After the Boston Tea Party, local groups known as Sons of Liberty began emerging across America to use grassroots activism against taxes and other issues affecting colonists.
John and Abigail Adams were staunch patriots who believed in independence for colonists while still supporting integration within British culture if possible.
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an important protest of British rule that ignited an explosive uprising among colonists that eventually led to American independence within less than 10 years.
The Tea Party began after the British Parliament granted the East India Company an exclusive right to import tea into colonist colonies. This presented local merchants who relied on import sales with an immediate threat. Furthermore, colonists objected to being taxed without representation in Parliament to represent them.
However, the Tea Act provoked outrage among colonists who preferred cheaper tea imported from Holland instead. Samuel Adams led an outraged colony against this tax by organizing the Sons of Liberty group which used an effective plan against three British ships docked at Griffin's Wharf in Boston harbor that night: on December 16, 1773, they boarded The Dartmouth, The Eleanor, and The Beaver and disguised as Mohawk Indians they dumped 342 chests of tea into Griffin's Wharf before leaving Griffin Wharf docking area on December 16, 1773!
Civil disobedience was used as a powerful means of protest against British taxation without representation and caused a widespread rebellion that spread throughout the entire nation.
Due to the Tea Party, Britain passed a set of punitive measures known as Coercive Acts which only further stirred up revolt and galvanized colonists to fight for their rights.
Although the Boston Tea Party was only one act of protest, its impact is widely recognized and is considered a pivotal moment in American history. Many acts of civil disobedience and revolution since have come to be known as "Tea Parties," due to their similarity to this event. These actions helped shape America and shape who we are as people today; one major impact has been its formation into one strong and united nation.
The Boston Massacre
Throughout the 1770s, British troops patrolled Boston streets. This caused great alarm among colonists who felt under an alien army's occupation. Taunting and insults escalated quickly into physical confrontations; angry crowds often formed to protest British soldiers or actions taken by those supporting British policies.
On March 5, 1770, an argument broke out between an individual and a soldier guarding the Customs House. When this individual began taunting him with insults and struck at him with his rifle's buttstock; other citizens joined in by throwing coal, ice, oyster shells, and debris at them; this escalated further when eight new soldiers arrived to reinforce forces at the Customs House - and this group began taunting and jeering these new additions as well.
As soon as the crowd refused to disperse, soldiers opened fire on them - killing six and injuring several more - shocking the nation and further increasing tensions within Massachusetts. Joseph Warren of Sons of Liberty delivered an incendiary sermon from Old South Church called "The Bloody Massacre," sparking widespread outrage against soldiers; prints by Paul Revere depicting this event (based on Henry Pelham illustrations) soon became widely circulated throughout Massachusetts and beyond.
The Boston Massacre further inflamed colonists and strengthened their resolve to pursue independence. Many colonists saw it as evidence of government abuse of power and violations to people's rights; it also contributed to growing hostility against Townshend Acts which levied taxes on various goods such as tea.
After the shooting, Governor Bernard left Boston to return to England, while Thomas Hutchinson promised an investigation of the event. In the meantime, Sons of Liberty organized town meetings in Boston to address the tension between Bostonians and government authorities - giving voice to colonists' grievances against England while fuelling further anger against its oppressors.
The Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill marked a pivotal point in the Revolutionary War. Colonist victory gave them confidence against an overwhelming British force and demonstrated that reconciliation between England and its colonies was no longer viable.
By June 1775, General Sir Thomas Gage had received reinforcements and was under immense pressure to break out of Boston and put an end to colonial rebel activity. After consulting his officers about claiming heights north and south of Boston as the best way to do this, when word got out about this plan the Massachusetts provincial government ordered Colonel William Prescott and approximately 1000 colonial troops - more like an armed mob than formal military unit-- to march toward Bunker Hill on Charlestown Peninsula.
At first, the British were unaware that any colonists had already arrived. They assumed Prescott would place his forces on Bunker Hill - 110 feet high and close to Cambridge - as ordered; instead, he chose Breed's Hill instead, approximately one-quarter mile further south.
Breed's Hill was so strong that an American redoubt, composed of a small dirt fort, proved impregnable to British forces; two assaults from them were repulsed with heavy casualties suffered on both sides; however, eventually, the British managed to capture it after all American ammunition ran out.
Even though they were defeated at Bunker Hill, American colonists still gained much from this decisive battle. It marked an indisputable sign of war against Britain and increased patriots' desire to pursue independence even further.
Nathaniel Philbrick was born and raised in Massachusetts. As an author, he is known for writing several New York Times bestsellers such as "The Road to Concord (2000) and In the Hurricane's Eye (2006; revised as "The Revolutionary War"). Additionally, he has contributed articles to The Atlantic, New York Times, and Washington Post publications as well as living with his wife and three children in Cambridge, MA.
The American Revolution
The American Revolution was more than just a battle against British rule - it transformed the colonies into an independent nation. Attachment to England and her King was replaced with personal freedom, republicanism, new national institutions, and the Declaration of Independence - heroes like George Washington were celebrated for sacrificing for this cause, creating a shared history of both victory and hardships overcome during these trying times.
The Revolution unleashed powerful political, social, and economic forces that would ultimately transform America in its aftermath. For instance, it introduced new patterns of intercolonial commerce; increased political participation via town meetings; created state constitutions that changed politics; legalized religious tolerance, and established a social contract--an idea whereby citizens are bound together through mutual obligations to their leaders while their government's authority rests upon upholding citizen rights.
Massachusetts was at the epicenter of revolutionary activity in America during the 1770s. Even prior to Lexington and Concord being attacked, Massachusetts had already mobilized for war through Suffolk Resolves drawn up by local colonists seven months earlier. Furthermore, General Gage responded to Parliament's Coercive Acts by closing an armory near his own and seizing black powder from nearby storehouses as the Powder Alarm occurred; this action served as a direct protest against its effects upon colonists everywhere, forcing them to quarterhouse British troops everywhere in their own states.
Soon thereafter, Salem residents voted to boycott all British goods and elect representatives to a provincial congress. Meanwhile, Boston's colonial government sent letters out asking other colonies to join its boycott and coordinate resistance to Parliamentary laws; eventually, it collapsed when its governor refused to rescind or send reinforcements; Gage began sieging Boston at this point. Meanwhile in 1776 many towns held votes regarding independence from Britain - with most voting yes; however some such as Barnstable had different opinions due to free trade arrangements providing little motivation to fight. Edward Bacon made his arguments on why his people did not need or want independence: free trade provided enough reasons not to warrant fighting for independence from Britain!
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