A buncha live white guys

Concord's history is taught in schools not only throughout the United States, but all over the world. Many of this site's visitors come looking for information about the American Revolution, the historical aspects of Transcendentalism and the Golden Age of American Literature. We get regular mail from school children who are using this site as a reference for their assignments. And with the upcoming April anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, we will experience our annual glut of history-seeking visitors.

But is what is taught in school the full or accurate story? For that matter, is what we have had on the Concord Homepage's history page either full or accurate? The answer to both, unfortunately, is no. Sadly, the richness of our history has gotten lost somewhere in the drama of Paul Revere's ride, the shot heard 'round the world, and the hermit of Walden Pond. Concord's history has become an international icon; unfortunately, icons can become stale and static, by definition losing their detail and richness and full measure of truth.

Because the Concord Homepage has not had the resources to create an original survey of Concord's history we have had to in large part depend upon readily-available sources (see at right for exceptions to this). And these resources when combined together may lead the reader to believe that Concord was created in 1635 by a bunch of white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant men. Yes, with the exception of Louisa May Alcott, it's those dead white guys who stand out in the history books.

Our popular Concord history gives little indication that there was an ancient, rich culture which preceded the arrival of the Europeans, that there were important contributions by non-whites (including slaves), non-Protestants, members of varied ethnic groups, or even that women played an important role in our history ("Minutewomen" doesn't have a familiar ring, does it?).

We have an exceptional number of fine local historians, and luckily some have volunteered to help the Concord Magazine and Concord Homepage better represent Concord's history. We will call this continuing feature "Hidden Concord," and it will explore the great richness of our history in ways which expand our understanding through this world-wide medium. We kick it off in this issue with D. Michael Ryan's article on the controversial topic of flags on April 19, 1775.

Do you have expertise (either professional or amateur) in Concord history? Would you like to see your writing get world-wide exposure and influence a generation of students through this homepage? If so, please contact us.