Demo Dozen

REVISITING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: Andover, Massachusetts

 

In their quest to better understand the causes of the American Revolution, historians focus increased attention on what was happening within those communities most active in supporting the war.  Two such communities were Concord and Andover, Massachusetts.  The former is especially renowned as the “birthplace of the Revolution” and the site where “the shot heard ‘round the world” was fired.  These communities were remarkably similar, in that both were organized in the late 1670s and remained, during the next century, small farming communities with relatively stable populations of farm families.  As with other Puritan communities, residents were meticulous in maintaining “vital records” (births, weddings, deaths).  Thus, we know Andover's population size throughout the period (Concord is more difficult because of changing boundary lines over time), and we also know birth and death rates for its population.

 

How Might Studying Population Dynamics Help Us Understand Why Towns Like Andover Were So Active in the Revolutionary Cause?

 

In this simulation, you will reconstruct how the population of Andover changed over time, from its inception through the American Revolution. In addition to changes wrought by births and deaths, you will explore the role of migration in shaping the town’s population over time. Recognizing that in- and out-migrations serve as powerful indices of social and economic “opportunity,” (such that people choose to settle where they believe opportunities are widely available and emigrate where they perceive better opportunities can be found elsewhere), your ability to reconstruct migration patterns in the years leading up to the Revolution may provide new insights into an important area of change.

 

An illustration from the simulation (line #1, below), showing discrepancies with Andover’s actual population (#2) and model output generated without any migration, underscores the important role played by migrants at different stages in Andover’s history. Reconstructing the nature and extent of migration in Andover, and exploring what that says about economic opportunity, will be your challenge!