http://www.massmoments.org/ A daily almanac of Massachusetts history 1440 Copyright 2006 Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities TheOtherRoom.com CFML RSS Generator Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:00:00 EST en-us Visitors of Mass Moments--a daily almanac of Massachusetts history--can learn more about the Moments presented on the radio, see images and illustrations, read a primary source document, and get suggestions of links to follow and places to visit. Additionally, they can view a timeline to see when a given Moment occurred, and where applicable, a map to see where it happened. Visitors are invited to comment or ask questions about a Moment on our message board, thus providing an on-line community where Bay State history enthusiasts can meet and discuss our past. They can sign up to receive Mass Moments daily in their email, and if they post a question to the message board, they can be notified when someone has responded. Past Moments (those posted since January 1, 2005) are searchable, by key words, subject, time period, and region. A daily almanac of Massachusetts history. Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities Massachusetts almanac, radio program, eMoment, eMoments, Massachusetts history, Bay State, Western Mass, MA, Eastern Mass, Boston, Mass Moments, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, daily history, this day in history, today's history, today in history no http://www.massmoments.org/rss/images/mass_moments_75.jpg http://www.massmoments.org/ info@massmoments.org Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=84 On this day in 1845, John Chapman died having made a fortune planting apple saplings on the American frontier. Born and raised in Leominster, the man remembered as "Johnny Appleseed" left Massachusetts in the 1790s just as farmers were moving into the Midwest. Often the only alcoholic beverage available in frontier settlements was cider. To Chapman, this represented a business opportunity. An odd man who considered it cruel to ride a horse or chop down a tree, he planted orchards to quench the farmer's thirst, not to keep him healthy. Only later, when the apple industry wanted to distance itself from the stigma of hard cider, did the eccentric, entrepreneurial John Chapman become the beloved folk hero known as "Johnny Appleseed." ]]> 18 Mar 2010 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=84 On this day in 1845, John Chapman died having made a fortune planting apple saplings on the American frontier. Born and raised in Leominster, the man remembered as "Johnny Appleseed" left Massachusetts in the 1790s just as farmers were moving into the Midwest. Often the only alcoholic beverage available in frontier settlements was cider. To Chapman, this represented a business opportunity. An odd man who considered it cruel to ride a horse or chop down a tree, he planted orchards to quench the farmer's thirst, not to keep him healthy. Only later, when the apple industry wanted to distance itself from the stigma of hard cider, did the eccentric, entrepreneurial John Chapman become the beloved folk hero known as "Johnny Appleseed." no 0:01:00 "Johnny Appleseed" Dies: March 18, 1845 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=83 On this day in 1901, the City of Boston officially celebrated Evacuation Day for the first time. In early March of 1776, Continental troops managed to move heavy cannon to the top of Dorchester Heights. When the British realized what had happened, they knew they could no longer hold the capital. The lowly Continental Army forced the British to evacuate Boston. One hundred and twenty-five years later, the Mayor proclaimed March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, a legal holiday. The city could commemorate an important historical event -- George Washington's first victory in the American Revolution -- and celebrate its place as "the capital of Irish America." Even today, schools and government offices are closed on March 17th in Boston and Suffolk County. ]]> 17 Mar 2010 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=83 On this day in 1901, the City of Boston officially celebrated Evacuation Day for the first time. In early March of 1776, Continental troops managed to move heavy cannon to the top of Dorchester Heights. When the British realized what had happened, they knew they could no longer hold the capital. The lowly Continental Army forced the British to evacuate Boston. One hundred and twenty-five years later, the Mayor proclaimed March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, a legal holiday. The city could commemorate an important historical event -- George Washington's first victory in the American Revolution -- and celebrate its place as "the capital of Irish America." Even today, schools and government offices are closed on March 17th in Boston and Suffolk County. no 0:01:00 Boston Celebrates First Evacuation Day: March 17, 1901 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=82 On this day in 1926, Clark University physics professor Robert Goddard launched the world's first liquid fuel rocket -- and with it the space age. Standing in a snow-covered field in Auburn, Massachusetts, he watched as the rocket he had built rose 41 feet into the air, flew for two and a half seconds, and landed 184 feet away. Having been widely ridiculed for suggesting that it might be possible for a rocket to reach the moon, he did not publicize his achievement. It would be another 30 years before Robert Goddard was recognized as the father of modern rocketry. In May of 1959, NASA named the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland in memory of the brilliant and visionary scientist from Worcester. ]]> 16 Mar 2010 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=82 On this day in 1926, Clark University physics professor Robert Goddard launched the world's first liquid fuel rocket -- and with it the space age. Standing in a snow-covered field in Auburn, Massachusetts, he watched as the rocket he had built rose 41 feet into the air, flew for two and a half seconds, and landed 184 feet away. Having been widely ridiculed for suggesting that it might be possible for a rocket to reach the moon, he did not publicize his achievement. It would be another 30 years before Robert Goddard was recognized as the father of modern rocketry. In May of 1959, NASA named the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland in memory of the brilliant and visionary scientist from Worcester. no 0:01:00 Robert Goddard Launches Space Age: March 16, 1926 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=81 On this day in 1820, Massachusetts lost over 30,000 square miles of land as its former province of Maine gained statehood. Mainers had begun campaigning for statehood in the years following the Revolution. The Massachusetts legislature finally consented in 1819. What no one in either Massachusetts or Maine foresaw, however, was that Maine's quest for statehood would become entangled in the most divisive issue in American history -- slavery. Most Mainers supported abolition. They were dismayed that their admission to the Union was linked to the admission of Missouri as a slave state. This controversial "Missouri Compromise" preserved -- for a few more decades -- the delicate balance between pro- and anti-slavery forces in the U.S. Congress. ]]> 15 Mar 2010 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=81 On this day in 1820, Massachusetts lost over 30,000 square miles of land as its former province of Maine gained statehood. Mainers had begun campaigning for statehood in the years following the Revolution. The Massachusetts legislature finally consented in 1819. What no one in either Massachusetts or Maine foresaw, however, was that Maine's quest for statehood would become entangled in the most divisive issue in American history -- slavery. Most Mainers supported abolition. They were dismayed that their admission to the Union was linked to the admission of Missouri as a slave state. This controversial "Missouri Compromise" preserved -- for a few more decades -- the delicate balance between pro- and anti-slavery forces in the U.S. Congress. no 0:01:00 Massachusetts Loses Maine: March 15, 1820 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=80 On this day in 1794, Westborough native Eli Whitney applied for a patent on the cotton gin. Raised on a farm in Massachusetts, he invented a machine that made growing cotton so profitable that the South became a "cotton kingdom" where millions of Africans toiled in slavery. After nearly a decade in the South, Whitney returned to New England and developed what became known as the "American System" of manufacture. He designed machines that turned out standardized, interchangeable parts. These machines made mass production possible and were critical to the coming Industrial Revolution. Eli Whitney's innovations transformed the economy first of the American South and later of the North. ]]> 14 Mar 2010 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=80 On this day in 1794, Westborough native Eli Whitney applied for a patent on the cotton gin. Raised on a farm in Massachusetts, he invented a machine that made growing cotton so profitable that the South became a "cotton kingdom" where millions of Africans toiled in slavery. After nearly a decade in the South, Whitney returned to New England and developed what became known as the "American System" of manufacture. He designed machines that turned out standardized, interchangeable parts. These machines made mass production possible and were critical to the coming Industrial Revolution. Eli Whitney's innovations transformed the economy first of the American South and later of the North. no 0:01:00 Eli Whitney Patents the Cotton Gin: March 14, 1794 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=79 On this day in 1855, Charlotte Forten passed the entrance examination for the Salem Normal School, one of four colleges recently established in Massachusetts to train teachers. She was the school's first black student. Eighteen months later, she would be its first black graduate. After teaching for several years in the Salem public schools, Charlotte Forten volunteered to travel to the Sea Islands off South Carolina. Here, where the Union Army was in control, ex-slaves had come seeking freedom -- and education. Charlotte Forten had lived her whole life among well-educated, prosperous, northern blacks. In South Carolina, she experienced severe culture shock, but she persevered, recognizing that the freed slaves had a burning desire, and a great need, to learn. ]]> 13 Mar 2010 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=79 On this day in 1855, Charlotte Forten passed the entrance examination for the Salem Normal School, one of four colleges recently established in Massachusetts to train teachers. She was the school's first black student. Eighteen months later, she would be its first black graduate. After teaching for several years in the Salem public schools, Charlotte Forten volunteered to travel to the Sea Islands off South Carolina. Here, where the Union Army was in control, ex-slaves had come seeking freedom -- and education. Charlotte Forten had lived her whole life among well-educated, prosperous, northern blacks. In South Carolina, she experienced severe culture shock, but she persevered, recognizing that the freed slaves had a burning desire, and a great need, to learn. no 0:01:00 Charlotte Forten Enters Salem Normal School: March 13, 1855 http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=78 On this day in 1857, John Brown addressed a crowd in Concord Town Hall. He spoke about the situation in Kansas, where a bitter struggle was underway between pro- and anti-slavery settlers. In a matter-of-fact delivery, he described in graphic detail the "terrible hardships, exposures, privations & cruelties" Free State families were suffering to keep slavery out of Kansas. A native New Englander, he hoped his speaking tour of the region would raise $25,000 to allow him to continue fighting "in the cause of Freedom." While John Brown had many admirers in Concord and elsewhere in New England, few of them shared his passionate commitment to a Holy War against slavery, and fewer still came to his aid. ]]> 12 Mar 2010 04:00:00 EST http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm?mid=78 On this day in 1857, John Brown addressed a crowd in Concord Town Hall. He spoke about the situation in Kansas, where a bitter struggle was underway between pro- and anti-slavery settlers. In a matter-of-fact delivery, he described in graphic detail the "terrible hardships, exposures, privations & cruelties" Free State families were suffering to keep slavery out of Kansas. A native New Englander, he hoped his speaking tour of the region would raise $25,000 to allow him to continue fighting "in the cause of Freedom." While John Brown had many admirers in Concord and elsewhere in New England, few of them shared his passionate commitment to a Holy War against slavery, and fewer still came to his aid. no 0:01:00 John Brown Speaks in Concord : March 12, 1857