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QUESTIONS

1. Which 19th century suffragette spoke at the Concord School of Philosophy and wrote a famous poem that is now on the Statue of Liberty in New York? 
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Answer: Emma Lazarus

2. Which of the following women attended the Concord School of Philosophy:
a) Louisa May Alcott
b) Margaret Fuller
c) Julia Ward Howe    
d) Lucy Stone 
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Answer: All of them except B) Margaret Fuller, a famed transcendentalist who died in a shipwreck in 1850 before the school was opened.  (Want to hear the story of the shipwreck? Listen to “The Strange Fate of the Bark Elizabeth” on Barrow Bookstore’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HyxgRNgkAw)

3. Before the Alcotts moved to Concord in 1845, they lived in a utopian community in Harvard, MA. What was it called?
a) Fruitlands
b) Brook Farm
c) October Farm    
d) Brewster’s Farm
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Answer: Fruitlands

4. Which of the following Concordians was arrested for not paying a poll tax?
a) Bronson Alcott
b) Ralph Waldo Emerson
c) Frank Sanborn
d) Henry David Thoreau
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Answer: A and D, Alcott and Thoreau. In 1842, Bronson Alcott refused to pay a poll tax to a government that supported slavery. For failing to pay the tax, Bronson was arrested and taken by a constable to the Concord jail. The jailor wasn’t there and the doors were locked. The constable left Bronson unattended and went to look for the jailor and the keys. Bronson patiently waited for two hours for someone to show up and incarcerate him. During that time, a friend, Judge Samuel Hoar, paid Bronson’s tax for him, thus sparing Bronson jail time but ruining his stance against the government. 

Four years later, in 1846, for similar reasons, Thoreau also refused to pay a poll tax and spent one night in prison.


5. Play ball! Concord’s July 4, 1879 festivities included a baseball game against the “Diamonds” of Boston. The Concord team won by a convincing score of 36-2. What was the name of the Concord team?
a) The “Revolutionaries” of Concord
b) The “Minutemen” of Concord
c) The “Concords” of Concord
d) The “Transcendentalists” of Concord
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Answer: C. The “Concords” of Concord

6. Famous for his illustrations of books such as Kidnapped, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Last of the Mohicans, and Men of Concord, original works by this prolific artist hang in the Concord Free Public Library. Who is the artist? 
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Answer: N.C. Wyeth 

7. In 1862, while serving as a nurse in a crowded Civil War hospital, Louisa May Alcott suffered which of the below ailments:
a) Spanish Flu
b) Covid-62
c) Typhoid fever and pneumonia
d)  Sodium hypochlorite poisoning
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Answer: C. Typhoid fever and pneumonia

8. Transcendentalism is most closely associated with which religion?
 a) Catholicism
b) Puritanism
c) Transylvanianism
d) Unitarianism
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Answer: D. Unitarianism

9. To name a few, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott, Theodore Parker, Henry David Thoreau, William Henry Channing, Margaret Fuller, and Elizabeth Peabody belonged to which club that was started in 1836?
a) The Diogenes Club
b)  The Transcendental Club
c) The Junto Club
d) The Boston Athenæum club
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Answer: B. The Transcendental Club

10. Solve the riddle! I was present on April 19th, 1775. I stood motionless as a tree, and quiet as a root cellar mouse. I watched through glassy eyes and was shot by a British soldier. I did not flinch, and I still stand tall with a bullet hole seen by all. Where am I?
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Answer: The Bullet-Hole House on Monument Street, diagonally across the road from the Old Manse. In 1775, this was the home of Concord blacksmith Elisha Jones. After the battle at the North Bridge, a retreating British soldier shot at Jones who was standing in his doorway. The bullet lodged in the doorframe where it can still be seen today from the street.

Contact Barrow Bookstore for a list of sources. Barrowbookstore@gmail.com.

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For more than 50 years, Barrow Bookstore has been a favorite of residents and visitors alike, specializing in Concord authors and history, children’s books and literature. The shop also provides a wide array of gently read and rare titles ranging from paperbacks to first editions and original manuscripts. Staff members have all worked as tour guides and reenactors in Concord and are happy to share their knowledge about the town and its history. Discover more at barrowbookstore.com.