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Home » Keywords » provincial congress

Items Tagged with 'provincial congress'

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The Massachusetts Provincial Congress: A Coup d’Etat

March 28, 2025
Alexander Cain
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The Massachusetts Provincial Congress was a revolutionary governing body that played a crucial role in the lead-up to the American Revolution. Formed in response to escalating tensions with Great Britain, it served as a de facto government for the colony, exercising powers that had traditionally belonged to the British-appointed governor.

On October 5, 1774, over ninety representatives from the various Massachusetts county conventions met in Salem in defiance of General Thomas Gage’s dissolution of the Massachusetts Colonial Legislature. Upon learning of the meeting, Gage attempted to shut down the meeting but failed. Acting upon the advice of the various county conventions and resolves, especially the Suffolk Resolves, the representatives quickly voted to organize themselves into a “Provincial Congress…to take into consideration the dangerous and alarming situation of public affairs in this province, and to consult and determine on such measures as they shall judge will tend to promote the true interest of his majesty, and the peace, welfare, and prosperity of the province.”1 The representatives remained in Salem for a few days and then quickly adjourned to reconvene in Concord, Massachusetts.


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In the Forefront of Revolution: The Massachusetts Provincial Congress

August 29, 2024
Robert Gross
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When did the American Revolution begin? At the North Bridge on April 19, 1775, with “the shot heard round the world”? In Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, with the Declaration of Independence? John Adams thought the Revolution was over by the time the first guns were fired. It “was effected in the minds and hearts of the people.”

Arguably, that crucial turning-point occurred in Concord two hundred fifty years ago, when on October 11, 1774, delegates from all over Massachusetts, roughly 243 representatives from close to 200 towns, including the District of Maine, gathered in the Congregational meetinghouse (now First Parish) to deal with “the dangerous and alarming situation of public affairs” touched off by Britain’s harsh reaction to the Boston Tea Party.


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Featured Stories

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    The Robbins House

    The Robbins House was originally located on an isolated farm overlooking the Great Meadows along the Concord River. The first two families who lived there were descendants of Caesar Robbins, a Revolutionary Patriot of color, and the house is one of the only known historic sites commemorating the legacy of a previously enslaved Revolutionary War veteran. In 1823, Caesar’s son Peter Robbins purchased the new two-room house and over 13 acres for $260. 

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