BOSTON TRAVEL: The Freedom City

Boston travel will take you to one of the oldest cities in America and a place where many people demanded and enjoyed many of the freedoms that are still a vital part of what it means to be an American today.

Many American colonial cities contributed to the founding of the country, but Boston is where the cries for freedom from tyranny were first heard early, and often. The English Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who were looking for religious freedom, first arrived in Charleston, specifically, during June 1630. Then, in September, the town of Boston was officially founded. Many of the colonists were from Boston in Lincolnshire, England, so they adopted the name for their new town.

During the next 140 years, Boston grew in population and importance as a major seaport. Its citizen also wanted educational freedom, with Boston being the location of the first school in America, Boston Latin School, and the first college, Harvard. During the 1770s, Boston became the hotbed, initially, for freedom from unfair taxation, and then, the revolution for total freedom from Britain. James Otis, Samuel Adams and other leaders provided the words and speeches to motivate the citizenry of Boston to demand their freedom. The cries for freedom quickly turned to violence during the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770, when British soldiers shot five citizens, among many protesting in the streets.

Bostonians organized themselves into patriot groups, with the most famous being the Sons of Liberty, who boarded ships in the harbor to throw tea overboard; an act that was to be forever known as the Boston Tea Party. Then, the revolt became a war during April 1775, beginning with the rides of Paul Revere and others to warn the ragtag local militia, the Minutemen, that British troops were marching from Boston to disperse and arrest them and other patriotic leaders in nearby Concord. On the beautiful spring morning of April 19^th, the “shot heard ‘round the world” was fired on the greens of Lexington and Concord, as Americans were now prepared to fight and die for their freedom. Approximately, one year later, during March 1776, General George Washington and the first American army defeated the British at the Battle of Bunker Hill, one of the three prominent hills of Boston.

Today, The Freedom Trail is a major highlight of Boston travel. It is a 2.5-mile tour of 16 historic sites that were made famous during the Revolution, such as Boston Commons, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere House, Old North Church and Bunker Hill.

Following the Revolutionary War, Boston and its citizens were free to create a commercially active and cosmopolitan city, being officially chartered as such during 1822. During the 19^th century, Boston continued to grow, becoming one of early America’s largest manufacturing centers as well as a shipping hub, first by river into the interior, and then via railroads.

Freedom was still a central characteristic of the people of Boston, as it became the leading city in the fight to abolish slavery. Many of its young men would die on the battlefields of the Civil War because they supported this issue. Freedom would also call many immigrants from Europe; and the Irish settled in Boston in great numbers. They would enrich the city’s culture and politics, a characteristic of Boston that is still strong today.

During the late 19^th century, Boston was the home of many of America’s most famous writers, historians, theologians and philosophers. Here was a place that also valued the freedom of thought and expression. Much of which occurred at newer centers of higher education, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston University, Boston College, Tufts University and many others.

Throughout the 20^th century, Boston experienced periods of economic decline, but its citizens and leaders rallied their resources to initiate many urban renewal projects. Graduates of its many institutions of higher education fueled Boston’s growing financial sector and other commercial endeavors as well as a high-tech “revolution,” nearly as extensive as what occurred in California’s Silicon Valley.

As Boston celebrates its 382^nd birthday during 2012, its people are still fervent about their freedoms, despite the ravages of the recent Recession and the continuing growth of the Northeast into a megalopolis. During your Boston travel you’ll see how carefully Bostonians have preserved their city’s importance in American history as they also celebrate modern American culture, welcoming visitors and travelers from throughout the world.

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