Chapter 1 of Under the Liberty Tree is here in full — 14 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Under the Liberty Tree is here in full — 14 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
UNDER THE LIBERTY TREE. STORIES OF American History, BY JAMES OTIS. =Under the Liberty Tree:= A Story of the Boston Massacre. =The Boys of 1745= at the Capture of Louisbourg. =An Island Refuge:= Casco Bay in 1676.
Chapter 1 of Under the Liberty Tree is here in full — 14 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/2 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading “=An Island Refuge:= Casco Bay in 1676.”
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
From this reading “=Under the Liberty Tree:= A Story of the Boston Massacre.”
succeed in representing or expressing something intangible
From this reading “=The Boys of 1745= at the Capture of Louisbourg.”
The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions on one's way of life.
From this reading “UNDER THE LIBERTY TREE.”
kill a large number of people indiscriminately
From this reading “=Under the Liberty Tree:= A Story of the Boston Massacre.”
United States inventor who manufactured the first elevator with a safety device (1811-1861)
From this reading “STORIES OF American History, BY JAMES OTIS.”
a safe place
From this reading “=An Island Refuge:= Casco Bay in 1676.”
plural of “story” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “STORIES OF American History, BY JAMES OTIS.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading =An Island Refuge:= Casco Bay in 1676.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading =The Boys of 1745= at the Capture of Louisbourg.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading =Under the Liberty Tree:= A Story of the Boston Massacre.
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading STORIES OF American History, BY JAMES OTIS.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading =An Island Refuge:= Casco Bay in 1676.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading =The Boys of 1745= at the Capture of Louisbourg.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading =An Island Refuge:= Casco Bay in 1676.
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
From this reading =Under the Liberty Tree:= A Story of the Boston Massacre.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading =The Boys of 1745= at the Capture of Louisbourg.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading STORIES OF American History, BY JAMES OTIS.
succeed in representing or expressing something intangible
From this reading =The Boys of 1745= at the Capture of Louisbourg.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading =An Island Refuge:= Casco Bay in 1676.
the aggregate of past events
From this reading STORIES OF American History, BY JAMES OTIS.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading =An Island Refuge:= Casco Bay in 1676.
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading =An Island Refuge:= Casco Bay in 1676.
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading STORIES OF American History, BY JAMES OTIS.
The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions on one's way of life.
From this reading UNDER THE LIBERTY TREE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading =The Boys of 1745= at the Capture of Louisbourg.
kill a large number of people indiscriminately
From this reading =Under the Liberty Tree:= A Story of the Boston Massacre.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading STORIES OF American History, BY JAMES OTIS.
United States inventor who manufactured the first elevator with a safety device (1811-1861)
From this reading STORIES OF American History, BY JAMES OTIS.
a safe place
From this reading =An Island Refuge:= Casco Bay in 1676.
plural of “story” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading STORIES OF American History, BY JAMES OTIS.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading =Under the Liberty Tree:= A Story of the Boston Massacre.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading UNDER THE LIBERTY TREE.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading UNDER THE LIBERTY TREE.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading UNDER THE LIBERTY TREE.
Chapter 1 of Under the Liberty Tree by James Otis holds 14 sentences, grouped into 3 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 14 sentences of Under the Liberty Tree, unabridged, divided into 3 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Under the Liberty Tree by James Otis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 14 sentences, grouped into 3 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 3 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 3 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Under the Liberty Tree by James Otis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 994 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31555 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31555, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 82 minutes of reading across 199 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Under the Liberty Tree section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Under the Liberty Tree to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Under the Liberty Tree, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
