Boston Brahmins

“Boston Brahmins” is a term used to describe the old, elite upper class of Boston, Massachusetts. The phrase was coined in the 19th century by writer Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Some key points:

• Social Class: The Boston Brahmins were wealthy, highly educated families, many of them descendants of the original English Puritan settlers of New England.
• Values: They placed strong emphasis on tradition, philanthropy, civic duty, high culture, and education (particularly at Harvard).
• Influence: For much of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, they dominated Boston’s business, cultural, political, and intellectual life.
• Examples of Families: Prominent Brahmin families included the Adamses, Cabots, Lowells, Lodges, Peabodys, and Winthrops. A common Boston saying was:
  “The Lowells speak only to Cabots, and the Cabots speak only to God.”
• Decline: Their dominance waned in the 20th century as Boston diversified economically, socially, and ethnically.

Would you like me to focus more on their cultural influence (literature, universities, philanthropy) or their political role (governance, U.S. Senate dynasties)?