"The shot heard round the world" in Concord, Massachusetts, marked the beginning of the American Revolution. Likewise, Concord's development from 1775 to the present day exemplifies America's evolution.
Rebels and radicals won the American Revolution. However, the elite still governed afterward. The following generations adopted scientific farming, large-scale finance, and industrialization. As new businesses and immigration brought more wealth to the elite, Concord thrived.
The early 1800s gave rise to lyceums, debating societies, newspapers, and libraries, where federalists contested democrats over how broadly to extend voting rights. Concord residents debated in town meetings while the elite created their own Social Circle. In this environment, the Transcendentalists, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, flourished.
In the mid-1800s, Concord abolitionists joined the Underground Railroad and partially-funded John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry. Concord's militia were among the first to respond to President Lincoln's call for troops, and Concord's schoolchildren petitioned Lincoln to free their enslaved peers. Post-Civil War industrialization brought the town even more wealth.
Waves of newcomers have helped Concord adapt to the times. Immigration, social programs, two world wars, and Vietnam left their marks. More recent events--such as US global dominance, the end of the Cold War, modern medicine, Covid, America's fading empire, and the emergence of AI--will too.
In this sweeping 250-year history of Concord, author Jim Sherblom invites you to encounter self-centered capitalists, working-class heroes, brilliant writers and teachers, and outright rogues. Concord continues to reflect what America is becoming.
