Old State HouseDowntown / Financial District

The Road to Revolution: Massachusetts and the Independence Movement

Orain ikusgai2026(e)ko otsailaren 11(a) – 2027(e)ko urtarrilaren 3(a)18 $

Boston's flagship semiquincentennial show, made with the Massachusetts Historical Society and anchored by a rare 1776 Boston broadside of the Declaration of Independence.

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Gehiago: Boston

Orain ikusgai Egitaraua: 2026(e)ko urria

The Declaration of Independence at the centre of this show was printed in Boston in 1776 as a broadside, and John Hancock's signature on it is set in type. Back Bay's tallest tower still gets called the Hancock, and here his famous autograph is just type.

Around it, the Massachusetts Historical Society has lent letters, diaries and objects from 1775 and 1776, tracing Boston from protest to siege, occupation and open war. You read Paul Revere's own deposition about the lead-up to Lexington and Concord, Abigail Adams's letters on what the siege did to Boston's civilians, and diary entries from life under martial law. Between the papers sit grapeshot from Bunker Hill and a bullet mold for buck-and-ball ammunition.

Most of the show is paper, so come ready to read. Entry is included with Old State House admission, and it runs daily through 3 January 2027. There are six steps to get in and 30 to 40 more to the second floor.

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The 1776 Boston broadside of the Declaration
A single printed sheet of the Declaration made in Boston, with Hancock's and Charles Thomson's names set in type rather than signed by hand.
Samuel Selden's carved powder horn
Look for the map Major Selden cut into the horn with a knife: Continental Army fortifications around besieged Boston and the words "Made for the defence of liberty".
The Lexington and Concord retreat broadside
A printed sheet picturing the British retreat after Lexington and Concord, the kind of broadside that carried revolutionary news around Massachusetts.
Paul Revere's deposition
Revere's own sworn account of the events leading up to the first battles, in his words rather than Longfellow's.
Henry Knox's calling cards
The future general's cards are shown alongside the printing plate they were made from.