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J.L. Bell

J.L. Bell on “myths and misinformation” about 1775

John Fea   |  January 1, 2025

Over at Boston 1775, Bell sets the record straight: Learn more about these seven points here.

Boston Seminar: Day 4

John Fea   |  June 28, 2024

Day 4 focused on Lexington and Concord and we were honored to have John Bell of Boston 1775 blog as our tour guide. John walked us through the April 1775 battle and debunked some cherished myths. His tour was outstanding. […]

The Marshfield Tea Burning

John Fea   |  November 28, 2023

Ever since I wrote about the Greenwich (NJ) Tea Burning in The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Philip Vickers Fithian and the Rural Enlightenment in Early America, I have been fascinated by the various copycat tea burnings and tea parties […]

Benjamin Rush’s “Travels Through Life”

John Fea   |  August 28, 2023

The American Philosophical Society has digitized eight handwritten volumes of Declaration of Independence signer Dr. Benjamin’s Rush‘s “Travels Through Life.” J.L. Bell has the story at Boston 1775. A taste: Here’s another source on the Revolution recently digitized: eight handwritten volumes of Dr. […]

Is abortion “deeply rooted” in American history?

John Fea   |  May 6, 2022

In his leaked decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Samuel Alito wrote, “The inescapable conclusion is that a right to abortion is not deeply rooted into the Nation’s history and tradition.” Is this true? It is hard to define what “deeply […]

Snakes and late colonial America

John Fea   |  July 24, 2021

My first or second year at Messiah College, the student history club produced t-shirts with Ben Franklin’s famous “Join or Die” snake image (see above) on the front. It was partly an attempt to raise the club’s membership. Messiah is […]