Resisting Tyranny, Defining Liberty

In England, 17th century tyranny led to bloody civil wars, the execution of a king, and the start of a republic. In early New England, many of the same forces propelling violence in England led, not to war, but to the establishment of a polity more (quasi-)democratic and equal than any other in the English-speaking world. And the guarantee of those freedoms? In 1641 Massachusetts colonists agreed to the Body of Liberties, a legal document which laid out an astonishing range of rights and liberties for white English colonists.

Sign up for award-winning historian Francis J. Bremer on why and how New England Puritans rejected arbitrary rule.

Founded in 1999, Partnership of Historic Bostons offers lectures, discussions, walking tours, and a fall lecture series—all by experts in the field who offer unparalleled insights into the past. All of their programs are free; they are funded through donations.