction. It might have been a snowball, a chunk of ice, or a piece of white birch cordwood. Whatever its composition, the missile struck the muzzle of Private Montgomery’s musket. Montgomery stepped back, recovered his balance, and discharged his weapon. Many scurried for cover or ducked down. Surprisingly, quite a few remained frozen in place, unable to believe that a shot had been fired. There was a pause, punctuated incredibly by renewed shouts of ‘Fire!'”
“Estimates of the elapsed time between the first and next shots varied, but most observers agreed that there had been sufficient time, somewhere between a few seconds and half a minute, for Preston to have commanded the men to halt. Prompted by the first shot and without any prohibition from Preston, several of the other soldiers then fired at the crowd.”
“In none of these cases can we know with certainty what a soldier was thinking when he fired his weapon. Montgomery most likely had inadvertently pulled the trigger. The impulse of the others is murkier. Perhaps some did believe they were defending their lives or obeying a command, and perhaps a few discharged their weapons immediately after an adjacent comrade had fired. It is just as likely that several of them, without any premeditation, seized the opportunity to vent their frustration and anger at the hostile residents or to attain revenge. Whatever the case, the massacre on King Street was a soldiers’ riot.”
“Five people died and six others were wounded, but the punishment for Preston and the eight soldiers, beyond incarceration until the conclusion of their trials, was two branded thumbs. The citizens of Boston could take pride that there had been a fair and open trial. There had been no vigilante justice, but neither had there been justice. Had the victims been more prominent, such as the wounded merchant Edward Payne, rather than transient or poor, there might have been more of an outcry. As it was, there was some grumbling, an inflammatory broadside that was pulled down off the door of the Town House, and a series of lengthy newspaper articles by Samuel Adams.Most Bostonians settled for returning to a life without soldiers and with fewer duties on commerce.”
Recommended books:
- The Boston Massacre: A Family History by Serena Zabin
- Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
- The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred F. Young
- Boston Riots: Three Centuries of Social Violence by Jack Tager
Rating: ****
#AmericanHistory #AmericanRevolution #BookReviews #Books #Boston #ColonialAmerica #Massachusetts -
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the daughter of a hero remembers the mother she lost
By Ramon Antonio VargasAnna Sweeney Rossman was 5 when her mother, flight attendant Amy Sweeney, was killed aboard American Airlines flight 11 after helping authorities identify the hijackers
#September112001 #USnews #Massachusetts #NewYork #TheGuardian #RamonAntonioVargas
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TechCrunch: Massachusetts hits data centers with new clean power rules. “Massachusetts became the latest state to force data centers to bring their own power, but this time there’s a twist. A new state mandate would require developers building data centers larger than 25 megawatts to provide clean power or pay into a ratepayer protection fund. Gov. Maura Healey’s executive order is the […]
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TechCrunch: Massachusetts hits data centers with new clean power rules. “Massachusetts became the latest state to force data centers to bring their own power, but this time there’s a twist. A new state mandate would require developers building data centers larger than 25 megawatts to provide clean power or pay into a ratepayer protection fund. Gov. Maura Healey’s executive order is the […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/10/techcrunch-massachusetts-hits-data-centers-with-new-clean-power-rules/ -
TechCrunch: Massachusetts hits data centers with new clean power rules. “Massachusetts became the latest state to force data centers to bring their own power, but this time there’s a twist. A new state mandate would require developers building data centers larger than 25 megawatts to provide clean power or pay into a ratepayer protection fund. Gov. Maura Healey’s executive order is the […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/10/techcrunch-massachusetts-hits-data-centers-with-new-clean-power-rules/ -
TechCrunch: Massachusetts hits data centers with new clean power rules. “Massachusetts became the latest state to force data centers to bring their own power, but this time there’s a twist. A new state mandate would require developers building data centers larger than 25 megawatts to provide clean power or pay into a ratepayer protection fund. Gov. Maura Healey’s executive order is the […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/10/techcrunch-massachusetts-hits-data-centers-with-new-clean-power-rules/ -
TechCrunch: Massachusetts hits data centers with new clean power rules. “Massachusetts became the latest state to force data centers to bring their own power, but this time there’s a twist. A new state mandate would require developers building data centers larger than 25 megawatts to provide clean power or pay into a ratepayer protection fund. Gov. Maura Healey’s executive order is the […]
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Lindsay Clancy mistrial juror was reportedly a Karen Read supporter
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! One of the jurors reportedly identified in the Lindsay Clancy…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #crimeworld #KarenRead #LindsayClancy #Massachusetts #policeandlawenforcement #trials #UnitedStates #Us #USA
https://www.newsbeep.com/725699/ -
Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer Kevin Reddington shares her desperate pleas https://www.byteseu.com/2351854/ #America #LindsayClancy #Massachusetts #MentalIllness #trials #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #US #USNews #USA #USANews
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Woman, 87, trying to parallel park crashes into Malden restaurant near City Hall https://www.diningandcooking.com/restaurants/24815/ #bar #CityHall #EmergencyResponse #malden #MaldenCityHall #MaldenRestaurant #massachusetts #MexicanRestaurant #MexicanRestaurants #PleasantStreet #SantaFeBurritoGrill #SantaFeBurritoGrillAndBar #scene #sidewalk #site #TowTruck #vehicle #WCVB #wednesday
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Woman, 87, trying to parallel park crashes into Malden restaurant near City Hall https://www.diningandcooking.com/restaurants/24815/ #bar #CityHall #EmergencyResponse #malden #MaldenCityHall #MaldenRestaurant #massachusetts #MexicanRestaurant #MexicanRestaurants #PleasantStreet #SantaFeBurritoGrill #SantaFeBurritoGrillAndBar #scene #sidewalk #site #TowTruck #vehicle #WCVB #wednesday
