Where Did the Shot Heard Round the World Happen?

The Shot Heard Round the World occurred on April 19, 1775 after British troops, searching for ammunition stockpiles in Lexington and Concord, engaged in a brief battle with local minutemen on the North Bridge in Concord.

Engraving of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, circa 1775

Over the years the exact location of the Shot Heard Round the World has gotten muddled. Many writers and historians have attributed it to the first shot fired at the Battle of Lexington, which occurred earlier in the day and was the first official battle of the Revolution. Yet the phrase itself “Shot Heard Round the World” comes from a Ralph Waldo Emerson poem about the Battle of Concord titled Concord Hymn...Click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/where-did-the-shot-heard-round-the-world-happen/

Louisa May Alcott: The First Woman Registered to Vote in Concord

Louisa May Alcott was not just a writer and author of the classic novel Little Women, she was also the first woman registered to vote in Concord, Mass...Click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/louisa-may-alcott-the-first-woman-registered-to-vote-in-concord/

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a writer from Salem, Mass best known for his novels The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables. Born on July 4, 1808 in Salem, Hawthorne was a direct descendant of Judge John Hathorne from the Salem Witch Trials. Hawthorne was intrigued by his connection to his ancestor, although it is speculated that he may have eventually added the “W” to his last name to distance himself from his great-grandfather. Hawthorne published two stories under the name “Hathorne” in 1830 but started spelling his name with a W after this date, for reasons unknown...Click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/nathaniel-hawthorne/

Louisa May Alcott

Although one of the most famous Concord authors, Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832. The Alcott family believed very strongly in abolitionism and women's rights as well as transcendentalism; a literary and philosophical movement during the 1800s that declared knowledge and spirituality could be attained through one's own intuition rather than traditional teaching methods...Click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/louisa-may-alcott/

Traveling the Underground Railroad in Massachusetts

The underground railroad was a series of safe houses that stretch from the south all the way to Canada. These safe houses provided shelter and protection for runaway slaves trying to find freedom in the north. Although slavery was illegal in northern states, the Fugitive Slave Act passed in 1793 and 1850 make it legal for slave hunters to travel to free states and capture runaway slaves. Some slaves took their chances and settled in free states, but many others passed through these states as they headed for Canada where slavery was illegal and slave hunters could not enter...Click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/traveling-the-underground-railroad-in-massachusetts/