The American Association was an association formed among the American colonists in 1774 to enforce their claim of rights against the British government. Fourteen articles were agreed to, pledging the associates to an entire commercial non-intercourse with Great Britain, Ireland and the West Indies, denouncing the slave trade and appointing committees to detect and publish the names of violators of the articles. The association was formed against such acts as the Sugar, Stamp, Tea and Quartering Acts and the Boston Port Bill. Research American Association
Anarchists are a revolutionary sect or body setting forth as the social ideal the extreme form of individual freedom, and holding that all government is injurious and immoral, that the destruction of every social form now existing must be the first step to the creation of a new world (Anarchy). Their recognition as an independent sect may be dated from the secession of Bakunin and his followers from the Social Democrats at the congress of the Hague in 1872, since which they have maintained an active propaganda. Their principal journals have been La Revolte published in Paris, the Freiheit published in New York, Liberty published in Boston, and the Anarchist published in London. The Anarchist congress held at London in 1881 decided that all means were justifiable as against the organized forces of modern society. Research Anarchists
The blind are those who want, or are deficient in, the sense of sight. Blindness may vary in degree from the slightest impairment of vision to total loss of sight; it may also be temporary or permanent. It is caused by defect, disease, or injury to the eye, to the optic nerve, or to that part of the brain connected with it. Old age is sometimes accompanied with blindness, occasioned by the drying up of the humours of the eye, or by the opacity of the cornea, the crystalline lens, etc. The blind are often distinguished for a remarkable mental activity, and a wonderful development of the intellectual powers. Their touch and hearing, particularly, become very acute.
As early as 1260 an asylum for the blind (L'hospice des Quinze-Vingts) was founded in Paris by St Louis for the relief of the Crusaders who lost their sight in Egypt and Syria; but the first institution for the instruction of the blind was the idea of Valentin Hauy, brother of the celebrated mineralogist. In 1784 he opened an institution in which the blind were instructed not only in appropriate mechanical employments, as spinning, knitting, making ropes or fringes, and working in paste-board, but also in music, in reading, writing, ciphering, geography, and the sciences. For instruction in reading he procured raised letters of metal; for writing he used particular writing-cases, in which a frame, with wires to separate the lines, could be fastened upon the paper; for ciphering there were movable figures of metal, and ciphering-boards in which the figures could be fixed; for teaching geographymaps were prepared upon which mountains, rivers, cities, and the boundaries of countries were indicated to the sense of touch in various ways, etc.
Similar institutions were soon afterwards founded in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Vienna, and in many towns of the United States. By 1900 there were comparatively few large cities that did not possess a school or institution of some kind for the blind.
At the start of the 20th century the attitude towards the blind was rather patronising, and one source may be quoted as saying 'the occupations in which the blind are found capable of engaging are such as the making of baskets and other kinds of wicker-work, brushmaking, rope and twine making, the making of mats and matting, knitting, netting, fancy work of various kinds, cutting fire-wood, the sewing of sacks and bags; the carving of articles in wood, etc'. However, it was also recognised that more skilled tasks could also be performed by blind persons, and the same source notes that 'Piano-tuning is also successfully carried on by some, and the cleaning of clocks and watches has even been occasionally practised by them'.
Around 1900 an impetus was given, in Britain, to the higher education of the blind by the formation of the British and Foreign Blind Association, the establishment of a college for the Blind Sons of Gentlemen at Worcester, and the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind, Upper Norwood.
Various systems were devised for the purpose of teaching the blind to read, some of which consisted in the use of the ordinary Roman alphabet, with more or less modification, and some of which employ types quite arbitrary in form. In all systems the characters rise above the surface of the paper so as to be felt by the fingers. The type adopted by Hauy was the script or italic form of the Roman letter. This was introduced into England by Sir C. Lowther, who printed the Gospel of St. Matthew in 1832 with type obtained from Paris. Before this Gall of Edinburgh made use of an embossed alphabet based on the ordinary Roman small letters, in which all curves were replaced by angular lines, and in 1834 he published the Gospel of St John in this character. Subsequently he introduced various improvements, and in particular the letters were produced with serrated surfaces, thus giving greater distinctness. Alston of Glasgow, Howe of Boston, and others also used the Roman form; but the former (who was the first to print the whole Bible, in 1840) adopted the Roman capitals, while the latter adopted the small letters, printing in this type the Bible and many other books. Of alphabets deviating entirely or nearly so from the Roman letter, one consists of a stenographic shorthand invented by Lucas of Bristol; another was a phonetic shorthand devised by Frere of London. In Dr. Moon's alphabet some of the characters are Roman, others are based on or suggested by the Roman characters. The Braille system, widely adopted by the laye 20th century, is one in which the letters are formed by a combination of dots. Dr. Moon's system from its simplicity and the size of its characters is in very general use in books for the blind. There are also systems by which the blind are enabled to write, and the writing may be either in relief so as to be read by the blind, or in characters that may be read by those who see. Research Blind
The Boston Massacre was an incident that occurred in 1770. In February 1770 at Boston. Massachusetts, USA. A press gang from the British frigate 'Rose' boarded a ship belonging to Hooper of Marblehead, and a riot followed. On the night of March the 5th, 1770, the ringing of fire bells brought together a large crowd which collided violently with English soldiers. The soldiers opened fire, killing three people and wounding several others. News of the killings spread and strengthened resolve among the colonists for independence from Britain. Research Boston Massacre
The Boston Tea Party was an incident that occurred at the height of the agitation antecedent to the American revolution. On December 16th, 1773 a group of Bostonians, disguised as Indians, boarded several ships laden with taxed tea and threw 350 chests of it into the harbour. In retaliation the home government declared the port closed. Research Boston Tea Party
Caucus is a term, originally American, for a private meeting of citizens to agree upon candidates to be proposed for election to offices or to concert measures for supporting a party. In Britain the term is applied to the system of political organization of which the Birmingham Liberal Association was a former typical type, where all electioneering business is managed by a representative committee of voters. Its origin is referred to a fray between some British soldiers and Boston rope-makers in 1770, which resulted in democratic meetings of rope-makers and caulkers, called by the Tories (or Loyalists) caucus meetings. Research Caucus
The Charles River Bridge Case was an important American Supreme Court case. In 1785 the Legislature of Massachusetts incorporated a company to build a bridge over the Charles River from Charlestown to Boston, granting tolls. In 1828 the Legislature granted the incorporation of another company to build what is known as the Warren Bridge, which was eventually to be free. The first company brought suit in the Supreme Court of Massachusetts for an injunction to prevent the erection of the Warren Bridge, stating that the act of the Legislature incorporating the second company impaired the obligations of a contract made with the first company and was therefore repugnant to the National Constitution.
The Supreme Court of Massachusetts found judgment for the defendant, and this decision was confirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1837, on the ground that a State law may be retrospective and may divest vested rights, without impairing contract. This was a limitation of the decision given in the Dartmouth College case. Research Charles River Bridge Case
Express was the American name for a system of railwaytransportation which was begun on March the 4th, 1839, by William F Harnden, who established express (railway) communication between New York and Boston. Alvan Adams and P B Burke started the Adams Express Company in 1840. The Wells Fargo Company was started in 1845, the United States Express Company in 1853. Research Express
Faneuil Hall was the gift to Boston of Peter Faneuil, a merchant. The hall was begun in 1740. It was designed to be both a market-house and a place of public meeting. In 1761 it was destroyed by fire. It was restored in 1763, and was used as a theatre during the British occupation of Boston, in 1775. In 1805 it was enlarged by the addition of a third story and an increase in width. During the American War of Independence it was the usual meeting place of patriots, and was the scene of many stirring debates and important resolutions. It has been called the Cradle of American Liberty. Research Faneuil Hall
Harvard College is a famous University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded by the general court at Boston on the 28th October 1636, and chartered in 1650 by the General Court. Harvard derived its name from John Harvard, the clergyman formerly of Emmanuel College, Cambridge who bequeathed to it his library and a sum of money in 1638.
Harvard is the oldest college in the United States. Its first class, consisting of nine, was graduated in 1642. It received State aid, in addition to private benefactions, until 1814, but its official connection with the commonwealth continued until 1865, after which time the control of the university was vested in its alumni. Besides its academic department it has schools of theology, law, medicine, science and dental surgery, founded respectively in 1819, 1817, 1782, 1848 and 1868. Research Harvard College
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research American Association
