Maine Memory Network

Dunlap Declaration of Independence, 1776

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1776-07-04 Location: Philadelphia Media: Ink on paper

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John Adams to Joseph Palmer on absolute independence from Britain, Philadelphia, 1774

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1774-09-26 Location: Philadelphia; Quincy Media: Ink on paper

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Pejepscot I.O.O.F. building, Brunswick, ca. 1913

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1913 Location: Brunswick Client: Independent Order of Odd Fellows Architect: Frederick A. Tompson

Hall at Cumberland Mills, Westbrook, 1880

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1880 Location: Westbrook; Westbrook Client: Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) Architect: Fassett & Stevens Architects

A Soldier's Declaration of Independence

William Bayley of Falmouth (Portland) was a soldier in the Continental Army, seeing service at Ticonderoga, Valley Forge, Monmouth Court House, and Saratoga, among other locations. His letters home to his mother reveal much about the economic hardships experienced by both soldiers and those at home.

Unlocking the Declaration's Secrets

Fewer than 30 copies of the first printing of the Declaration of Independence are known to exist. John Dunlap hurriedly printed copies for distribution to assemblies, conventions, committees and military officers. Authenticating authenticity of the document requires examination of numerous details of the broadside.

Maine's Road to Statehood - Overview: Road to Statehood

"… a consistent and longstanding local fight for independence had been underway and was steered by savvy leaders, mercantile pursuits, boundary fights…"

Maine's Road to Statehood - The American Revolution and Early Attempts at Separation - Page 1 of 2

"… at Separation Overwhelmingly dedicated to independence from Britain, Mainers quieted any murmurs of separation during the American Revolution."

Cape Verde and the Doctrines of Discovery
by Lelia DeAndrade

My Cape Verde family's culture and history is tied to the Doctrines of Discovery

Bull Moose
by Chris Brown

The history of Bull Moose Music, one of Maine's favorite music stores

Longfellow Studies: The Birth of An American Hero in "Paul Revere's Ride"

Grade Level: 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
The period of American history just prior to the Civil War required a mythology that would celebrate the strength of the individual, while fostering a sense of Nationalism. Longfellow saw Nationalism as a driving force, particularly important during this period and set out in his poem, "Paul Revere's Ride" to arm the people with the necessary ideology to face the oncoming hardships. "Paul Revere's Ride" was perfectly suited for such an age and is responsible for embedding in the American consciousness a sense of the cultural identity that was born during this defining period in American History. It is Longfellow's interpretation and not the actual event that became what Dana Gioia terms "a timeless emblem of American courage and independence." Gioia credits the poem's perseverance to the ease of the poem's presentation and subject matter. "Paul Revere's Ride" takes a complicated historical incident embedded in the politics of Revolutionary America and retells it with narrative clarity, emotional power, and masterful pacing,"(2). Although there have been several movements to debunk "Paul Revere's Ride," due to its lack of historical accuracy, the poem has remained very much alive in our national consciousness. Warren Harding, president during the fashionable reign of debunk criticism, perhaps said it best when he remarked, "An iconoclastic American said there never was a ride by Paul Revere. Somebody made the ride, and stirred the minutemen in the colonies to fight the battle of Lexington, which was the beginning of independence in the new Republic of America. I love the story of Paul Revere, whether he rode or not" (Fischer 337). Thus, "despite every well-intentioned effort to correct it historically, Revere's story is for all practical purposes the one Longfellow created for him," (Calhoun 261). It was what Paul Revere's Ride came to symbolize that was important, not the actual details of the ride itself.