FREE admission, rare national treasures, engaging field trips. This museum is YOUR museum! Located by the seafront of Columbia Point, the Commonwealth Museum serves as a state history museum in Massachusetts for the public.
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Our exhibit contains many important written texts and documents such as the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Paul Revere’s original engraving of the Boston Massacre and more. With neighboring John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate and the University of Massachusetts Boston all located within a 2-mile radius from the Commonwealth Museum, Columbia Point is certainly a go-to tourist attraction for child-friendly families as well as those interested in getting to know more about the history of the United States. Join us today for an exploration back to the birth of the Commonwealth!
Operating as usual
Happy Star Wars Day from the Commonwealth Museum! May the 4th be with you!!
Pc:knowyourmeme.com
Logo:public domain
Happy Star Wars Day from the Commonwealth Museum! May the 4th be with you!!
Pc:knowyourmeme.com
Logo:public domain
Only 14 copies of the Declaration of Independence were authorized by Congress, and in 1777, those copies publicly revealed who signed the Declaration of Independence, famously including John Hancock. Check out one of 9 remaining copies at the Commonwealth Museum, in person or online here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/treasures-gallery.html
Happy Earth Day from the Commonwealth Museum!!! Here is a resource with ways to celebrate, and a starting point for further education on how to prioritize environmentalism in your life!
https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2021/
Happy Earth Day from the Commonwealth Museum!!! Here is a resource with ways to celebrate, and a starting point for further education on how to prioritize environmentalism in your life!
https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2021/
There were only 14 original copies of the Bill of Rights made, and we have the copy sent to Massachusetts here at the Commonwealth Museum! Advocating for the inclusion of amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Samuel Adams' efforts helped lead to the Bill of Rights! Check out the document here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/treasures-gallery.html
There were only 14 original copies of the Bill of Rights made, and we have the copy sent to Massachusetts here at the Commonwealth Museum! Advocating for the inclusion of amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Samuel Adams' efforts helped lead to the Bill of Rights! Check out the document here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/treasures-gallery.html
This Sunday marks the 246th anniversary of the famous Midnight Ride of the Paul Revere! Popularized by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, we’re celebrating both Paul Revere’s ride and the start of National Poetry Month with a virtual read aloud! Check it out here: https://youtu.be/qZAGzbdz86w Thanks to Penguin Random House for permission for this read along!
This Sunday marks the 246th anniversary of the famous Midnight Ride of the Paul Revere! Popularized by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, we’re celebrating both Paul Revere’s ride and the start of National Poetry Month with a virtual read aloud! Check it out here: https://youtu.be/qZAGzbdz86w Thanks to Penguin Random House for permission for this read along!
Happy Patriot’s Day from the Commonwealth Museum! This year marks the 246th anniversary of the battles that mark the start of the American Revolution. Militiamen were prepared for British troops, and the first shots were fired at Lexington on the morning of April 19, 1775. The fighting continued when the troops moved to Concord, and during their march all the way back to Boston. Learn more about the Battles of Lexington and Concord here: https://www.nps.gov/mima/index.htm
Traditionally, the Boston Marathon would also be held Patriot’s Day weekend! This year, we look forward to seeing this historic run in October!
Happy Patriot’s Day from the Commonwealth Museum! This year marks the 246th anniversary of the battles that mark the start of the American Revolution. Militiamen were prepared for British troops, and the first shots were fired at Lexington on the morning of April 19, 1775. The fighting continued when the troops moved to Concord, and during their march all the way back to Boston. Learn more about the Battles of Lexington and Concord here: https://www.nps.gov/mima/index.htm
Traditionally, the Boston Marathon would also be held Patriot’s Day weekend! This year, we look forward to seeing this historic run in October!
Did you know Massachusetts’s constitution is older than the U.S. constitution? It’s the oldest Constitution still being used today! It was mainly authored by John Adams, who would go on to be the 1st U.S. Vice President, and the 2nd U.S. President. Learn more here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/treasures-gallery.html
Did you know Massachusetts’s constitution is older than the U.S. constitution? It’s the oldest Constitution still being used today! It was mainly authored by John Adams, who would go on to be the 1st U.S. Vice President, and the 2nd U.S. President. Learn more here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/treasures-gallery.html
Did you know Massachusetts was originally made up of two colonies? The 1691 Charter combined the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies, and the violation of this charter led to the American Revolution! Learn more about this document in our Treasures Gallery here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/treasures-gallery.html
Did you know Massachusetts was originally made up of two colonies? The 1691 Charter combined the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies, and the violation of this charter led to the American Revolution! Learn more about this document in our Treasures Gallery here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/treasures-gallery.html
“There are many Holocaust memorial days celebrated internationally. Many observances fall on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945, while other countries selected separate dates, often to mark anniversaries of national events during the Holocaust. Holocaust Remembrance Days often include efforts to combat hatred and antisemitism”.
Today we commemorate Yom HaShoah, observed in Israel and by many Jewish individuals across the world. We at the Commonwealth Museum stand with the Jewish community of Boston in remembrance of the horror they have faced and overcome, as well as in their endless fight to prevent further trends of antisemitism and acts of hate directed towards any marginalized group of people, so as to prevent another instance like the Holocaust from occurring. Never Forget. Never Again.
Here are some resources to educate yourself on antisemitism and other relevant issues of discrimination, and how to counteract them;
White House Statement 2021: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/04/a-proclamation-on-days-of-remembrance-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-2021/
Virtual Observance Experiences: https://forward.com/news/467252/your-guide-to-2021-virtual-yom-hashoah-commemorations/
https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/event/yom-hashoah-2021/
LGBTQ+ Resources: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/2013/04/03/lgbt-resources-for-holocaust-remembrance-day/
Holocaust/Antisemitism Education:
https://rac.org/tags/holocaust
https://www.jewishsocialjustice.org/
https://www.shalomdc.org/resources-and-tools-addressing-anti-semitism/
https://urj.org/tags/jews-color
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/18/us/anti-semitic-comments-blacks-jews-blake/index.html
Stop AAPI Hate Resources:
https://stopaapihate.org/resources/
https://advancingjustice-aajc.org/events
Image:pd
“There are many Holocaust memorial days celebrated internationally. Many observances fall on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945, while other countries selected separate dates, often to mark anniversaries of national events during the Holocaust. Holocaust Remembrance Days often include efforts to combat hatred and antisemitism”.
Today we commemorate Yom HaShoah, observed in Israel and by many Jewish individuals across the world. We at the Commonwealth Museum stand with the Jewish community of Boston in remembrance of the horror they have faced and overcome, as well as in their endless fight to prevent further trends of antisemitism and acts of hate directed towards any marginalized group of people, so as to prevent another instance like the Holocaust from occurring. Never Forget. Never Again.
Here are some resources to educate yourself on antisemitism and other relevant issues of discrimination, and how to counteract them;
White House Statement 2021: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/04/a-proclamation-on-days-of-remembrance-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-2021/
Virtual Observance Experiences: https://forward.com/news/467252/your-guide-to-2021-virtual-yom-hashoah-commemorations/
https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/event/yom-hashoah-2021/
LGBTQ+ Resources: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/2013/04/03/lgbt-resources-for-holocaust-remembrance-day/
Holocaust/Antisemitism Education:
https://rac.org/tags/holocaust
https://www.jewishsocialjustice.org/
https://www.shalomdc.org/resources-and-tools-addressing-anti-semitism/
https://urj.org/tags/jews-color
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/18/us/anti-semitic-comments-blacks-jews-blake/index.html
Stop AAPI Hate Resources:
https://stopaapihate.org/resources/
https://advancingjustice-aajc.org/events
Image:pd
This month we’re highlighting the documents in our Treasures Gallery, starting with the 1629 Massachusetts Bay Colony Charter, a.k.a, the Winthrop Charter! You can learn more about this document online here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/treasures-gallery.html
This month we’re highlighting the documents in our Treasures Gallery, starting with the 1629 Massachusetts Bay Colony Charter, a.k.a, the Winthrop Charter! You can learn more about this document online here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/treasures-gallery.html
Thanks for celebrating #WomensHistoryMonth with us! Keep learning about important women in Massachusetts history, and celebrate women making history today! Start by visiting our Suffragists of the Month here: sec.state.ma.us/mus/suffragist… and checking out Women's Suffrage Celebration Coalition of Massachusetts, Inc.
Considered to be one of the most prolific Black women writers and influential editors of the early 20th century, Pauline Hopkins is best known for using romance tropes to address Black history, racism, women’s role in society, and other social issues.
Born in Maine, Hopkins eventually moved to Boston and published her most popular work Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South in 1900. Between 1901 and 1903, she published three more well-known works in the African-American periodical Colored American Magazine: Hagar’s Daughter, Winona, and Of One Blood. As a result of her growing reputation, she was an editor for the magazine, as well as a member of the board of directors, a shareholder, and creditor of the magazine.
Facing criticism for speaking out boldly on racial issues, in 1904, Hopkins left the magazine and was immediately hired by the Voice of the Negro. She remained active in Boston’s activist community, publishing anti-racism pamphlets and speaking at the William Lloyd Garrison Centenary.
A prolific writer and outspoken activist for racial equality, Pauline Hopkins’ legacy is important today. For more on Pauline Hopkins, check out https://www.paulinehopkinssociety.org/ for her biography and to read her works!
Image credit: The Colored American Magazine, reproduced from The Digital Colored American Magazine, coloredamerican.org. Original held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Considered to be one of the most prolific Black women writers and influential editors of the early 20th century, Pauline Hopkins is best known for using romance tropes to address Black history, racism, women’s role in society, and other social issues.
Born in Maine, Hopkins eventually moved to Boston and published her most popular work Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South in 1900. Between 1901 and 1903, she published three more well-known works in the African-American periodical Colored American Magazine: Hagar’s Daughter, Winona, and Of One Blood. As a result of her growing reputation, she was an editor for the magazine, as well as a member of the board of directors, a shareholder, and creditor of the magazine.
Facing criticism for speaking out boldly on racial issues, in 1904, Hopkins left the magazine and was immediately hired by the Voice of the Negro. She remained active in Boston’s activist community, publishing anti-racism pamphlets and speaking at the William Lloyd Garrison Centenary.
A prolific writer and outspoken activist for racial equality, Pauline Hopkins’ legacy is important today. For more on Pauline Hopkins, check out https://www.paulinehopkinssociety.org/ for her biography and to read her works!
Image credit: The Colored American Magazine, reproduced from The Digital Colored American Magazine, coloredamerican.org. Original held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Come learn about early abolitionists, suffragists, and women public speakers, Sarah and Angelina Grimke! Watch this video, and check out our panel with Women's Suffrage Celebration Coalition of Massachusetts, Inc. for more!https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/pdfs/4-Grimke.pdf
How much do you know about Harriot Stanton Blatch, the activist daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton? Born in Seneca Falls, Blatch attended Vassar College, and moved to Europe two years after graduating. She met her husband, Harry Blatch, and the two lived in England for twenty years. She worked in social reform groups, including the Women’s Franchise League, developing skills that she took back to the U.S.
Upon returning to the U.S. Blatch wanted to reinvigorate the women’s suffrage movement. She founded the Equality League of Self Supporting Women, a group aimed at involving working class women. Through this group she successfully organized the 1910 New York suffrage parade, which inspired the later 1913 parade in Washington D.C. Later renamed the Women’s Political Union, the group successfully lobbied for equal pay for New York teachers, and the passage of a New York state amendment that allowed women to vote in 1917.
After the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, Blatch joined the National Women’s Party to fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, and wrote Mobilizing Woman Power, A Woman’s Point of View, and Challenging Years.
A legacy suffragist and effective activist, we honor Blatch’s work and continue the fight for equality today. For more on Harriot Stanton Blatch, check out this video: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/vote-harriot-stanton-blatch-i-believe-women/ or a biography of her here: https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2020/08/18/a-bridge-into-the-20th-century-suffragist-harriot-eaton-stanton-blatch/
Image credit: Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection.
How much do you know about Harriot Stanton Blatch, the activist daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton? Born in Seneca Falls, Blatch attended Vassar College, and moved to Europe two years after graduating. She met her husband, Harry Blatch, and the two lived in England for twenty years. She worked in social reform groups, including the Women’s Franchise League, developing skills that she took back to the U.S.
Upon returning to the U.S. Blatch wanted to reinvigorate the women’s suffrage movement. She founded the Equality League of Self Supporting Women, a group aimed at involving working class women. Through this group she successfully organized the 1910 New York suffrage parade, which inspired the later 1913 parade in Washington D.C. Later renamed the Women’s Political Union, the group successfully lobbied for equal pay for New York teachers, and the passage of a New York state amendment that allowed women to vote in 1917.
After the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, Blatch joined the National Women’s Party to fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, and wrote Mobilizing Woman Power, A Woman’s Point of View, and Challenging Years.
A legacy suffragist and effective activist, we honor Blatch’s work and continue the fight for equality today. For more on Harriot Stanton Blatch, check out this video: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/vote-harriot-stanton-blatch-i-believe-women/ or a biography of her here: https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2020/08/18/a-bridge-into-the-20th-century-suffragist-harriot-eaton-stanton-blatch/
Image credit: Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection.
Today in history, the Stamp Act of 1765 was passed, imposing a direct tax on the British colonies in America which required that many documents and printed materials be printed on stamped paper, and paid for with British currency. The Stamp Act was imposed as a result of the expensive British victory in the Seven Years’ War against France. This Act incited action across the colonies. The Stamp Act of 1765 inspired dissension throughout the colonies and amongst British merchants, leading to the well-known Revolutionary expression for “taxation without representation”, a sentiment that would inspire colonists throughout the Revolutionary War.
Today in history, the Stamp Act of 1765 was passed, imposing a direct tax on the British colonies in America which required that many documents and printed materials be printed on stamped paper, and paid for with British currency. The Stamp Act was imposed as a result of the expensive British victory in the Seven Years’ War against France. This Act incited action across the colonies. The Stamp Act of 1765 inspired dissension throughout the colonies and amongst British merchants, leading to the well-known Revolutionary expression for “taxation without representation”, a sentiment that would inspire colonists throughout the Revolutionary War.
220 William T Morrissey Blvd
Boston, MA
02125
By Car (free parking) From the north: Rte 3/I-93S to exit 15 (Morrissey Blvd/JFK Library). Follow signs for UMass and JFK Library. From the west: Rte I-90/Mass Pike to I-93 South. Follow signs for UMass and JFK Library. From the south: Rte 3/I-93N to exit 14 (Morrissey Blvd/JFK Library). Follow signs for UMass and JFK Library. By MBTA Take the MBTA Red Line to JFK/UMass station. Free shuttle Bus #2 stops at the Archives Building and the JFK Library. The bus runs every 20 minutes from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the hour and 20 minutes after and before the hour.
| Monday | 09:00 - 16:45 |
| Tuesday | 09:00 - 16:45 |
| Wednesday | 09:00 - 16:45 |
| Thursday | 09:00 - 16:45 |
| Friday | 09:00 - 16:45 |
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Here’s how we are celebrating Constitution day at the Commonwealth Museum!!
Here’s how we at the Commonwealth Museum are celebrating Constitution day!!
Shout out to the 3rd graders from Sylvester School for making awesome MA State Symbols posters!! Do you know the state marine mammal? It’s not the wrong whale; it’s not the left whale; it’s the.... #MAStateSymbol #RightWhale #FieldTrip #Commonwealth
Are you as excited about the holiday season as this enthusiastic 3rd grader on a field trip at our museum? This winter break, visit the Commonwealth Museum with your family and friends! #Holidays #Museum #FieldTrip #History
From Huntington Ave to the Commonwealth Museum.
Revolutions Per Minute: Sound Art China
100 Morrissey Blvd.Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate
210 William T Morrissey BlvdJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Muse
Columbia PointThe William Monroe Trotter Institute
100 William T Morrissey BlvdSouth Boston Sports Hall of Fame
120 L StBoston Tea Party Ship and Museum Excursion
1 Black Falcon Ave, 02210Boston Salem Witch Museum Excursion
1 Black Falcon Ave, 02210
Boston Street Railway Association
220 Huntington Ave. (Monthly Meetings ONLY - Not Our Mailing Address)
William Cullen Bryant Homestead
200 High St
Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
306 Congress St
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Muse
Columbia Point