A Brief History of New England

New England refers to the group of six states that together comprise the northeast region of the United States - Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Here, Douglas Reid tells us about the region and these six states.

Autumn in New England by Maurice Prendergast, early 20th century.

Nunquam libertas gratior extat.

 - Never has liberty appeared in a more gracious form.

New England was first settled by pilgrims from old England in 1620. This was 13 years after an earlier landing in Jamestown, Virginia. However, the Puritan Separatist Pilgrims were more prolific and this colony grew faster. Originally their colony was part of the Massachusetts Bay colony. Today they are quite separate. Massachusetts dominates.

Massachusetts

This state has been truly blessed. It was destined to be special. For starters it was the cradle of the American Revolution and it led the dissatisfied states to victory both on the battlefield and off. John Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and John Quincy Adams (later), fire-breathing revolutionaries all, leaders at both continental congresses and on the fields of fire. It seems right, somehow that in modern Massachusetts is found the annual Boston Marathon. And in professional leagues Boston teams (Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, Celtics) have achieved remarkable records. Other sorts of groupings come to mind.

Politically, the vast Kennedy clan has been dominant like no other. The Bush family too has been a force on both the national and international stage. Michael Dukakis yet another. Apparently, this state also leads in brainpower.

According to the 2020 World Population Review, Massachusetts’ residents demonstrated the highest average IQ of all U.S. States. We ought not to be surprised when we remember that Boston is home to both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Even as far back as 200 years ago Massachusetts was the center of the country’s intelligentsia.

Concord, a small town of perhaps 7,000, (not to be confused with Concord, New Hampshire), was the center of learning. This was the hour of Transcendentalism – Ralph Waldo Emerson, the essayist, Henry David Thoreau, naturalist, Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and all the rest. Concord was the original home of the Concord grape. Today it is still home to the rich and famous – Caroline Kennedy, Doris Goodwin Kearns, Joe Namath. But hey, Massachusetts cannot afford to get too smug. We only need to be reminded that this is the state that staged and harbored the infamous witchcraft trials of 1692.

Connecticut

Connecticut is the southernmost state in New England. It rates 47th in size in the U.S. but it rates first in per-capita income. Despite its small territory the landscape varies between mountainous (it encompasses the northern portion of the Appalachian range), flat savannah grass, rugged shoreline, and tree-covered lower slopes. Its capital is Hartford, which is often referred to as the insurance capital of the world. The most populace city is Bridgeport. The state is named for the Connecticut River, which approximately bisects it. The word  “Connecticut” is derived from various spellings of Mohegan word for “long tidal river.”

Connecticut’s first settlers were not English but Dutch. The Dutch established a small, short-lived colony called Fort Hoop at the confluence of the Connecticut and Park Rivers. Enter one Thomas Hooker who led a band of followers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and founded the Connecticut Colony; a Massachusetts company founded the Saybrook Colony and the New Haven Colony. The Connecticut and New Haven Colonies established the documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in America. In 1662, the three colonies were merged under a royal charter making Connecticut a crown colony. This was one of the thirteen colonies, which rejected British rule in the American Revolution.

Should you ever find yourself touring New England, particularly Connecticut, be sure to visit Old Saybrook and its venerable lighthouse. A rather accomplished and athletic lady spent her first 20 years within hailing distance of that lighthouse. She travelled to California and did a bit of acting for a spell. Then one day she returned to Saybrook where she tendered her garden for the closing years of her life. And still within hailing distance of that lighthouse. You may have heard of her - Katherine Hepburn

Rhode Island

Rhode Island is mostly not an island. It is largely on the mainland and it is known as the “Ocean State”. Actually Rhode Island is famous for its beaches – 400 miles of sandy beaches. It enjoys large bays and inlets. They amount to about 14 per cent of the total area. The state has land borders with Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean. It also shares a small maritime border with New York. Providence is the state capital and the largest city.

The colony of Rhode Island was the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown at the Continental Congress in 1776 and the fourth to ratify the Articles of Confederation in 1778. Rhode Island boycotted the convention, which drew up the United States Constitution in 1787 and, after initially refusing, was the last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution in 1790. 

Famous people from Rhode Island include Kevin Costner, Meredith Vieira, and Brad Faxon.

New Hampshire

Concord (not to be confused with Concord, Massachusetts) is the capital of New Hampshire while Manchester is the largest city. There is an interesting geographical feature involving New Hampshire and its neighbor to the east, Vermont. New Hampshire is broad at the top and slides down to narrow at the south or bottom end; where as Vermont is the converse. The dimensions are nearly the same as well. Thus, from above, they form two pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle. The topography of this state is quite varied too.

The landscape of this state varies from west to east and is home to the often blustery White Mountains. As would be expected, this part of the New England states attracts skiers and participants in other winter sports. New Hampshire’s state emblem is granite and the state motto is ”Live Free Or Die”. This was the sixth of the original thirteen states to ratify the Declaration of Independence and the ninth state to confirm the Constitution.

Famous people from New Hampshire include Adam Sandler, Dan Brown, J.D. Salinger, and Tom Bergeron.

Vermont

Vermont, known as the Green Mountain State, was the fourteenth state to join the American Revolutionaries, and so it was the first to sign after the original thirteen. Vermont is the only New England state that does not border the Atlantic Ocean. Vermont has a colorful history thanks to Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. 

It was never clear who the Boys were for and who they were against. They seemed to join in as a sub-set of the American Revolutionaries, other times not so much. They were a group of rowdies with their own agenda. For instance, on their own volition, they raided and captured Fort Ticonderoga on the shores of Lake Champlain.

Famous people from Vermont include Chester Arthur, Suzy Chafee, Patty Sheehan, John LeClair, and Chester Arthur.

Maine

Maine is the eastern-most of the 48 contiguous states; it is also the northern-most. There are anomalies to its history as well. There is some strong evidence that around the year 1150, or so, Norwegian sailors had a long look at what we now know as Maine. This strong evidence includes Norwegian coins of ancient vintage discovered off the coast and even inland. Maine has other historic links. For many years the earliest settlements were known as the Massachusetts-Maine colony.

Conclusion

Some will notice that to date no mention has been made of New England’s most obvious crown jewel – the grand leafy colors of autumn. This annual display of nature gone riotous is beyond the powers of my poor pen to describe. How would I re-describe the Hope Diamond, the Taj Mahal, the sunset over Cape Town? I have but one suggestion that if put to the test might fairly describe the colorful show that New England presents each autumn.

Let loose Vincent Van Gogh with his palette re-topped with every swish of his magic brush.

What do you think of the author’s take on New England? Let us know below.

Now, you can read more from Douglas here, with an article on the man whose book may have led to the American Revolution.

The 19th Century Whaling Industry, Lewis Temple and the Temple-Toggle Harpoon

The whaling industry was at its height in the nineteenth century as it helped power the Industrial Revolution. The center of the whaling industry in the US was in Nantucket and later New Bedford. But there were a number of breakthroughs that powered the industry. Here, Jackie Mead tells the story of Lewis Temple, a free African American who invented something very important for the whaling industry.

A statue of Lewis Temple in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Source: LGagnon, available here.

Hunting whales has been an integral part of Native American communities for millennia, but whaling had never been practiced on such a massive scale as it was in the 1800s. The Industrial Revolution demanded whale oil to light the factories, as well as the plastic-like baleen for lady’s corsets and spermaceti for mass-produced candles and perfumes. Whaleships became floating factories for processing the massive creatures, complete with tryworks for boiling the whale blubber into precious oil. A consumer might pay as much as $2.50 for a gallon—$80 today.[1] This meant whales were essentially swimming petroleum deposits, and massive fortunes could be made by those brave enough to hunt them down.

An Upstart City

Nantucket, an island off the coast of Massachusetts, was an obvious capital of the whaling industry. By the 1840s, however, they were being eclipsed by an upstart mainland town: New Bedford.[2] In 1851, Herman Melville wrote in his masterpiece Moby Dick, “New Bedford has of late been gradually monopolizing the business of whaling,”[3]and that “nowhere in all America will you find more patrician-like houses; parks and gardens more opulent, than in New Bedford.”[4]The city had a superior harbor that fit even the biggest of whaleships, and a rich industry sprang up around the waterfront.

One person that came to the city to make their fortune was a free African American named Lewis Temple. He was born either a slave or freedman in Richmond, Virginia around the year 1800. Temple arrived in New Bedford in 1829 and married Mary Clark, presumably also African America, and had two daughters shortly after.[5]A blacksmith by trade, he opened a shop on Walnut Street in 1836 and began producing the various metal objects required on whaling ships.

The Weapon of Choice

The most important tool of a whaler was his harpoon: a barbed iron point mounted to a long wooden handle. When thrown at a whale, the barbs would catch in the blubber and prevent the harpoon from dislodging. The crew would grab onto a rope tied to the harpoon and be pulled through the ocean as the whale tried to escape, a risky experience referred to as a “Nantucket sleigh ride.” When the whale was too exhausted to continue, they would then row close enough to stab the leviathan to death. 

If the harpoon came out during the chase, the whale would get away. Since almost all crews were paid through a cut of the profits, losing a whale was a significant hit to their paycheck.[6] 

In the first half of the nineteenth century, harpoon tips resembled arrowheads. These would frequently tear holes in the whale’s blubber instead of lodging in it, leading to angry whales and no profit. Toggling harpoons, which have a frontward cutting edge and a backwards sweeping barb that pivots (or toggles), had been used in the Arctic for centuries. New Bedford whalers were aware of this technology from hunting in Alaskan waters, but were unable to replicate it.[7]

A New Harpoon

Lewis Temple created the first iron toggle harpoon in his Walnut Street shop in 1848. It was similar to its Arctic predecessors, with a sharp point and swinging barb that was held in place by a pin. A small piece of wood held the head straight while it was thrown into the whale, breaking on impact and allowing the barb to pivot ninety degrees into the blubber. This was far more effective than the traditional harpoon, quickly becoming the weapon of choice for all savvy harpooners. 

Lewis Temple, Inventor

Lewis Temple never patented his invention. Although a gifted blacksmith, he never received a formal education.[8]The idea of obtaining a patent probably would not even have crossed his mind. Only three to ten percent of patent holders were African American, many choosing to file under the name of a white lawyer to ensure their product had a fair shot.[9]Since Temple was unable to write his own name, it was unlikely he could have hired one without help. With nothing to prevent them, other blacksmiths freely copied his idea and made their own improvements. 

The Temple family continued to grow, and Lewis began to train his son, Lewis Temple Jr., in blacksmithing. He moved shops several times, renting homes nearby for his family.[10]He was elected Vice President of the New Bedford Union Society in 1834, the city’s first anti-slavery group. It is also possible he knew a young Frederick Douglas in the 1830s, when the famous author was pursuing odd jobs at the wharfs.[11]

His lack of commercial success, despite his stroke of genius, may have been the motivation for the local firm Delano and Pierce to offer Temple a new shop in 1854. However, he was never able to work in it. 

Earlier that year, Temple was walking home at night and tripped over a plank left out by a New Bedford construction crew, sending him into a sewer ditch and injured beyond hope of recovery. His wife and children sued the city for negligence, winning $2,000 in March 1854. Temple died only six weeks later.[12]The local newspaperran a story describing how the Temple family had yet to receive their settlement payment, which was finally given to his widow in February 1857.[13]

Legacy

The New Bedford sailor and artist Clifford W. Ashley wrote in 1926, “It is safe to say that the Temple toggle harpoon was the most important single invention in the whole history of whaling.”[14]Although he was never able to profit from his work, Lewis Temple made a significant impact on the American whaling industry. His toggle harpoon helped make the city the richest per capita in the entire United States.[15]In 1880, $10 million (yes, 10 million 1880 dollars) was flowing through New Bedford, all the product of the toggle harpoon. Herman Melville wrote “all these brave houses and flowery gardens came from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. One and all, they were harpooned and dragged up hither from the bottom of the sea.”[16]

A statue of Lewis Temple stands outside the New Bedford Public Library. The artist depicts him standing in a blacksmith’s apron with his new invention in his hands, unaware of how it will change the industry forever.

What do you think of Lewis Temple’s role in the whaling industry? Let us know below.

[1]PBS, “The ‘Whale Oil Myth’,” 2008. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/this-post-is-hopelessly-long-w

[2]PBS, “The History of Whaling in America.” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/whaling-history-whaling-america/

[3]Herman Melville, Moby Dick(New York: Constable and Company, 1922): 8. 

[4]Melville, Moby Dick,40.

[5]New Bedford Historical Society, “Lewis Temple.” http://nbhistoricalsociety.org/Important-Figures/lewis-temple/

[6]Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea(New York: Viking Penguin, 2000): 18.

[7]Sidney Kaplan, “Lewis Temple and the Hunting of the Whale.” Negro History Bulletin17 (October 1953): 8. 

[8]Kaplan, “Lewis Temple,” 7.

[9]Michael J. Andrews and Nicolas L. Ziebarth, The Demographics of Inventors in the Historical United States (2016): 8.

[10]Kaplan, “Lewis Temple,” 10.

[11]New Bedford Historical Society, “Lewis Temple.”

[12]Kaplan, “Lewis Temple,” 10.

[13]New Bedford Historical Society, “Lewis Temple.”

[14]Kaplan, “Lewis Temple,” 7.

[15]Derek Thompson, “The Spectacular Rise and Fall of U.S. Whaling: An Innovation Story.” The Atlantic(February 22, 2012) https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/02/the-spectacular-rise-and-fall-of-us-whaling-an-innovation-story/253355/

[16]Melville, Moby Dick, 41.