Get ready f or America's 250th birthday\, coming on July 4th\, by joining Olney Librar y for an exciting talk by Brookeville historian \;Sandra \ ;Heiler! Learn about what was happening in our own neighborhood a nd all over Maryland in the spring of 1774\, and throughout the summer\, o ver all of the thirteen original colonies\, as they came one step closer t o revolution and\, eventually\, to declaring independence.
\nIn June 1774\, ten men from what would beco me Montgomery County met at Hungerford&rsquo\;s Tavern\, at the intersecti on of Frederick (Route 355) and Veirs Mill Roads\, to sign a list of resol ves to boycott all trade&mdash\;both imports and exports&mdash\; with Brit ain. This was in response to Britain&rsquo\;s closure of the Port of Bosto n\, a city about 450 miles (at least a two and a half week stagecoach ride ) away\, that probably none of these men had ever been to.
\nThis talk situates those men&rsquo\;s acti ons within the broader context of a transition\, as American colonists beg an to see themselves no longer as Englishmen and women\, but ultimately as "Americans." The talk describes the increasingly infuriating chain of eve nts that led up to those actions\, which formed the first coordinated\, un ited\, &ldquo\;Continental&rdquo\; response to Britain&rsquo\;s unconstitu tional acts toward her American colonies&mdash\;actions that led directly to the First Continental Congress in the fall of 1774\, which\, in turn\, brought the colonies one step closer to declaring war in 1775 and\, ultima tely\, to declaring Independence in 1776.
\nNote on the accom panying graphic: The backdrop of the title picture is a cartoon fro m Benjamin Franklin&rsquo\;s Pennsylvania Gazette\, first publish ed during the French and Indian War (1754-1763) and later revived in 1774 by Paul Revere as the masthead for his newspaper\, \;The Massachus etts Spy.
\nNO RE GISTRATION IS REQUIRED BUT SEATING IS LIMITED. Q&\;A and light refreshm ents to follow. \;Hope you can join us!
\nSponsored by Friends of the Library\ , Montgomery County\, MD\, Inc.
\nSANDRA HEILER \;is an early American histori an specializing in the years leading up to the American Revolution and the early Federal period. She is currently the Treasurer of Montgomery Preser vation\, Inc.\, and a member of the county&rsquo\;s Rustic Roads Advisory Committee\, as well as a member of Montgomery History&rsquo\;s Speakers Bu reau. She served on Montgomery County&rsquo\;s Historic Preservation Commi ssion for 13 years\, 3 as vice-chairman and 3 as chairman\, and she is a f ormer board member of Preservation Maryland. She is currently Co-Chair of Montgomery County&rsquo\;s committee to plan this year&rsquo\;s celebratio n of America&rsquo\;s 250th birthday. Sandy has a BA in Mathematics and an MA in American Studies and Historic Preservation from Boston University. After a 38-year career as a computer scientist\, she retired from Verizon Laboratories as Principal Scientist and Director of Verizon&rsquo\;s Infor mation Technology Lab.
\n\nQuestions about this program? \;Contact Olney Lib rary at 240-773-9545.
\nTake a look at MCPL's online resources. Don't have a card right now? \; No wor ries! \; Find out how to \;Get a Library Card.
\nIf you plan to attend with a group of ten or more\, please contact the bra nch at least one week before the program to discuss how your group might b e accommodated.
\nAccommodation Requests
\nPe ople who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing should request \;En glish-language captioning or sign-language interpretation&nbs p\;at least five days before the library-sponsored program they plan to at tend. Contact the Assistant Facilities and Accessibility Program Manager a t 240-777-0002 with all other accommodation requests.
\ncm 1.1 01/03 /2023
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