J. L. BELL is a Massachusetts writer who specializes in (among other things) the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston. He is particularly interested in the experiences of children in 1765-75. He has published scholarly papers and popular articles for both children and adults. He was consultant for an episode of History Detectives, and contributed to a display at Minute Man National Historic Park.
J. L. Bell will be one of the panelists in the discussion of “A Knock at the Door: Three Centuries of Governmental Search and Seizure” at the Old State House in Boston on 4 November. How does James Otis, Jr.’s argument against the London government’s writs of assistance connect to the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and what is the status of that protection today?
Hear J. L. Bell “Gossiping About the Gores” at Old South Meeting House, archived by the WBGH Forum Network. (And follow along with the handout.) This talk, delivered in January 2009, follows one Boston family from the 1760s through the 1820s. Striving in society, divided by politics, and occasionally star-crossed by love, the Gores provide a lively view of life during the American Revolution.
Hear J. L. Bell discuss John Adams with Mike Pesca, host of N.P.R.’s The Bryant Park Project, in April 2008.
Check out the online exhibit about the 5th of November in Boston that J. L. Bell assembled for the Bostonian Society. People in Britain celebrated that date as Guy Fawkes’ Day, but in Boston it was “Pope-Night”—a literal riot of bigotry, violence, and giant puppets of the Pope!
J. L. Bell’s article “A Bankruptcy in Boston, 1765” appears in the fourth-quarter 2008 issue of Massachusetts Banker. You can download a copy of the entire magazine for free from this page.
J. L. Bell’s article “‘I Never Used to Go Out with a Weapon’: Law Enforcement on the Streets of Prerevolutionary Boston,” about town watchmen, British army officers, and the Boston Massacre, is available in the Dublin Seminar volume Life on the Streets and Commons.
Children in Colonial America, edited by Prof. James Marten and published by N.Y.U. Press, features J. L. Bell’s chapter “From Saucy Boys to Sons of Liberty: Politicizing Youth in Pre-Revolutionary Boston.”

Saturday, May 13, 2006

J. L. Bell's Publications

“Who is this guy?”

—Benjamin Carp, now professor of history at Tufts University

Assuming that some folks might want to know more about my credentials to spout off on Boston 1775, and knowing that I'll get a kick out of listing them, here are the articles I've written on Revolutionary history.

Articles in Magazines also Available Online
Articles in Books and Journals
  • “From Saucy Boys to Sons of Liberty: Politicizing Youth in Pre-Revolutionary Boston,” in Children in Colonial America, edited by James Marten (NYU Press, 2006).
  • “Boston Massacre: Pamphlets and Propaganda,” “Boston Tea Party: Politicizing Ordinary People,” and “George Robert Twelves Hewes” in encyclopedia Americans at War, edited by John P. Resch (Thomson Gale, 2004).
  • “Du Simitière’s Sketches of Pope Day in Boston, 1767,” in The Worlds of Children, 1620-1920: Proceedings of Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife, 2002, edited by Peter Benes and Jane Montague Benes (Dublin Seminar, 2004).
  • “‘I Never Used to Go Out with a Weapon’: Law Enforcement on the Streets of Pre-Revolutionary Boston,” at the Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife, June 2005. Scheduled for publication in conference proceedings, 2007.
Articles in Magazines
  • “Meet Paul Revere,” “Paul Revere’s World,” and “A Riddle for Rachel,” AppleSeeds, October 2001.
  • “The Wigmaker’s Boy and the Boston Massacre,” AppleSeeds, October 2000.
  • “The Talented Mr. Bradlee: From Rioter to Proper Bostonian,” The Bostonian Society News, Spring 2000.
Papers and Presentations
  • “Behold, the Guns Were Gone!: Four Brass Cannons and the Start of the American Revolution,” in the Boston Area Early American History seminar series, Massachusetts Historical Society, 26 July 2001. Led to new display at Minute Man National Historic Park, Concord, April 2005; episode of History Detectives television program, 2005; forthcoming book.
  • “‘Latin School Gentlemen’ in Revolutionary Times: The Culture of Boston’s South Latin School under the Lovells,” at the annual conference of the New England Popular Culture Association, 9 November 2002.
  • “How Did Cannons Come to Concord?”, Minute Man National Historic Park, September 2005.
  • “In Their Own Words: Skirmish on Lexington Green,” Minute Man National Historic Park, March 2005.
  • “The Killing of Christopher Seider,” teachers workshop, Paul Revere House, May 2004.
  • “The American Revolution in Children’s Literature” teachers workshop, Paul Revere House, March 2002.
  • “Unsung Heroes of the Revolution” teachers workshop, Old South Meeting House, March 2001.
  • Interpreter, Boston Massacre observance, Old State House Museum, The Bostonian Society, March 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006.

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