Concord - Governor Maura Healey gave the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the 250^th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord:

Thank you, Congresswoman [Lori] Trahan. Members of the Concord Select Board and Concord 250; State Legislators; General [Gary] Keefe, National Guard and service members, veterans and military families; Consul General [David] Clay and our British friends; and all the people - of Massachusetts, America and the world - who have gathered here to mark this seminal event in our nation’s history: 

Two-hundred and fifty years ago today, on this site, at about this time of the morning, the farmers, merchants and tradesmen of Concord and nearby towns faced the army of a mighty empire. They stood up for their right to govern themselves; and they stepped forward to protect their community. Here, across North Bridge, they were fired upon. They returned fire with what Ralph Waldo Emerson called “the shot heard round the world.” And they began a revolution that gave us our nation. 

The courage of ordinary people who fought here in Concord is awe-inspiring. But there was more than individual bravery on display. There was collective determination, unity of purpose, and a deep, widely shared belief in the cause of liberty. Two riders set out from Boston, Paul Revere and William Dawes, to raise the alarm. When the redcoats got to Lexington, they were met by 75 militia members. When they got to Concord, 400 men had mustered. By the time they finished their retreat to Boston, 4,000 had attacked their lines. In the following days, 20,000 gathered to begin the Siege of Boston, fight the Battle of Bunker Hill, and eventually win the War for Independence. 

They came from across what is now our state, and from New Hampshire and Connecticut too. Members of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans walked 137 miles, nearly the length of Massachusetts, to join the Continental troops in Cambridge. Black and Indigenous soldiers fought for a freedom they would long be denied. Women were vital as spies and strategists. Everyone played their part. 

Here in Concord, as the British troops burned the militia’s supplies, the fire spread to the town’s meeting house. So the 71-year-old widow Martha Moulton took her own revolutionary stand. She confronted and convinced the British troops themselves to form a bucket brigade and put out the fire they had started. 

In the end, the commitment was absolute. Massachusetts rose up, together, as one, and a new nation, forged in defense of freedom, saw itself take shape. 

In Massachusetts, we take deep pride in the role our state and people have played in America’s journey.?The spirit that burned bright here in Concord never faded. At every moment, we answered the call of liberty and advanced the cause of freedom. Leading the abolitionist movement to resist and end slavery. Leading for women’s rights.?First in education, first in healthcare, first in Civil Rights and equality under the law. 

John Hancock and Samuel Adams, the first and fourth governors of our state, were present in Lexington on the night these events began. They would no doubt be surprised to see a woman standing here as the 73^rd Governor, 250 years later - and a woman representing us in Congress. But they had the wisdom and the conviction to put freedom at the heart of our national experiment. And freedom is a force that, once kindled, cannot be denied. 

In Massachusetts, we have always lit the beacon. We have always answered the alarm.?We have always stood our ground - and we always will. That is the legacy of this hallowed place. This is who we are.?Now it is our time to live up to this legacy. We live in a moment when our freedoms are once again under attack from the highest office in the land. We see things that would be familiar to our revolutionary predecessors: the silencing of critics, the disappearing of people from our streets, demands for unquestioning fealty. 

Due process is a foundational right; if it can be discarded for one, it can be lost for all. The right to speak freely, without fear of punishment, is the essence of personal liberty. A free press and independent courts are the lifeblood of a healthy democracy. These are the freedoms that America was built on, that make America great. They are the rights that people here in Massachusetts exercise when they use their talents to cure disease, heal the environment, build businesses, improve human life.?

They were won by the men and women who put their lives on the line, here at North Bridge in Concord and on the green in Lexington. They were protected by brave service members, and advanced by courageous men and women throughout our history.?And they are ours to defend now. We must take a warning from John Adams, who said “Liberty once lost is lost forever.” And we must take courage from Coretta Scott King, who said “Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.” 

This is our generation’s time. Standing here, in this place, at this moment, we must commit ourselves to defending it. That is what I will do, and I encourage everyone who knows our history, and values our freedoms, to do the same. Stay engaged, stand up, and speak out - as the people of Massachusetts did 250 years ago. Together, we will protect the freedoms that were won here. And we will not be intimidated.  

In Massachusetts we must be, and we will be, the champions of freedom once again - not just because it is rooted in our past, but because it is alive in our hearts, and it is our hope for the future. It is what we owe to the those who came before us here in Concord - and it is what we owe to the generations who come after us all across America. 

I want to thank all of you for being here to celebrate this history and honor the values that this this day and this place stand for. God Bless you, God bless Massachusetts, God bless and preserve our nation and its freedoms.