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Ku Klux Klan Rallies in Worcester

October 19, 1924
October 19, 1924

Ku Klux Klan Rallies in Worcester

On this day in 1924, the largest gathering of the Ku Klux Klan ever held in New England took place at the Agricultural Fairgrounds in Worcester. Klansmen in sheets and hoods, new Knights awaiting a...

First National Woman's Rights Convention Ends in Worcester

October 24, 1850
October 24, 1850

First National Woman's Rights Convention Ends in Worcester

On this day in 1850, the first national convention for woman's rights concluded in Worcester. For two days, more than 1,000 delegates from 11 different states had filled Brinley Hall to overflowing. Speakers, most of...

Voters Deny Massachusetts Women the Vote

November 2, 1915
November 2, 1915

Voters Deny Massachusetts Women the Vote

On this day in 1915, a referendum to give Massachusetts women the vote failed at the polls. In spite of its leading role in the nineteenth-century woman's rights movement, Massachusetts was the first state to...

Boston Tea Party Raider Born

November 17, 1738
November 17, 1738

Boston Tea Party Raider Born

On this day in 1738, David Kinnison was born in Old Kingston, Maine, or so he claimed. An early convert to the cause of American independence, he claimed to have participated in the dumping of...

First "National Day of Mourning" Held in Plymouth

November 26, 1970
November 26, 1970

First "National Day of Mourning" Held in Plymouth

On this day in 1970, a group of Native Americans attending a Thanksgiving feast in Plymouth walked out in protest. The Indians and their supporters gathered on a hill overlooking Plymouth Rock near a statue...

Arlo Guthrie Convicted of Littering

November 28, 1965
November 28, 1965

Arlo Guthrie Convicted of Littering

On this day in 1965, 20-year-old Arlo Guthrie was convicted of littering in the Berkshire County town of Stockbridge, and the song "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" was born. The son of legendary musician Woody Guthrie, Arlo...

Quakers Outlawed in Plymouth

December 3, 1658
December 3, 1658

Quakers Outlawed in Plymouth

On this day in 1658, Plymouth Court ordered that any boat carrying Quakers to Sandwich be seized to prevent the religious heretics from landing. A year earlier, Quakers in Sandwich had established the first Friends‘...

African Meeting House Opens

December 4, 1806
December 4, 1806

African Meeting House Opens

On this day in 1806, the Reverend Thomas Paul was installed as pastor of the new African Meeting House in Boston. Two days later, the church was officially dedicated. The Meeting House served as a...

Loyalist Despairs at British Defeat

December 9, 1781
December 9, 1781

Loyalist Despairs at British Defeat

On this day in 1781, Loyalist lawyer Ward Chipman of Boston wrote despairingly to his friend Jonathan Sewall who had gone into exile in London. Chipman confessed, "the mortification of seeing our Enemies . ....

Paul Cuffe Sails for Sierra Leone

December 10, 1815
December 10, 1815

Paul Cuffe Sails for Sierra Leone

On this day in 1815, Paul Cuffe of Westport sailed for the west coast of Africa with 38 black emigrants and a cargo of goods on board his vessel. The goal was for the families...

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