The Boston Common Schools were the pride of the town. They were
most jealously guarded, and were opened each day with public
prayer.
They were the nurseries of a true democracy. In them the men who
played the most important part in the Revolutionary period
received their early education.
The Adamses, Chancey, Cooper, Cushing, Hancock, Mayhew, Warren,
and the rest breathed their bracing atmosphere.