American Political Society Records, late December 1773-May 1776.
Timothy Bigelow (1739-1790) established The American Political Society in Worcester in 1773 as an extension of the Committee of Correspondence, an anti-British communication network. Worcester Whigs organized the secret group to debate “our rights and liberties” and to determine “methods to be pursued” in securing them. Members met monthly and eventually assumed control of town meetings and instructed the representative to the General Court. The records in this volume document such activities as boycott agreements, provisioning of two pounds of gunpowder for each member, and organizing protests against the Chief Justice of the Superior Court.
Publication / Creation Year
1773