Massachusetts
Boston: Birthplace of American Liberty
Program No. 5717RJ
Explore Boston, a city of great social and cultural heritage, as you visit its landmarks and learn about revolutionary events alongside scholarly experts and friendly locals.
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6 days
5 nights
13 meals
5B 4L 4D
4
Freedom Trail, Free Time
Boston, MA
5
Lexington & Concord Field Trips
Boston, MA
6
Meet Deborah Sampson, Program Concludes
Boston, MA
At a Glance
Discover one of America’s most historic cities by retracing the steps of Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere. Learn how American independence was born in Massachusetts as you walk along the Freedom Trail. Led by expert instructors, explore the city’s historic sites such as Faneuil Hall and Bunker Hill, beacons of Boston’s revolutionary past.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to 2.5 miles per day; some cobblestones and hills.
What You'll Learn
- Explore the Boston Massacre site, Granary Burying Ground, Old South Meeting House and the Old State House.
- Visit Paul Revere’s home in Boston’s historic North End neighborhood, and see where the famed lanterns were hung at the Old North Church.
- Relive the first days of the Revolution at Old North Bridge, along the path from Lexington to Concord.
General Notes
Public transportation and ferries used.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Charles Bahne
Charles Bahne is a historian, author and local expert, focusing on Boston and its role in the American Revolution. Charlie came to Boston for college and fell in love with the city. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he majored in urban studies and planning, focusing on urban history. He has been a seasonal park ranger at Boston National Historical Park, and has worked with many of the city’s guide companies and museums. His guidebook, “The Complete Guide to Boston’s Freedom Trail,” has sold more than 580,000 copies since its publication in 1985. Charlie has taught over 100 Road Scholar programs about Boston over the past 25 years.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Charles Bahne
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Charles Bahne is a historian, author and local expert, focusing on Boston and its role in the American Revolution. Charlie came to Boston for college and fell in love with the city. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he majored in urban studies and planning, focusing on urban history. He has been a seasonal park ranger at Boston National Historical Park, and has worked with many of the city’s guide companies and museums. His guidebook, “The Complete Guide to Boston’s Freedom Trail,” has sold more than 580,000 copies since its publication in 1985. Charlie has taught over 100 Road Scholar programs about Boston over the past 25 years.
Nancy Coolidge
View biography
Nancy Coolidge graduated from Mount Holyoke College, and later attended the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in business administration and worked in a bank trust department. In 1979, she became a founding trustee of the Lynch Foundation. She later moved to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), where she served as staff director from 1983 to 1992. She has since led groups to maritime Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, and Antarctica. She continues her work with the Lynch Foundation.
Suggested Reading List
(14 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Boston: Birthplace of American Liberty
Program Number: 5717
Paul Revere and the World He Lived In
Although it was published 70 years ago, this outstanding book is still the best available overview of what happened in Boston in the 1760s and 1770s. Not just a biography of Paul Revere, it describes life and politics during this tumultuous period. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Paul Revere’s Ride
A modern history of events that led up to the famous ride, and of the fighting that occurred later that day.
As If an Enemy's Country: The British Occupation of Boston and the Origins of Revolution
Describes events that led up to the Boston Massacre, and the Massacre itself.
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789
From "The Oxford History of the United States" series, a good one-volume study of the Revolution from both a political and military perspective.
Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson
True story of a young woman who enlisted and served in the Continental Army.
Lexington and Concord: The Beginning of the War of the American Revolution
A detailed yet readable history of the events of April 19, 1775.
Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party & the Making of America
A good discussion of the issues and events that culminated in the destruction of the tea in 1773.
The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation
The story of a remarkable woman sister of one leading patriot and wife of another who played a surprising role in shaping political thinking during the Revolution, then wrote an early history of those events.
Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past
Examines some legends of the American Revolution that have become “accepted fact” in our history books, and digs out the story of what really happened.
A New Age Now Begins: A People's History of the American Revolution
The best detailed history of the American Revolution; part of the author's eight-volume history of the United States.
The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord
Tells the little-known story of how residents of rural Massachusetts effectively overthrew the royal government, without force, seven months before the first shots were fired.
Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill
A readable narrative of the first major battle of the American Revolution.
The Minutemen and their World
A fascinating study of the farmers and townsmen of Concord in the years before they gathered at North Bridge.
1776
The story of one momentous year, from the evacuation of Boston through the disastrous New York campaign. The illustrated edition includes reproductions of significant historical documents.
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