This week, over a half a million people from near and far will flock to the banks of the Charles River to celebrate our nation’s Independence Day. Why did Boston decide to create new land dedicated to recreation along the river, and how did some of that land end up being used for a highway instead? The story begins with the Storrow family. Listen now!
Tag: 19th Century
Immigration in Boston (episode 86)
In this week’s episode, we use three classic episodes to turn the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric on its head. The President teaches us to be afraid of Central American and Middle Eastern immigrants and asylum seekers because of terrorism, crime, and an unfamiliar religion. Our ancestors had these same fears about earlier immigrant groups, groups that are today considered part of the fabric of America. In their day, Italian Americans were suspected of terrorism, Chinese Americans were blamed for organized crime, and Irish Americans were feared because of their unfamiliar and potentially dangerous religion.
When Darkness Veiled the Sky (episode 85)
This week’s show relates three incidents across three centuries when daytime turned to darkness in the skies over Boston.  They weren’t solar eclipses. Instead, they were a different natural phenomenon, one that was completely unpredictable and each time led to speculation that the end of the world was at hand. Â
The Broad Street Riot (episode 84)
The Broad Street Riot of 1837 was one of Boston’s many historical melees. This one took place when a company of Yankee firefighters ran into an Irish funeral. Despite our reputation as a coastal liberal enclave, Boston has a history of hostility towards newcomers.  When Irish immigrants began arriving in our harbor en masse, Yankee nativists welcomed them with violence and prejudice. Before long, a funeral procession in the wrong place at the wrong time led to a brawl with well over 10,000 participants and onlookers.
The Curious Case of Phineas Gage (Ep71)
In 1848, railroad worker Phineas Gage suffered an unusual injury, in which a three foot tamping iron was blown through his skull, making him on of the greatest medical curiosities of all time. Weâll discuss his time in Boston, his life post-injury, and the impact of his case on modern neuroscience.
Content warning: The details of Gage’s accident and injury are a little gory.
Picturing the South End, with Lauren Prescott (Ep69)
Weâre joined this week by Lauren Prescott, the executive director of the South End Historical Society and author of a new book simply titled Boston’s South End.  Itâs part of Arcadia Publishingâs âPostcard History Series,â and it features hundreds of images from the South End Historical Societyâs collection of historic postcards dating from the 1860s to the mid 20th century. Â
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The Execution that Almost Killed the Death Penalty in Massachusetts (Ep68)
In 1848, a murder case nearly brought an end to the death penalty in Massachusetts. Â When a young black man named Washington Goode was convicted of first degree murder that year, there hadnât been an execution in Boston for 13 years. Â White men who had been convicted of the same crime had their sentences commuted to a life in prison, and tens of thousands of petitions poured in asking the governor to do the same thing for Goode. Â Yet even so, he was sent to the gallows. Â Why?
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Classics: Boston Resists the Fugitive Slave Act (Episode 67)
We used our studio time this week to record something special that will air next month. Without a new episode, we didnât want to leave you without any HUB History this week. Instead, here are three classic episodes honoring black and white abolitionists in 19th Century Boston. Recorded last February, in the wake of President Trumpâs attempt to implement a âMuslim Ban,â these episodes focus on Bostonâs resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act, which was seen as an unjust law. Â
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Episode 62: Ten Paces, Fire! Boston’s Hamiltonian Duel
Early in the morning of March 31, 1806, two young men of Boston faced each other across a marshy field outside Providence, Rhode Island. With the sun beginning to peek above the horizon, they marked out ten paces between themselves, then stood facing one another.  Each had a friend at his right hand, as they coolly leveled their pistols at one another.  Now, one of the friends called out, âAre you ready⌠Present⌠Fire!â  And both men squeezed the triggers on their dueling pistols. Â
If that sounds an awful lot like the famous duel that Alexander Hamilton fought against Aaron Burr two years earlier, youâre not wrong. Â In ways that weâll examine, itâs even more similar to the duel that Alexanderâs son Philip Hamilton fought against a man named George Eacker in 1801. Â
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Episode 61: Annexation, Making Boston Bigger for 150 Years
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Boston transformed itself from a town on a tiny peninsula to a sprawling city. Â In part, this was done by creating new land in the Back Bay and South Boston, but the city gained a great amount of area by annexing its neighbors. Â The first was Roxbury, which joined the city of Boston 150 years ago this week. Â Dorchester, Brighton, West Roxbury, and Charlestown would follow. Â Other towns, like Cambridge and Brookline would not. Â Find out why in this weekâs show.
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