Events

Speaker: James Bennett, Historian

In 1818 John Adams wrote: “But what do We mean by the American Revolution? Do We mean the American War? The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the Minds and Hearts of the People.”
Medford’s experience of the American Revolution as a war is a well-documented and proud chapter of the community’s history. But to what extent was there a revolution in the hearts and minds of Medford’s people of the kind that Adams described? In this presentation, James Bennett will examine late 18th-century primary sources from Medford to shed light on the fundamental nature of how the people of Medford experienced political change during the tumultuous years of the revolutionary and early national periods. For Medford, was the American Revolution simply a war to remove royal authority from the apex of their political system, or was it a catalyst for a much more fundamental change in the values of their political system as a whole? This presentation will point to some possible answers to that question, and spark conversations in the community about what that historical experience 250 years ago means for us today. Jim Bennett has worked as a public historian, researcher, actor, and teacher for over 25 years. He currently works as a research fellow for Revolutionary Spaces, the non-profit which stewards Boston’s Old State House and Old South Meeting House. He served as chair of the Melrose Historical Commission for four years, and has an abiding passion for the history of our local communities