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The intention of this thesis is an examination of the conflict and interaction between the Presbyterian and Congregational church polities, as seen in the polemic and apologetic material published concerning the "New England way" between 1641 and 1662. No attempt is made to describe the historical influence of one polity on the development of the other, except by the way; the aim is rather to present a systematic view of the arguments actually used by each side in attack and defence. In the works under survey, the attack was largely made by the Presbyterian divines, the defence by the New Englanders; as a result, the emphasis is on the Congregational system under Presbyterian criticism, rather than vice versa. The New England writers, alone among contemporary Independents, spoke from the experience of an established Congregationalism; this, the Presbyterians could not afford to ignore. It is this which makes a study of the controversy between them especially interesting. Scottish and English Presbyterians had not only to prove that the New England way was theoretically wrong, but also that practically it was a failure. This gave added urgency to the debate. These works reveal not only the differences between the two sides, but many of their common presuppositions as well; and a knowledge of each of these things is important for those who have followed in their steps. For the spiritual descendents of these men often use arguments in defending the polities they have inherited, which have little or no relation to the principles used by their forefathers in establishing them. We can only benefit from a greater understanding of some of the forgotten principles which lie behind our systems and their differences. Absolute scriptural literalism, double predestination, covenant theology, millennialism, and the idea of the Roman Catholic Church as "Great Mysterie Babylon," are more or less foreign to the thought of most modern churchmen; and Ramism, repugnance for democracy, the philosophy of Social Contract, and "the duties of the Magistrate in the first table of the Law," are, for almost all, as relics of an age long dead. Yet this is the native soil of New England Congregationalism, and of Westminster Presbyterianism as well. One may hope that an increased understanding of some of the reasons behind their quarrel may be some help to us in making it up.

The manner in which Billings’s music contrasts with the Puritan musical ideal clearly demonstrates his role in the transition from ritual to art in the music of eighteenth-century New England. The tenets of Puritan worship included the restriction that music should serve primarily as a form of communal prayer for the congregation and in a secondary capacity to assist in biblical instruction. Billings’s stylistic independence from Puritan orthodoxy began with a differing ideology concerning the purpose of music: whereas Calvin believed music merely provided a means for the communal deliverance of biblical text, Billings recognized music for its inherent aesthetic worth. Billings’s shift away from the Puritan musical heritage occurred simultaneously with considerable change in New England in the last three decades of the eighteenth century. A number of Billings’s works depict the events of the Revolutionary War, frequently adapting scriptural texts for nationalistic purposes. The composition of occasional works to commemorate religious and civic events reflects both the increase in society’s approval of choral music beyond its nominal use in worship, both in singing schools and in choirs. With his newfound independence from Puritan ritual, Billings seems to have declared himself one of the United States of America’s first musical artists.

Thesis advisor: Owen Stanwood / Making Nations: The Northeastern Borderlands in an Age of Revolution, 1760-1820 examines migration within northeastern North America, and the gradual formation of a meaningful border between the District of Maine and the Province of New Brunswick. The American Revolution, though it divided the northeast between New England and British North America, did not fundamentally change attitudes toward the borderland. For decades, the region had been a special sort of frontier – a more connected frontier, offering migrants from southern New England better access to Atlantic trade. The post-revolutionary era rapidly reverted to pre-war patterns, as settlers crossed a largely meaningless border looking for fertile land and economic connectivity. These settlers, I argue, were not late loyalists, choosing British territory, or early republicans, choosing the U.S. This was one migration, to the borderland and the similar opportunities on both sides. So how did migration within a shared borderland become immigration across a meaningful border? Post-revolution, both Congregationalists and Catholics began to build networks in Maine that stopped at the border. A Congregational missionary society, the Society for Propagating the Gospel Among the Indians and Others in North America, realized it could secure state funding from Massachusetts by advertising itself as a tool for managing the growing settlements in Maine. State money helped the society grow rapidly, and as similar groups formed they chose to join the pioneer society as partners rather than compete with it. Meanwhile, Congregational women created institutions called “ladies cent societies,” which provided a massive infusion of funding into the system. The resulting Congregational network grew to encompass almost the entire American half of the borderland. At the same time, a Catholic network also grew in Maine, connecting the Catholic Passamaquoddy and Penobscot people to Boston, as well as to Irish Catholics along Maine’s coast. As these networks grew they changed eastern Maine from a place that was attractive because of its connections with British North America, to a place that was attractive because of its connections with New England. These networks made the border meaningful – and immovable. Though politicians on both sides persisted for years in believing they could still adjust the border, they were wrong. It had already taken root. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: History.

Thesis advisor: John E. Ebel / Earthquake activity in New England has been studied since the area was settled in the 17th century; however, the mechanism for this activity has yet to be determined. This thesis studied earthquake activity in Amesbury and Newburyport, Massachusetts, a region that has a history of significant seismic activity, including the 1727 Newbury earthquake. Earthquake data was collected by portable seismic devices set up in the Amesbury-Newburyport region as well as from the regional seismic network (New England Seismic Network). This data was analyzed to determine the absolute and relative locations of recorded events to improve upon previously calculated earthquake epicenters. The determined locations were then mapped in order to draw conclusions regarding the events’ relations and any possible common focal mechanism. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Geology and Geophysics.

Thesis advisor: Noah P. Snyder / Large-scale human modification of the northeastern U.S. landscape began in the 17th century with forest clearing and milldam construction. In the mid-Atlantic Piedmont region of the U.S., Walter and Merritts (2008) found that millpond deposits persist for centuries after dam breaching, resulting in fill terraces composed of legacy sediment. Stratigraphic observations in the mid-Atlantic indicate that these laminated to massive fine-grained layers typically overly a prominent Holocene hydric soil that overlies a Pleistocene basal gravel. I test whether this set of processes applies to glaciated New England. This study focuses on two New England watersheds: the South River in Massachusetts and the Sheepscot River in Maine. I use stratigraphic analysis and radiocarbon dating to identify legacy deposits, and then use lidar digital elevation models to map planar terrace extents in each watershed. Finally, I use lidar digital elevation models to estimate thickness of legacy sediment found behind breached or removed milldams and estimate volumes of legacy sediment storage in valley bottoms over entire watersheds. The South River watershed has 32 historic dam sites; 18 have been field checked and 14 show evidence for legacy sediment storage. The Sheepscot River watershed has 33 historic dam sites; 13 have been field checked and six show evidence of legacy sediment storage. Stratigraphic analyses of bank exposures in both watersheds show a brown fine sand and silt layer (up to 2.19 m thick in the South River watershed and up to 2.30 m thick in the Sheepscot River watershed) which sometimes is underlain by gravel and/or clay; no buried Holocene hydric soil has been found. Further evidence for legacy milldam sedimentation comes from radiocarbon dating. Three radiocarbon dates from the South River watershed and six from the Sheepscot River watershed are less than 300 years old; no underlying Holocene material has been dated. The maximum volume of legacy sediment estimated using lidar methods for the South River watershed is 2.5 x 106 m3 and for the Sheepscot River watershed the volume is 3.7 x 106 m3. These volumes of legacy sediment can be translated to maximum mean thickness of sediment eroded from each landscape: 37 mm for the South River watershed and 7 mm for the Sheepscot River watershed. The Sheepscot River watershed has most of its legacy sediment terraces in the lower section of the watershed with many lakes and wetlands disturbing sediment transport in the upper section of the watershed. Compared to the Sheepscot River watershed, the South River watershed has more widespread glacial deposits contributing to legacy sediment with few lakes and wetlands. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Thesis advisor: John E. Ebel / Passive teleseismic data were collected with a 17-station broadband seismic array deployed from Vermont to Massachusetts. The purpose of the array was to detect changes in crustal seismic velocity structure related to the regional tectonostratigraphic terranes using receiver functions. Ps conversions from the Moho and mid-crust were observed and a cross-section of the crustal structure beneath the seismic array was produced. The crustal cross-section reveals a synclinal structure related to the Taconic orogeny, a remnant Iapetan oceanic slab, a plausible surface-location of the Red Indian Line, and several terrane boundaries that can be projected from their proposed surface locations into the deeper crust based on crustal-horizon offsets observed in the receiver function data. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University