Massachusetts Archives - New England Historical Society

The Wide Awakes Help Elect Lincoln With Shiny Capes and Torchlight Parades

In 1858, young men from Hartford, Conn., organized bodyguards for Republican candidates campaigning through the streets of the Democratic city. They called...

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Arts and Leisure

Eight Great Zingers by Bette Davis, Yankee Gal

The legendary movie actress Bette Davis called herself the “Yankee-est gal who ever came down the pike.” She was born and educated...

french-canadian-textile-workers-amoskeag

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Business and Labor

Six Places Products Were Made

Back in the day, products were made in New England -- a lot of products. The early cod fishermen and Yankee traders...

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Connecticut

The Wallingford Tornado of 1878 Unleashes Terror on an Unsuspecting Town

The Wallingford Tornado of 1878 ranks as one of the worst natural disasters to ever strike Connecticut. It caused so much damage...

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Massachusetts

How the Codfish Started the American Revolution

The American Revolution was to some extent a fight over the big, stupid, slow-moving codfish. Codfish were by far colonial New England’s...

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New Hampshire

How the Londonderry Scots-Irish Saved New Hampshire from Massachusetts

The Londonderry Scots-Irish prevented New Hampshire from a Massachusetts takeover by being fruitful and multiplying along the border. Massachusetts had taken over...

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Politics and Military

The Irish-American Army That Attacked Canada from a Vermont Farm

Alvah Richard couldn’t believe that fanatical Irish-American army was back. For the second time in four years, the self-proclaimed Irish Republican Army...