“Liberty Triumphant, or the Downfall of Oppression, 1774 (Library of Congress).
The Pursuit of History: Rebellion in New England
May 10–12, 2024 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | SOLD OUT
As the year 1774 began, the people of Massachusetts were worrying about how the royal government in London would react to the Boston Tea Party, which had taken place just a few weeks prior on December 16. Twelve months later, Massachusetts had a new governor and a revised charter, but most of the province was in open rebellion, preparing for war.
Event Program + Resources
Why understanding 1774 is critical
1774 Timeline
Included in this program, J.L. Bell developed a detailed timeline of the major actions that took place in New England in 1774. Separated into the politics of persuasion, including legal, rhetorical, and commercial, and the politics of force, including threatening, violent, and military actions, this nine-page timeline goes into an extraordinary level of detail, making it an outstanding reference for anyone wishing to understand the escalation of events that took place in 1774 that led to the first shots fired the following April.
The Pursuit of History: Rebellion in New England, provided an unparalleled opportunity to learn about history where it happened with a small group of people who shared the same passion for history. This program presented a deep dive into not just what happened in 1774 but why—and how the events of 1774 led directly to the outbreak of fighting in 1775 and to the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Presenters + Topics
Program Director J. L. Bell
Our program has been directed by J. L. Bell, author of book The Road to Concord and the daily Boston 1775. John is also a board member of The Pursuit of History and has been a presenter at every History Camp Boston we’ve held. Read more about John’s thoughts in putting together The Pursuit of History: Rebellion in New England.
Welcome Session with Mrs. Winston
Joan Laxson, PhD, Ranger at Minute Man National Historical Park and Professor of Anthropology, portraying Mrs. Winston, a resident of Cambridge talking about the events of late 1773 and spring 1774.
Spillover: Local Ripples from the Boston Tea Party
Eric Hanson Plass, PhD
The Crown Response to Unrest in Massachusetts
Robert J. Allison, PhD
Liberty and Slavery in Colonial Massachusetts
Caitlin G. DeAngelis, PhD
A Neighborhood in an Empire
Walking tour with Program Director J. L. Bell
1774 in the College Archives
Sarah Martin, Harvard University Archives and Special Collections
1774 in Rare Books and Manuscripts
John Overholt, Houghton Library
Church and Town in Cambridge
Program Director J. L. Bell
The Colonial Militia System
James Hollister, Ranger at Minute Man National Historical Park
How Massachusetts Resisted
Dr. Samuel A. Forman and Program Director J. L. Bell
“Being Surrounded by About Four Thousand People”
with Program Director J. L. Bell
Massachusetts at the First Continental Congress
with Chris Beneke, PhD
John Hancock, Emerging Patriot Leader
with Brooke Barbier, PhD
The New England Arms Race
with Program Director J. L. Bell
What a Year!
Panel Discussion with Our Faculty
Guided Tour of the American Wing, Boston Museum of Fine Arts
with art historian Deborah Stein
Read more about our speakers and browse the reading list at the bottom of our Speakers and Topics page.
Schedule + Registration
Schedule + Locations
Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11 | Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site = Cambridge, Massachusetts
We will start at 9 am at the Longfellow House with a light breakfast (included). Lunch will be the midpoint of our walking tour of Tory Row. Our dinner Friday night will be in Nubar at the Sheraton Commander Hotel. Lunch Saturday will be in the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House (1685).
Sunday, May 12, 2024 (Optional) | Early American Galleries, Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Join us Sunday for an optional guided tour of the Early American Galleries at the Museum of Fine Arts exclusively for our group. Your ticket includes admission to the entire museum for the day.
Registration
The fee for both days, including meals and all events, is $795. Lodging is not included. Please note that there are no cancellations or refunds.
Travel + Lodging
Lodging is not included, but there are a multitude of lodging choices in the area. The closest to where we’ll be meeting is the Sheraton Commander, and there are many others within just a few minutes by taxi/Uber. Note that parking in the area around the Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters is very limited. We recommend leaving your car at your hotel.
What Else is Included?
- Thursday evening, we will have an informal gathering for anyone who wishes to join us.
- In addition to the talks at Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters, we will take a walking tour of the area and get a behind-the-scenes tour of historical documents from the period in the Harvard Archives.
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included. Our dinner Friday night will be in Nubar at the Sheraton Commander Hotel. Lunch Saturday will be in the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House (1685).
- All of these sites are within walking distance of each other.
- And Sunday there is an optional tour of the extraordinary collection of period art and furnishings in the American Wing of the Museum of Fine Arts. (Your admission will include access to the entire museum for the day.)
About the Organizer
The Pursuit of a History is the non-profit organization behind the groundbreaking History Camp and now Pursuit of History Weekends. Carefully curated for a small number of individuals, Pursuit of History Weekends are unlike any history event you’ve attended.
Introduction
History Where it Happened: Tory Row
Seminar Venue
Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site
“The Past and Present here unite…” Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site preserves a remarkable Georgian house whose occupants shaped our nation. It was a site of colonial enslavement and community activism, George Washington’s first long-term headquarters of the American Revolution, and the place where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his canon of 19th-century American literature. [National Park Service]
Rebellion in New England Sponsor—Thank You!
Americana Corner
Funded in part through a grant approved by the Americana Corner Preserving America Grant Program.
Continuing in Autumn 2026 with The British Empire Strikes Back
Even as the Continental Congress and thirteen state governments moved toward independence, the British government planned to bring those territories back under control. A massive military force arrived off New York in the summer of 1776. In a series of major battles the British army under General Sir William Howe drove General George Washington’s Continental troops out of the city, then down through New Jersey. By late 1776 the Congress was evacuating Philadelphia, American soldiers’ enlistments were coming to an end, and Washington feared that the war might be lost.
We’ll examine those military developments by visiting battlefields and hearing from experts in military history.
Feedback from The Road to Independence Spring Attendees
Our guests came from Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, Virginia, Maryland, Kansas, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New Jersey for three days of talks, walks, special tours, and dinners.
“The mix of talks and walks, the unforgettable dinner at Carpenters Hall with the surprise appearance of Elizabeth Powel, Benjamin Franklin, and friends, the Declaration of Independence presentation, the Christ Church tour, museum tours—all of it was absolutely engrossing.
I’ve been to Philly half a dozen times, but The Road to Independence gave me a whole new appreciation of this very walkable city.”
— Valerie, Illinois
“The speakers, tours and activities were great and provided me with a deeper appreciation of the events leading to and following the Declaration of Independence. I was especially impressed with the dinner in Carpenter’s Hall—and the reenactors—what a memorable evening.
I know that putting together a weekend like this requires a lot of thought and effort to coordinate all the different pieces and to ensure the participants are having a great experience. I wanted to reach out to you, and to everyone else who was working behind the scenes, to let you know that I very much appreciate the effort and feel that it was a great success.”
— Dave, Massachusetts
The Pursuit of History for America’s 250th
From Rebellion in New England (1774 Cambridge in 2024) to A Farewell to Arms (1783 New York City in 2033), join the most respected authorities in the field as we travel to two cities every year to understand not just what happened 250 years ago but why it happened.
This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is limited to 40 attendees and each event usually sells out within days. Those who have attended previous Pursuit of History Weekends have the first opportunity to register.
View the entire series of programs through 2033 >
Sign-up for our weekly Pursuit of History | History Camp mailing to be notified. We also include updates on our weekly History Camp Author Discussions and our annual History Camp Boston.
Supporting The Pursuit of History
Contact Lee Wright, President of The Pursuit of History to learn more about how you can support the mission and programs of The Pursuit of History, the non-profit organization behind The Pursuit of History Weekends, History Camp, and weekly History Camp Discussions.