User:Josecaguas

A CANDLE was snuffed out by a furtive hand on Hallowe'en nearly three centuries ago in an incident destined to determine largely how the American people would govern themselves. Today a light having the power of thirty million candles illumines that site, now the home office of an institution exerting a substantial influence on the fortunes of millions of Americans.

The Travelers Tower, topped by its beacon light, is almost a century old. A familiar feature of "the Land of Steady Habits," it has come to be regarded as a symbol of strength -a monument to the virtues that foster permanence and stability.

Though in recent years the Tower has acquired rivals in other lofty structures thrust up in a burgeoning community, its seniority exerts a certain sovereignty over its modernistic neighbors.

The incident of the contrary candle began in 1639, shortly after the first settlers arrived in Hartford (then Newtowne) and, in order to establish themselves as an entity, had produced a document they called the Fundamental Orders. It was the first written constitution in history -a precursor of not only the Declaration of Independence, but also of the Constitution of the United States.

To Secure Official recognition of their claim to self-government, the Connecticut colonist applied to King Charles the Second for a charter. On May 10, 1662, "Gay King Charlie" granted the request.

It gave Connecticut a territory extending "from Narrogancett Bay on the east to the South Sea on the west," a generous area which now includes parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinoise, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California. Naturally, it became a subject of dispute -a controversy which was not resolved for some years.

Twenty-three years after granting the charter, King Charles died. He was succeeded by James the Second, who could not tolerate the independence of any colony and preceeded forthwith to take action. In 1686 he sent Sir Edmund Andros to Boston to consolidate the colonies as governor of all New England.

Andros relished the opportunity to assume authority over the Connecticut Colony in particular. After several fruitless attempts to get its charter by correspondence, he set out for Hartford from Boston with sufficient force to appropriate the document. He and his retinue arrived on Hallowe'en.

The Confrontation took place in Sanford Tavern, a popular gathering place of Hartford residents since its establishment by one Jeremy Addams in 1651.

The discussion went so far into the the day that candles had to be brought into the room. At length Andros demanded that the charter be produced and laid before him on the table. Before he could put his hands on it, however, all the lights went out. When the candles were relighted, the disputed parchment was gone.

Captain Joseph Wadsworth, who had been stationed under a window outside the meeting room, received the charter, sprinted down the road and hid it in the hollow of a great oak.

There it remained until 1689. On the ascension of William and Mary to the throne, it was brought out of hiding and self-government was restored in Connecticut until the thirteen original colonies became the United States almost ninety years thereafter.

To Come Down to specifics covering the Tower itself, it was completed in July of 1919. At the time, its height was exceeded by only six buildings in America: the Woolworth, Singer, Bankers Trust, Metropolitan and Municipal buildings in New York City and the City Hall in Philadelphia.