250 Years Ago This Month: The Convening of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress

In September, the Commonwealth kicked off Massachusetts 250, an initiative to commemorate the state's revolutionary history in the lead-up to the country's semi-quincentennial. We are joining in on the celebration by displaying a revolutionary-period broadside that was issued in October 1774 – 250 years ago this month. The broadside was distributed by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress soon after it was established.

To put this broadside in historical context, we need to go a little further back in time and provide an abridged run-down of what was happening in Boston and throughout Massachusetts in 1773 and 1774. The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773 and in the months following, British Parliament enacted four acts, knowns as the Intolerable or Coercive Acts, that were meant to punish residents of Massachusetts for the destruction of the tea. The Acts revoked the Massachusetts Charter and with that, changed the nature of the Governor’s Council, the governing body which had previously been elected by assembly and would now be appointed by the King. The Acts also closed the port of Boston, allowed for the quartering of British soldiers, and allowed royal officials who had been accused of crimes to have their trials moved to Great Britain if they felt they could not receive a fair trial in Massachusetts. Throughout 1774, the Intolerable Acts created a heightened sense of tension between the colonists and Great Britain, as colonists felt they had lost their right to self-government. On October 5 through 7, representatives of the now disbanded General Court met in Salem and organized as the Provincial Congress, with John Hancock as its chair, and became the de facto government, with authority to govern the area (including collecting taxes and raising a militia). The Provincial Congress met again in Concord from October 11 through the 14, where they focused on organizing committees to bring order to their cause during this time of revolt and political crisis, and it was during this meeting that Committees of Safety were established. The Provincial Congress met again in Cambridge on October 26, and the broadside in our collection was published following that meeting.

The primary resolution established at the October 26 meeting was to urge towns to establish their militias, the “minutemen” that we so often hear about in Revolutionary history. The text printed on the broadside begins by describing the current state of British troops stationed in Boston, stating “Whereas in Consequence of the present unhappy Disputes between Great-Britain and the Colonies, a formidable Body of Troops with warlike Preparations of every Sort are already arrived at, and others destined for the Metropolis of this Province, and the expressed Design of their being sent is to execute Acts of the British Parliament.” The text goes on to describe a situation where the colonists would not antagonize the British, but as a measure of protecting themselves, that militias throughout Massachusetts should be organized. Militias should ensure that a slate of officers are be appointed and elected, and furthermore, individuals should equip themselves with arms and perfect their military skill to safeguard their “lives, liberties, and properties.” It is noted at the bottom of the broadside that this is “A true Extract from the Minutes” and handwritten on the back of our copy is the town name Rutland, so we know where this broadside was sent after it was issued. You can see a copy of this broadside in our digital repository, and a version with a transcription is available on the Library of Congress’s website. 

The Provincial Congress continued to meet throughout the fall, during which time they issued a number of grievances against Royal Governor Thomas Gage. They adjourned in December, but convened again as the Second Provincial Congress in February 1775.  

The convening of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was a pivotal moment in Massachusetts and American history, as colonists established their own governing structure in response to escalating frustrations with the King and  British Parliament. We are thrilled to have a broadside from one of these early meetings as part of our holdings, and we hope that you will mark the 250th anniversary of the first convening of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress by visiting us from October 1 through the 29th to see it on display in our reading room. A number of broadsides from our collection that date to the 1760s-1780s have recently been conserved by the Northeast Document Conservation Center, and we are excited to share more of them as the Commonwealth celebrates Massachusetts 250. To read more about Massachusetts 250 check out their website and Governor Healey’s press release.

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian

Compiling a Legislative History

A common research request that our reference librarians receive involves tracking down legislative histories of specific laws. If you have ever reached out for assistance with that task, then you have definitely been directed to the Library's Guide to Compiling a Massachusetts Legislative History. 

Last spring, our Government Documents & Reference Librarian supplemented that tutorial by writing two detailed blog posts where she used the the steps and advice in the guide to compile a legislative history for M.G.L. ch.6 §39B. Both of those links are conveniently presented here:

Compiling a Legislative History: M.G.L. ch.6 §39B (Part 1)

Compiling a Legislative History: M.G.L. ch.6 §39B (Part 2)

Be sure to reference these posts the next time you're compiling a legislative history, and happy researching!

Our First Archives Crawl

The Special Collections Department hosted its first Archives Crawl in collaboration with our colleagues from other area institutions on Wednesday, September 11, with an inaugural theme of Boston’s education history. We had so much fun chatting with colleagues, folks from other agencies, and public patrons who stopped in for a visit!

On display in the reading room were collection materials spanning over 200 years of Massachusetts history:

• An 1800 grammar school primer
• Early 19th century broadsides of school rules and regulations
• 1851 image and description of the Abiel Smith School, the first school in the nation founded for Black students (which you can still visit at the Museum of African American History!)
• Photographs and scrapbooks from the Community Music Center of Boston Collection
• A Massachusetts education timeline created by Jessica Shrey, State Library Legal Research Reference Librarian
• And more!

Pictured to the right is the title page of one of the displayed items -  A Short but Comprehensive Grammar, published in Charlestown, 1800.

Thank you to everyone who came in for our first Archives Crawl open house - we hope to make it an annual event with changing themes, so stay tuned! While some of the other institutions’ open house events have passed, be sure to check out the ongoing exhibits on the Archives Crawl flyer below!

 
Alyssa Persson
Special Collections Processing Archivist

The Canada Jay Swoops into the Library!

Head north this September with our displayed Audubon print! The Canada Jay (Audubon plate 107) is the unofficial bird of Canada, designated as such from a poll conducted by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Canadians picked this bird because it is known for its friendliness and resilience. Like the Blue Jay, the Canada Jay is part of the corvid family, which are known to be highly intelligent. Keeping with September's educational theme, we figured this was a good bird to display as inspiration to students in the Commonwealth as they head back to school!

According to the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, the Canada Jay is also highly curious and intrepid - two other qualities that are good for students to keep in mind as they head back to the classroom. Read more about the Canada Jay on Cornell's "All about Birds" website, where you can also hear a recording of its bird call. And be sure to visit us from September 10 to October 8 to see the the print on display in our reading room.

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian

Blog Post Roundup: Back to School Edition

It’s September, the weather will be cooling down soon (hopefully), and yellow school buses are back on the roads which can only mean one thing: it’s back to school season in the Commonwealth! It’s also the start of a new legislative session, which brings renewed energy and excitement to the State House!

Today though, we've put together a collection of blog posts and exhibits done at the State Library over the years highlighting the important role Massachusetts has played in the history of education in our country. We were the home to the first school in the colonies after all! We also established the Common School, which is today’s version of a public school, and Massachusetts is home to the first school for the blind.

Click on the links below to learn more about education in the Commonwealth through our blog posts and digital exhibits!

Back to school in the Commonwealth
This blog post features items in our collections that help tell the story of the history of education in Massachusetts. You’ll see an image of the first Latin School, learn about the development of what is now called the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and discover the precursor to Braille. There are also links to reports, manuals, and newsletters published by the Executive Office of Education.

Back to School: a Retrospective View of Education in Massachusetts
This blog post links to a digital exhibit put together by State Library staff in 2016. As the blog says, it “traces the history of education in the Commonwealth, starting with the first school-related legislation in 1642 through the Boston busing crisis of the early 1970s.” Get ready to take a deep dive into the history of education in Massachusetts as told through the State Library’s collections, spanning centuries!

Massachusetts Textile Schools
While many people tend to think of education in the traditional public school and university sense, we wanted to highlight another type of education. Did you know that at one time, Massachusetts was the home to three textile schools where students learned about cotton manufacturing, chemistry and dyeing, and knitting? This blog post tells the story of three textile institutes that were opened in New Bedford, Lowell, and Fall River at the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century.

Questions? Want to see some of the items referenced in these blog posts up close? Email us or call us at 617-727-2590. We also have display cases in the reading room filled with education-related resources from our collections, so be sure to stop in the library in room 341 of the State House before the end of the month!


Jessica Shrey
Legal Research Reference Librarian

Author Talk with Stephanie Schorow

• A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure: The Great Brewster Journal of 1891
• Wednesday, September 25, 2024. 12pm - 1:00pm
• In-person and virtual event. No registration required.
• State Library of Massachusetts - Room 341, Massachusetts State House
• Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/user/mastatelibrary

The State Library of Massachusetts Author Talks Series returns from summer break on September 25th! We have an exciting line-up of authors, speakers, leaders, and professionals from different fields scheduled for the coming months and 2025! Be sure to sign up for our Author Talks newsletter and follow our social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, and X) for the latest information on our visiting authors.

Please join us on Wednesday, September 25th, at noon, in our historic reading room for an author talk with Stephanie Schorow - author of A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure: The Great Brewster Journal of 1891 (2023).

The event will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel courtesy of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Broadcast Services - tune in at noon!

About the book: In July 1891, four women from Lowell, Massachusetts set out on a journey to one of the Boston Harbor Islands. Seeking to escape their traditional roles as wives, mothers, and daughters, the group set out for an adventure. A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure recounts the seventeen-day journey of the “Merrie Trippers” through snippets of their journal, photographs, and illustrations.

About the author: Stephanie Schorow is a Boston-based freelance writer and journalism instructor. Schorow holds a degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in Latin America Studies from New York University. Her career in journalism has spanned the country; in 1989 she began at the Associated Press and for twelve years was a lifestyles editor and writer at the Boston Herald. Schorow has written, co-authored, and edited nine books on Boston history including: Drinking Boston: A History of the City and its Spirits and East of Boston: Notes from the Harbor Island. For more on Schorow and her work, please visit her website.

If you are able to join us in person for this talk, attendees will be able to participate in a question-and-answer session with the author as well as purchase a copy of the book (cash, credit, check, Venmo, and PayPal will be accepted). As always, this author talk is free and open to all. Assisted listening devices will be made available upon request. Any questions or concerns, please email us at AuthorTalks.StateLibrary@mass.gov.

For more information on the State Library Author talks series, please visit our site.

Author Talks Working Group

State Library Newsletter - September Issue

Welcome September! Catch up on all State Library happenings in this month's newsletter. Read about our upcoming events, our education-themed displays, new books on our shelves, and more!

Pictured here is a preview, but the full issue can be accessed by clicking here. And you can also sign up for our mailing list to receive the newsletter straight to your inbox.

On Display in the State Library - Back to School!

Whether students are excited to begin a new year or are lamenting the end of summer (or maybe a combination of both), September is synonymous with going back to school! At the State Library, we’re marking the start of a new school year by sharing three historical textbooks in our Collection Spotlight case. On display are A Short Introduction to English Grammar (1775), Pestallozzian Primer (1827), and National Spelling Book and Pronouncing Tutor (1828). Technically, these books are primers, which are the early learning books that are used to teach the foundations of reading and writing.

Clockwise from top left: Pestallozzian Primer (1827), National Spelling Book and

Pronouncing Tutor (1828), A Short Introduction to English Grammar (1775)

Massachusetts has played a strong role in the advancement of education and educational resources over the years and is the home of many educational “firsts.” More about the history of education in the Commonwealth can be found in our 2023 online exhibit. One of the “firsts” noted in that exhibit is the 1687 publishing of The New England Primer, which was the first textbook published for children in the colonies. Though we do not have any early printings of this source in our collection, we do have later editions of The New England Primer - it was in production and used in schools all the way into the 1900s!

One of the oldest primers in our collection is A Short Introduction to English Grammar: With Critical Notes, which was published in 1775 in Philadelphia. It was compiled by the Right Reverend Robert Lowth the Lord Bishop of Oxford, who noted an absence in teaching textbooks for grammar and strove to correct that by producing a grammar primer. Originally published in 1762, this text is considered one of the most influential sources on English grammar. It is interesting to note that when it was originally published, it was not intended for children, but within a few years it was adapted to serve as a primer, and it was used in schools through the twentieth-century.

The title page of Pestallozzian Primer, or, First Step in Teaching Children the Art of Reading and Thinking includes the quote, “Teach a child to think, and give him the words by which he may retain and communicate his thoughts, and you will have more than half completed his intellectual education.” This primer was published in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1827 and the lessons follow the work of  Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827), a Swiss education reformer. As stated in the preface, the lessons focus on creating a “habit of thinking and of understanding what is read.” Rather than the straight grammar and spelling lessons found in other primers, this approach encourages the student to think beyond rules. For example, when learning to read and spell the word “apple” the student is also asked questions like, “Where does the apple grow? Name the parts of the apple? How may it taste?” Notice in the picture that the thinking lessons include a notation that reads, "these lessons will very much relieve the fatigue of mere spelling and reading business." We're sure that students enjoyed the break from rote memorization!

Of the three displayed books, only the National Spelling Book and Pronouncing Tutor was published here in Boston, or more specifically, not too far from the State House at 133 Washington Street. It was printed in 1828 and compiled by B.D. Emerson, who was the principal of the Adams Grammar School, also in Boston. According to the title page, the primer is designed for use in schools throughout the United States and follows Walker’s principles of grammar. This refers to the work of lexicographer John Walker (English, 1732 – 1807) who also taught elocution. This primer explains how to pronounce each syllable of certain words (or groups of words), and also provides spelling lessons.

For the past few years, the State Library has marked the beginning of the school year by displaying some historical education resources from our collection. Revisit our 2023 display, where we shared “Rules and Regulations to be observed by the Teachers of the Public Schools in Dorchester” (1810) and “Order of Exercises at the Dedication of the Building and Installation of the Teacher of the High School” (Dorchester, 1852), and our 2022 display, where we shared an 1835 Quincy School Committee circular with advice for teachers and parents as the school year began. Be sure to visit us from September 5 to October 1 to see this year’s display!

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian