The Systems that Make Democracy Work: The Role of Gathering Places

The gathering of people has always been fundamental to social, economic, and political structures and functioning—from early humans to present day. For safety, collaboration, change, discussion, and dissent, the coming together of bodies and minds defines history and has played an essential role in many of our country’s historical events.

The ability to gather is deeply entrenched in our country’s rich history, woven through the many pages of America’s story. The freedom to assemble is even written into our Constitution, though the protection now afforded to us was not always considered an inherent right. Nonetheless, gathering has historically taken place in many forms—from camaraderie, gossip, and the exchanging of news in taverns and meeting houses, to formal, organized debates and discussions that inspired the American Revolution and beyond.

Gathering spaces can be formal or informal, indoor or outside, stationary or transient. While we often associate meeting places with buildings, one of the most iconic gathering sites during the American Revolution was the Liberty Tree, a large 120-year-old elm in Boston, which hosted meetings, protests, and celebrations under its branches throughout the 1760s and 1770s. A notable site for protests against the Stamp Act, mock executions, and tarring and feathering of British Royal officials, the significance of the tree inspired Patriot colonists across America to dedicate other liberty trees to their cause.[1]

Elsewhere in Boston, from 1768 to 1775, the Old South Meeting House served as an important site for gatherings and protests against British rule. Its most famous association, however, is with the Boston Tea Party. A series of gatherings led up to December 16, 1773, on which day more than 5,000 people assembled at Old South Meeting House to debate the Tea Act that had been passed in May of that same year, which allowed the British East India Company to sell duty-free tea in the American Colonies.[2] Unable to come to an agreement with the royal government, Samuel Adams gave the signal that started the Boston Tea Party, resulting in the destruction of 342 chests of imported tea, costing the modern equivalent of more than $1.7 million dollars.[3]

The following year, in 1774, British Parliament responded with passage of the Intolerable Acts, a series of five laws intended to punish the colonies for their treasonous tea destruction. The Acts provoked the colonists to retaliate, this time from Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia, where, from September 5 to October 26, 1774, delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies gathered to discuss colonists’ rights and plan for action against the British during the First Continental Congress. The following year, recognizing the need for additional action against the Imperial government, the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, resulting in the infamous signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.[4]

Meeting to discuss political issues in systems known as Committees of Correspondence was already a well-established practice throughout the North American colonies by the start of the American Revolution. Initially intended for the purpose of communication between colonial legislatures and British officials, these systems proved useful in circulating ideas and organizing resistance among towns and between colonies.[5]

The colonies were also awash with less formal gathering places, such as Philadelphia’s City Tavern, where city residents, visitors, and even the Founding Fathers (and some of their wives) dined regularly. Built in 1773, one delegate opined that eavesdropping at the Tavern could in fact be more informative than attending a formal congressional session.[6] City Tavern would become one of the largest business hubs in the city for decades to come.[7]

As the city grew, larger buildings such as Philadelphia’s Merchant Exchange Building, built during the 1830s, were constructed to accommodate larger volumes of people. The now thriving economy was attracting an influx of new residents, many of them emigrating from a less stable Europe.[8] New York City’s Ellis Island—the busiest gateway into the United States—began welcoming immigrants on January 1, 1892. Over twelve million immigrants gathered at Ellis Island to enter the country over the next six decades. While a trip through Ellis Island was usually waived for first- and second-class passengers, third-class passengers were ferried to the Great Hall, or Registry Room, for a detailed health and legal inspection to rule out communicable disease and ensure a low risk of becoming a public charge. The site employed doctors and interpreters of several common languages to support efficient processing. Most arrivals were treated courteously and respectfully, with only two percent barred from entry, usually for contagious disease or legal concerns. After only three to five hours, immigrants were released and free to start their lives in America. The site was eventually repurposed several times, serving as a military base for the U.S. Army and Navy during World War I, and a Coast Guard training facility during World War II.[9]

Much of the 19th and 20th centuries in America were characterized by its involvement in international conflict, as well as major social changes at home. In some places, the success of the Underground Railroad during the abolitionist movement in the 1800s depended upon safe gathering places for freedom seekers to connect with those aligned with the anti-slavery cause.[10] Other forms of civil disobedience dotted the decades. Women’s suffrage parades and marches culminated in the passing of the 19th Amendment, a pivotal step toward ensuring the equal right to cast a vote.[11] During the civil rights movement, organized sit-ins and marches—both small and mass-scale gatherings—were catalysts for the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregation in public accommodations.[12]

The first Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, 1970, holds the record for the largest single-day gathering in American history. On that day, approximately twenty million people assembled across the country for rallies, teach-ins, and clean-ups, resulting in major bipartisan cooperation to form the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as several landmark pieces of legislation.[13]

---

Preserve and Activate Your Heritage

America’s 250th is a reminder of what one moment can do to help map your future. Milestones represent a point in time for your organization—just one small stop along a longer path that extends into your future.

---

• [1] https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/boston-liberty-tree
• [2] https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/trail-sites/old-south-meeting-house; https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/the-tea-act
• [3] https://www.nps.gov/bost/learn/historyculture/osmh.htm; https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/the-destruction-of-the-tea
• [4] https://www.masshist.org/revolution/congress2.php; https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/committees-of-correspondence
• [5] https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/first-continental-congress; https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/committees-of-correspondence
• [6] https://www.nps.gov/places/city-tavern.htm; https://www.carpentershall.org/pages/city-tavern-a-feast-of-elegance
• [7] https://www.ushistory.org/tour/merchants-exchange.htm
• [8] https://www.ushistory.org/tour/merchants-exchange.htm
• [9] https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/overview-history/
• [10] https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/what-is-the-underground-railroad.htm
• [11] https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/19th-amendmentexplained
• [12] https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/CivilRightsAct1964.htm
• [13] https://www.earthday.org/history/; https://www.britannica.com/topic/List-of-the-Largest-Single-Day-Protests-in-the-United-States