Revolution 250 Podcast

Treasures from the Massachusetts Archives

August 16, 2022 Michael Comeau, John Hannigan Season 3 Episode 33
Revolution 250 Podcast
Treasures from the Massachusetts Archives
Show Notes

The Massachusetts Archives were created after the Revolution to organize and preserve the public records of Massachusetts.  We talk with Michael Comeau, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Archives,  and John Hannigan, the Curator, about the millions of documents and artifacts which reveal the entire history of the Commonwealth, from 1629 to the present.  Muster rolls, inventories, letters from George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, invoices from Paul Revere, trophies from the Battle of Bennington, which historians can use to tell a fuller history of the Revolution and the years before and since. We also discuss the Commonwealth Museum  and its Treasures Gallery, where you can see the 1629 and 1682 charters, a printing of the Declaration of Independence, the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, and an original copy of the Bill of Rights--along with Paul Revere's copper plate from which he printed his "Boston Massacre" image. All free!