Valerie’s The Minutemen and Their World notes

Chapter 1: “Do Not Be Divided for so small matters”

CONCORD BEFORE THE REVOLUTION: ”Union was the source of public happiness.” (pg. 14) basically
this book is set in Concord, MA. It records what the town was like before, during and after the
Revolutionary War. Before the war, townsmen would “strive to think as his neighbors thought” while
attending the town meetings and would reluctantly disagree with others. “Pre-Revolutionary Concord
traced much of its political conflict to the growth of its population.” (480 in 1679, 920 in 1706, 1500 in
1725) “Concord was… redefined as a confederacy of smaller communities.” Basically 3 sections (north,
south and east) of the town would share their interests at town meetings. Membership in the community
required the support of the minister, but the Northern people were usually blocked by a washed out bridge
in the winter so they had less representation in the town halls so they wanted to either be their own town
or their own religious precinct but were denied. The conflicts from sectionalism was not unique to Concord
either. People in south section created their own religious body the “West Church”. The West Church
wasn’t strong and lasted 14 years, members were salty against the old church and caused problems right
before the revolution. Election to church membership was considered a validation of a man’s moral
acceptability. Town council cleared everyone of serious charges like Lee’s fraud and injustice, but
everyone was still bickering after. Basically by rejecting Lee so many times, the church had rejected a
prodigal son (remember the parable of the the 2 sons) “Would the church, which had driven them out,
now welcome them back in peace?” (pg. 27) After Lee was rejected, other West Church people saw that
the church was corrupt and didn’t even attempt to rejoin. North was still super alienated because of the
bridge and only went to town meetings to bring up seceding from the town. Concord became divided.
“This failure of community, at its height in the early 1770’s, would play a large role in shaping the town’s
response to revolution.” (pg. 29)

Chap 1 characters:
Colonel John Cuming- doctor who fought in colonial wars and got sent to Canada but won over his
captors and went back to Concord. Really cool guy who people just trusted so they put him as a leader
Ephraim Wood- successful shoemaker who people admired. Great tradesman. Was given position of
town clerk because people just really liked him “rights and civil liberties were near his heart...he was a
warm and zealous defender” (pg. 13) ya people just really liked the dude idk
Samuel Kibby- had 5 (fat?) daughters who couldn’t fit on his horse to go to church but nobody
sympathized because only the rich had horses
Reverend John Whiting- was minister for 20 years but fired because he drank too much. Still stayed in the
town and like requested his own minister pew during services like he still owned the place
Reverend Daniel Bliss- also a controversial minister. 25 years old and kinda screwed things up for
himself. “Miraculously saved from drowning” lmao learn how to swim, you fool. Church was restricted to
only people who could testify god’s work in their souls. “The Religious spirit of Concord had grown
cold.”(pg. 19) but he revived the church and attendance grew from 83 to 200. He still had haters who
attended his services though.
Reverend William Emerson- 22 years old, assumed minister position after Bliss died, got Bliss’ haters and
lovers. His “selection was opposed by one third of the town that brought out nearly every eligible man in
Concord.” dam if only elections nowadays could get that kind of turnout!!!! Anyways he was a good
minister, spoke well and everything. Wanted people to be involved.
Dr. Joseph Lee- 50 years old, lead hater of Rev. Emerson and former officer of West Church (remember
that weird rebel church?) anyways he wanted to reconnect with the main church after Bliss died but since
Emerson was just another Bliss, he and the rest of the West Church said nah. Biggest landholder in
Concord. Wanted to be a selectman or in the Boston General Court. Excluded from everything, the
political elite and the religious communi cvty. Sensitive guy to public criticism. Got accused by Mrs. Lydia

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 Hodgman for “maladministration of her late mother’s estate” and church elders told him to go make peace
with the accusations, but he didn’t and ended up denying that he did anything wrong. Ended up
threatening a deacon. Was denied twice (actually 3 times hahah) for membership to church and he said it
was a civil liberties issue. I mean i guess i can understand it because back then being accepted by the
church meant the rest of the town accepted you as a good person. Lee had friends in high places during
his run for HoR. Only got ⅓ of towns vote for HoR. ouch. Farmers and artisans distrusted him.
Captain James Barrett- 60 years old. supporter of Rev. Emerson, 3 term (ending up 4 terms) House of
Rep. for Concord. Lee ran against him for HoR position. Commercial farmer, rye, oats and cattle. Senior
office holder in Concord. Former militia captain, selectman, and town meeting moderator (basically
everything Lee wanted to be). Had a reputation for being “as great a patriot as was then or perhaps ever
in Concord” (pg. 25) didn’t have anything against Lee but his son did testify against Lee in one of his
applications for church membership. Won popular vote against Lee in HoR run by ⅔.

Chapter 2:”The Reluctant Revolutionaries”

1775: BRITAIN’S ACTS AND CONCORD’S REACTIONS
British families were small and irrelevant and probably the British officials would’ve never noticed
Concord’s existence if it hadn’t been “for its few months of military fame” (pg. 30). Concord was barely
conscious of the mother country. First came no taxation without representation, then came the Sugar Act
(1764) putting taxes on sugar and molasses trade with French West Indies. Next year Stamp Act (1765)
direct tax on every piece of paper in the colonies (dude imagine the price of the twilight series haha)
literally even taxed tax receipts aka the gift that keeps on giving! Parliament repealed Stamp Act but
enacted Declaratory Act (its power to to legislate the colonies no matter what). Even though some were
hesitant, colonists began to boycott British goods. There was some peace as the taxation died down but
then the Tea Act (1773) happened where basically British East India Co. could sell its tea tax free to
America. Boston Tea Party (Dec 16, 1773) Bostonians threw the tea overboard a ship. Parliament closed
port of Boston. Some colonists were opposed to their homies opposing and just wanted everyone to stay
calm. In every town, a small group of politicians, printers and pamphleteers joined together and became
the Real Whig Party, basically just disapproved of Britain and how they were treating them. Claimed
British government was without “virtue, austerity and liberty.” (pg. 32) At first there was hesitancy in
Concord because they didn’t like the Stamp Act but they didn’t want to completely change politics but
eventually “Concordians marched with single-minded militancy into the front ranks of the Revolution” (pg.
33) in mid 1774. 1765, Boston told the countryside that they should also endorse the resistance to new
law (Stamp Act) and Concord voted to oppose operation of Stamp Act and look to get it repealed. This
was the same view that a small town called Braintree had, where a lawyer named John Adams (future
second pres.) was. Braintree resolves said the Stamp Act “was a burthensome tax… with unbearable
charges… it was more than a raid on property: it robbed Americans of their basic rights.” (pg. 35). “No
freeman should be subject to any tax to which he has not given his own consent” that sounds super
relative to nowadays where some people want to pay a lot less taxes because they don’t see why they
need to be taxed, but back then the gov didn’t use the money to benefit them like it does nowadays.
Interesting! Basically did everything within their legal rights to try to undo the Stamp Act. Writers wrote
“specifying the rights of citizens and prescribing powers of government” (pg. 36). People of Concord were
happy when they found out Britain repealed the Stamp Act in July 1766. Towns like Concord tried to get
more general courts so they didn’t have to travel so far to prove a will or appear in court but it was shot
down. The HoR was trying to get people to stop circulating the Massachusetts Circular Letter (a letter that
listed where the British taxation was violating rights). Capt. Barrett brought Concord into opposition and
didn’t sign Britain’s ultimatum to stop the MCL. Capt. Barrett also protested when Britain sent troops to
Boston 3 months later (Sept. 1768). Redcoats came to Boston. After 1768, Concord ignored provincial
issues. They did nothing and “preferred to be left alone” (pg. 41).

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 Chap 2 Characters:
King George III- king during 1770s
Jonas Heywood- town clerk in 1765. Was supposed to record anything important that happened in a book
but he didn’t so that he didn’t get in trouble with provincial authorities.
John Adams- obscure lawyer in Braintree. Wrote Braintree Resolves which wrote about self-government
communities like Concord where towns voted in their own officials, where town selectmen represented
smaller parts within the community
Colonel Charles Prescott- 45 years old. Concord’s town representative. In Jan 1766 agreed (most likely a
reluctant vote, though) with most of the voters that they should open up a paper business that sold
unstamped paper, which was illegal. Well respected rep, with over 6 terms. Got replaced by Cpt. James
Barrett (Lee’s opponent) in 1768 (was it a forceful switch?).
Captain James Barrett (again)- replaced Prescott as Concord’s town rep. Brought Concord into the
opposition. Became one of the famous “Massachusetts Ninety-two” on June 30, 1768. 3 months later
protested British troops in Boston. Fed the troops with stuff from his farm until 1774
Massachusetts Ninety-two- town reps who refused to sign to stop the circulation of Massachusetts
Circular Letter, soliciting other British colonies' support in resistance to the Townshend Acts prior to the
American Revolution.
Reverend William Emerson (again)- was in Boston March 8, 1770 for the funeral of the Boston Massacre
Victims.

Chap 2 Important Dates:

1764 Sugar Act
1765 Stamp Act
March 5, 1770 Boston Massacre
March 8, 1770 Funeral for BM victims
1773 Tea Act
December 16, 1773 Boston Tea Party

Chapter 3: “A Well-ordered Revolution”

CREATION OF THE MINUTEMEN: Concord’s transformation of politics (no more ignoring) started Dec.
1772 when a letter (from Boston Committee of Correspondence) about an attack on liberty came from
Boston, calling Concord to unite with other towns and oppose British policies. That letter was the BCC’s
first attempt to awaken the province into opposition. 9 Committeemen who got together to answer the
letter were Cpt. James Barrett, Col. Cuming, Ephraim Wood, Joseph Lee (mad and sensitive old dude),
COl. Prescott, and Stephen Hosmer and other irrelevant people. Considered a cross section of the town’s
elite. They weren’t hung up about Joseph Lee’s stuff, they wanted to speak for Concord in a single voice.
Committee agreed on “a moderate but firm assertion of colonial rights” (pg. 44). Concord unanimously
voted for the committee’s response. October 1773, Concord was informed of the Tea Act where Britain
was trying to reduce the price of tea (without taking off the taxes) by removing the auction middleman.
British retaliated after the tea party by expanding power over the colonies which in turn united the 13
colonies against Britain and lead to the total collapse of the royal government in Massachusetts. Concord
accepted the non-consumption pledge (broke off trade with people who import), or their own watered
down version of it. 280 concordians signed their version of the non-consumption pledge which was
important because it showed their support even a year before the war began. Boston Gov. Gage said he’d
have anyone who signed it arrested, but that didn’t stop anyone. “Each townsman had to consider that if
he took the pledge, he might end up in jail” (pg. 51). 8/10 adult men signed. Except, all men with County
appointments from the Crown. West Church people also refused to sign. Delegates decided to resist
British policies, but rationally and non violently. 2 weeks later, 100 men went to the justices to stop them
from doing court business, so the justices decided to do no business, but that didn’t appease popular

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 cause. Dude the mob went after Dr. Joseph Lee even though he wasn’t even a Whig this man can really
just not catch a break. Mob went after Whigs and caused a commotion at Ingraham’s dinner party. People
of Concord turned from a “well-ordered resistance to tyranny” (pg. 57). Congress took over governing
Massachusetts and that intensified Concord’s attachment to the Popular Movement. Congress adopted its
own retaliation to Britain, the Continental Association. Basically boycotting British goods and a complete
commercial embargo until Britain repealed all of their laws. Everybody in Concord but 3 people signed the
Association, including Joseph Lee. Jonas Minot told a Tory that Governor Gage had been building up
pressure to get his men to be ready with their weapons, but even with this warning, the militia wasn’t
ready when Gage’s troops seized the weapons in Cambridge and Charleston. Which creates the birth of
the Minutemen: a militia that was ready at a moment’s notice to be summoned, in Concord. Concord
began to stash weapons and gunpowder before actually enlisting men in January of 1775. Men didn’t join
at first because of money. The minutemen became similar to Concord, where you lived made a difference
in how you were viewed, but they were spread out across the town to be able to alert citizens of danger.
The secluded north organized a minute company of their own. Lee was given an opportunity to be
forgiven for being a Whig but then walked several miles to hear a fellow Tory preach the gospel. So
stubborn. Cpt. Hosmer and Cpt. Barrett helped come up with Minutemen’s oath. Concordians began
punishing people for not conforming to popular views. Concordians were republicans. Concord finally let
the North be free from the ministerial rate as long as they got their own priest. Northerners were more
involved with the new movement than anything past. Concord church invited back West Church people in
January 1775. “Concord would become a harmonious Whig community” (pg. 67).

Chap 3 People and terms:

Samuel Adams- not really in concord or whatever but he “was the leader of [Boston Committee of
Correspondence] and it was his idea” (pg. 43). 50 years old and was a big opponent to British policies.
Started the BCC to “awaken the province” (pg. 43).
Thomas Hutchinson- managed to quiet the province against opposing British policies, and was basically
Samuel Adams’ enemy.
Stephen Hosmer- a prominent land surveyor, also was there for the reply of the BCC letter. Became the
leader of the militia. Spoke in great English and was very influential.
Daniel Bliss- son of minister Daniel Bliss. Lawyer. Was the only one who opposed the committee’s
response to BCC letter.
Captain David Brown- 40 years old. became captain of a minutemen company. Lived in North Quarter.
Captain Charles Miles- 40 years old. became captain of a minutemen company. Had been a lieutenant in
the militia since 1771. Lived in south quarter.
Samuel Whitney- moved to concord in 1767 with his wife, two slaves and 15 freaking children. Big Whig
and moderated a lot of town meetings.
Coercive Acts: the british measures taken against the colonies.
Great Number of Freeholder and others- a mob who opposed Whigs aka supporters of the government
and wanted to punish them
Tory- loyal to the British and gov
Whig- patriot

Chap 3 Dates:
January 10, 1774- Concord met and decided to boycott British tea
June 27, 1774- Concord as a community endorsed the boycott of British goods.
August 30, 1774- 150 delegates met in Concord to figure out a plan. Decided resistance should be
rational and nonviolent, limited legal defiance. It was considered necessary given their unhappy situation.
January 1775- beginning of men enlisting as Minutemen
January 1775- Concord church invites West Church back.

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 Chapter 4: “A World of Scarcity” this chapter sucked lots of unnecessary info

LITERALLY JUST BACKGROUND ON EVERY CHARACTER’S FAMILY: “Early in 1775 plans for war
dominated Concord” (pg. 68). The provincial congress had now become the de facto government of MA.
They were stocking up on ammunition and weapons in anticipation for revolution, which was illegal
according to the Crown. Everyone was working together to hide supplies. Concord militia had men from
age 16 to 60. The minute companies were filled with vigorous young men. Everyone was ready to defend
their land. Flashback to when James Barrett was raising his kids, a couple epidemics (throat distemper
and smallpox) washed through Concord, killing entire families. The book starts talking about the Barrett
lineage but basically they were a wealthy family with a lot of kids. Then it compares and contrasts
Purchase Brown and Stephen Barrett. Talks about people’s families. And then slaves and how slave trade
was profitable. But opposition to slavery was growing in Concord. There was no need to enlist black
slaves in the military in 1775 because there were so many white men ready to serve. Concord avoided
economic crisis at the price of emotional and social price. This chapter shows the change of the families
from rich and stable to poor and unstable. The continuing decay of their fortune caused them the become
uneasy and rebel against Britain. Intolerable Acts (1774) caused them to also lose control of politics.
“Revolution was a family affair” (pg. 108).

Chap 4 Characters:
Col. James Barrett- took charge of military preparations in Concord.
Meliscent Barrett- James Barrett’s granddaughter, learned to make cartridges and supervised their
manufacturing for the battle.
Reverend William Emerson- has been minister for 10 years now, married and matured and impressed
everyone. Puritan minister.
Stephen Barrett- James Barrett’s son. Schoolboy who takes oath of minutemen.
Purchase Brown- Captain David Brown’s 17 year old son.
Ezekiel Brown- Stephen’s cousin who tried to be a businessman but lost his money and was in debt so he
was jailed at the start of the revolution. He was salty against tories because they were his creditors.
Studied medicine in jail? Idk
John Jack- african native slave whose master died, and was able to buy his freedom from the master’s
widow. Did small work for farmers as a freeman
Lucy Hosmer- married to Joseph Hosmer, but her father wanted her to marry her cousin.
Joseph Hosmer- married to Lucy after he found out her other option had gotten married. Furniture maker.
Considered the leader of all the young men.
Jonathan Barnes- Lucy’s dad. Didn’t want her to marry Joseph and was like super salty about it until he
realized Joseph made good furniture and could support his daughter.
Dinah Hosmer- Joseph’s cousin who never married but it was better to be single than a widow

Chapter 5: “The Regulars Are Coming Out”

YAY THE START OF THE REVOLUTION: Governor Gage didn’t want to be in Massachusetts and was
“sick of his task” (pg 109). He knew he didn’t have a large enough army to shut down the provincial
congress, and wouldn’t start a war unless told so by English higher ups. Whigs knew Massachusetts had
to act the part of Britain’s victims so that the rest of the colonies would still support them, people only
wanted to fight out of self defense. Boston was occupied by redcoats and it was super tense. Gov. Gage
would get info on militia through the tories (what snitches) and through spies. Howe advised Gage against
going to the stores that were hiding the weapons. In the towns, the biggest problem were the false alarms
so they just waited for the redcoats to attack. Gage said the first step was to get the people in the

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 Provincial Congress. If Gage’s plan so surprise attack worked, it would set back the American military, if it
didn’t work, it would look like they were responsible for starting the war. Paul Revere went out to warn
Hancock and Adams of the British strike. Before the British came to take all of the weapons, the stores
had already been cleared. Gage was unaware and thought he was being super secretive. The American
troops weren’t going to shoot until the redcoats did. British showed up to Lexington and fired at Americans
who were trying to run away. Concord militiamen fought without knowing if the British shot Americans at
Lexington. The redcoats stole a lot of personal property as they searched concord houses. Basically the
Concordians outsmarted the British. Concord militiamen decided to march to the middle of town and
defend their home. “The Concord fight- “the shot heard round the world”- had taken two to three minutes.
(pg. 126)” An american believed they could’ve killed all the british, but they didn’t have orders to. Most
soldiers ran home with their guns even though they weren’t supposed to. There was anti-american
propaganda saying they were scalping like savages, but really someone only had an ax to defend
themselves. British took their time getting back to Boston, which screwed them over. Provincials were
waiting or British as they returned to Boston the same way they came. They kept attacking the British and
the british used up all of their ammunition shooting aimlessly. Lord Percy (british general) used cannons
against Americans and then burned the houses the americans fled to which also killed innocent people.
British ended up camping at Bunker Hill, where they later left, even though they shouldn’t have. Nobody
was seriously hurt, the property damage wasn’t too bad. Concord townspeople feared British revenge.
The siege of Boston began.

Chap 5 Characters:
Governor Gage- 56 year old, would’ve rather stayed in England. Thought he was sneaky but the
americans predicted his moves.
John Howe- a young spy for Gage, told him to take 1000 men to a town to destroy the weapons and kill
some people.
Dr. Benjamin Church- another spy for Gage, was a Boston Whig with an expensive mistress that he kept
secret in exchange of information.
Col. Jonas Parker- American colonel who said that the british came and shot 80 of their men.
Major Pitcairn- british major, honest, paid for breakfast at an enemy’s inn.
Abner Hosner- the first American man to die at Concord.
Ammi White- young militiaman that only had an ax to defend himself and a dying redcoat startled him.
British misconstrued this as the americans scalping.
Jonas Brown- injured from shot, mom said it could’ve killed him
Capt. Nathan Barrett- wounded on the chase to Charleston
Abel Prescott- was shot in the side after watching the regulars retreat.
Dr. Joseph Lee- was a tory but considered himself more a concordian than a regular.

Chap 5 Important Dates:

April 19, 1775- The shot heard ‘round the world

Chapter 6: “This Bleeding Land”

SO LIKE RIGHT AFTER THE BATTLE AND PROB DURING THE REVOLUTION: “The people of Concord
had set out only to defend their traditional community life” (pg. 133). They didn’t expect for the war to be
so long, they really only planned for that one strike. Concord did whatever General Court wanted them to
do, and let the state government have a lot of power over their lives. Growing population and growing
military needs. 1775 summer gave Concord a bad drought and it was also becoming crowded and people

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 started getting sick. Through these issues, concord still responded well to the call of war. They were going
to northern new york to capture british who were coming down from canada. Concordian men saying bye
to their wives as they left for the expedition of Ticonderoga. Things were going well for the revolution
(according to concord) until they kept receiving bad news, like Washington’s army starving and cold at
Valley Forge. But, when redcoats would seize territory, they wouldn’t hold it (probably didn’t have enough
men). Continental congress was broke and started handing out IOUs. Continental money inflated
because it was worth almost nothing. Families were used to buying latest British stuff but because of the
embargo, had to hand make everything. But things could be worse for Concord. Economy was
plummeting so no babies were being born. People of Concord tried to find things to blame for economic
distress. General Court wanted to redeem bonds, and concord was one of the only smaller towns to not
agree with it. They said it was better to control inflation through taxes than interest charges. Economic
problems grew in Concord, but they had enough men ready to fight for the revolution until the summer of
1776. Nobody from anywhere was volunteering to fight. But they began crediting men for the time they
spent in the war. April 1778 Concord ignored General Court’s orders to enlist more men for long tours, but
men weren’t volunteering anymore. Began to hire black slaves to fill quota. “The soldiers represented the
bottom of society” (pg. 152). “The strain of war and economic change inevitably took their toll of
Concord’s ideals” (pg. 153) Before the war, concordians trusted elite to make political decisions. When
GC sent a document, it was signed unanimously before the war. At the beginning of the revolution,
“townspeople had only set out to protect their traditional community life.” They agreed on political ideals
unanimously. During the revolution, problems started to rise and they needed their leaders to keep in
mind the public will. When the GC asked them to write a constitution, they said no. “They were the first
anywhere in America to suggest that a constitutional convention was necessary to establish a government
of the people” (pg.154). But GC said no, please write a constitution. So Concord did, unhappily. But then
GC decided to have a convention. War made normal town politics impossible, elections in 1777 they
didn’t trust the normal people, but the next year elections went back to normal. 1782, a revolution of
opinions took place because of money issues. Concordians cared about the people in their town and
were weary of outsiders. Continually rejected things sent from GC. Carlisle (northern quarter) split from
Concord taking 1/10 of people and money, but solved all of Concord’s old problems. At the end of the war,
citizens were irritated and suspicious of outsiders and didn’t care if they had to fight to keep what they
wanted. Concord didn’t seem much different than before the war. There was a new political world
surfacing, but people didn’t completely desert their old politics. Socially and economically, the war left
Concord in worse off shape, but it had become more diverse.

Chap 6 Characters:
Col. John Cuming (again)- though his wife was hesitant, signed to lead the expedition to Fort
Ticonderoga.
William Emerson- his wife had a baby 9 days before he left for the expedition
Joseph Hosmer- HoR for General court and always voted for paper money and low taxes
James Barrett, Jr.- only Concord HoR to vote pro-creditor
Stephen Barrett- corporal minuteman 1775, 2nd lieutenent in 1780. Guarded MA coast.
Reuben Brown- drafted multiple times to army but always hired a sub bc B@C sucked for him
Ezekiel Brown- signed up immediately for the long term tours
Jonathan Hobby- sent his slave to serve in army and sued the army when his slave was freed.
Ephraim Wood- still selectmen, town clerk, but now also justice of the peace.
Silas Man- 29 year old. Enlisted men’s first choice but vetoed. Knew the barretts. Married the colonel’s
niece and became one of the wealthiest men in the town.

Chapter 7: “A Bridge to the Future”

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 LIFE AFTER THE REVOLUTION: 20 years later, Concord removed the North bridge (where the battle of
concord took place) in hopes of better highways and to move on from the past. Economy picked up
immeasurably if not better than before the war, and the townspeople created a new town for the new
republic. People were working harder and were optimistic, the population grew by 50%. Social circles like
Masonry were started “to promote social affections and disseminate useful communications among its
members” (pg. 174). “Concord had gained a livelier, more diverse social life. From another, the
community had lost a certain moral unity” (pg. 175). Concord became more like Boston, boston influenced
their politics, trade and culture. It was the work of a new generation. It was more of a rival than an addition
to Boston, they even wanted to be the capital. Many minutemen left Concord after the war, many were
gifted acres of land. Some MM did stay in Concord, active in the social circle. Barretts were important
Concordian political figures for a long time. In the new generation, men left home earlier to get jobs. By
1820, they began practicing birth control, something Puritans thought was sinning, sex was only for
procreation. Black population grew in Concord and freedmen could go about as they pleased, but
freedom could mean starvation and cold and “malice of whites” (pg. 187). “In 1775, Concord was a
community of decline. The economy was stagnant, land was worn out, the town was losing its young.”
(pg. 189). 50 years later there was no trace of the colonial world. Concord was brand new in all aspects-
economically, socially and politically- which was weird because the men of 1775 went to war to preserve
their traditional community, not accelerate it. All of MA had left the past behind and became their own
government. Good times came to an end leading up to the war of 1812, but they kept moving forward.

Chapter 7 Characters:
Purchase Brown- wife died during childbirth
Ezekiel Brown- moved away “because he had to.” Was just as unhappy as before the revolution with the
same stuff. Reason: He got sued for all of his land and got sent to jail, broke out but was captured and
then set free. So he moved to Maine for a fresh start and was a farmer, doctor and tavern keeper. Sold
property given to him for being in the army for cash and said adios to concord. When he was 70 life
turned to shit for him again and he was in debt again but he mortgaged his land.
Joseph Hosmer- a minutemen who stayed in concord and attended social circle meetings.
Major James Barrett- had a seat in the GC.
Stephen Barrett- didn’t want to be in his family’s politics. Easily got land, but it was hard for his sons
Cyrus and Emerson and Stephen Jr.
Stephen Barrett Jr- got his cousin Sally pregnant out of wedlock which messed up his life. That baby was
born on April 19th tho how wild is that.
Cyrus Barrett- died single before he got any land of his own
Emerson Barrett- worked as a tanner, saved up for land.
Joseph Hosmer-the only link between prewar and the new generation. Was an activist and joined social
circle, most of his work was done in private though. His daughters were hoes and got pregnant out of
wedlock.

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