Speech timer led clock online3/18/2023 ![]() The Continental Army besieged Boston for nearly a year. When war broke out in April of 1775 with the battles of Lexington and Concord, the British retreated to Boston and occupied the town. The Sons of Liberty led the way dumping 342 chests of tea into the harbor at Griffin’s Wharf.Ī British Riding School and the Siege of Boston When the final attempt at compromise failed, Samuel Adams gave the signal that started the Boston Tea Party. On that day, over 5,000 men crowded into Old South Meeting House and joined in a fiery debate on the controversial tea tax. It was the series of meetings that culminated on Decemthat sealed Old South’s fate as one of this country’s most significant buildings. Through their orations, these speakers kept outrage over the Boston Massacre alive and built consensus over time for independence. State Street Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770A town meeting resolved to mark the anniversary of Boston Massacre with a public speech “to commemorate the barbarous murder of five of our Fellow Citizens on that fatal Day, and to impress upon our minds the ruinous tendency of standing Armies in Free Cities.”Įach year from 1772 to 1775, these massive gatherings of men, women and children were held at Old South Meeting House to commemorate the anniversary of the Boston Massacre, with speeches by John Hancock, Benjamin Church and Dr. Marking the Anniversary of the Boston Massacre: The Annual Fifth of March Orations The continued presence of armed British troops quartered in Boston was seen as both dangerous and insulting. ![]() In response to these initial protests, the Governor ordered all but two regiments out of the town. At this time Boston had a population of approximately 15,000 and many colonists considered this “military occupation” to be an infringement of English political law, yet another challenge to their liberty. Nearly 4,000 British soldiers arrived in Boston in the fall of 1768. The meeting was successful, but as a result the British ministry concluded that their customs officers needed protection from Boston’s mobs. At this meeting, outraged colonists called for the British Sloop-of-War “Romney,” to stop seizing sailors to work “for the service of the King, in his ships of war.” So many people came to protest that the meeting was moved to Old South Meeting House. ![]() On June 14, 1768, a town meeting was called to protest the impressment, or forcible induction, of New England sailors into British Naval service and the seizure of John Hancock’s sloop “Liberty” for violation of customs law, i.e. Meeting against the Impressment of Sailors “The transactions at Liberty Tree were treated with scorn and ridicule but when they heard of the resolutions in the Old South Meeting-house, the place whence the orders issued for the removal of the troops in 1770, they put on grave countenances.” Old South Meeting House became the center for massive public protest meetings against British actions in colonial Boston from 1768-75. These meetings drew thousands of people who could not fit inside the usual town meeting place at Faneuil Hall, and instead were held at Old South Meeting House, the largest gathering place in Boston. The largest building in colonial Boston, Old South Meeting House was the site of the most dramatic and stirring mass meetings leading to the American Revolution.īoston’s anger at British taxes and policies exploded at town meetings. ![]() The congregation that built the brick Old South Meeting House in 1729 was descended from the Puritans who founded Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 17th century. The Old South Meeting House clock is the nation’s oldest American-made tower clock still operating in its original location. It was a prominent building with a bell and an enormous 1768 tower clock that is still working today. In Boston, meetings too large for Boston’s town hall, Faneuil Hall, were held at the Old South Meeting House because of its great size and central location. Standing in the center of town, the Old South Meeting House was colonial Boston’s largest building and was used for public gatherings as well as for worship. When overcrowding became a problem, they replaced it in 1729 with the beautiful spacious brick meeting house that still stands today. The Puritan congregation built their first wooden meeting house on this site in 1669 as the “Third Church” in Boston. US Military and Veterans ( Blue Star Museums)īuilt in 1729 as the largest building in colonial Boston, Old South Meeting House has been an important gathering place for nearly three centuries.Revolutionary Spaces is proud to provide FREE admission to the following groups: ![]()
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