Road to Revolution

Boston Massacre Street fight between citizens and British troops. Soldiers armed with muskets, citizens armed with sticks and snowballs. Soldiers fired when citizens attacked them. Five citizens are killed. Crispus Attucks, a black sailor, is regarded as the first casualty of the Revolutionary War.

Boston Tea Party Governor in Boston allowed three tea bearing ships to sail into the harbor. Citizens boarded the ships and threw all of the cargo into Boston harbor. Dressed as Native Americans to hide their identity.

Account of one anonymous participant…. “I dressed myself in the costume of an Indian, equipped with a small hatchet, which I and my associates denominated the tomahawk, with which, and a club, after having painted my face and hands with coal dust in the shop of a blacksmith, I repaired to Griffin's wharf, where the ships lay that contained the tea... We then were ordered by our commander to open the hatches and take out all the chests of tea and throw them overboard, and we immediately proceeded to execute his orders, first cutting and splitting the chests with our tomahawks, so as thoroughly to expose them to the effects of the water. In about three hours from the time we went on board, we had thus broken and thrown overboard every tea chest to be found in the ship, while those in the other ships were disposing of the tea in the same way, at the same time. We were surrounded by British armed ships, but no attempt was made to resist us.”

Intolerable Acts King George is furious over the colonists actions. Issues the Coercive Acts. - Boston Harbor closed to trade. - General Gage appointed Governor. - Massachusetts now directly controlled by the British Army. - Those arrested for acts against the crown will stand trial in England. Will they receive a fair trial?

An account of Samuel Adams… “This Town has received the Copy of an Act of the British Parliament, wherein it appears that we have been tried and condemned, and are to be punished, by the shutting up of the harbor and other marks of revenge, until we shall disgrace ourselves by servilely yielding up, in effect, the just and righteous claims of America....The people receive this cruel edict with abhorrence and indignation. They consider themselves as suffering the stroke ministerial...I hope they will sustain the blow with a becoming fortitude, and that the cursed design of intimidating and subduing the spirits of all America, will, by the joint efforts of all, be frustrated.”

Lexington & Concord General Gage devised a plan to: - capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock, both Colonial leaders. - seize gunpowder to deny it from the colonists. Colonial spies intercept the plans…two lanterns are hung in Boston’s North Tower to warn of the coming attacks. Minutemen, the colonial militia, respond to the warning Thus begins the Revolutionary War.

An account of Paul Revere… “We set off for Concord, and were overtaken by a young gentleman named Prescot, who belonged to Concord, and was going home. When we had got about half way from Lexington to Concord, the other two stopped at a house to awake the men, I kept along .... In an instant I saw four of them, who rode up to me with their pistols in their bands, said '‘Stop! If you go an inch further, you are a dead man.'' Immediately Mr. Prescot came up. We attempted to get through them, but they kept before us, and swore if we did not turn in to that pasture, they would blow our brains out, (they had placed themselves opposite to a pair of bars, and had taken the bars down). They forced us in. When we had got in, Mr. Prescot said "Put on!" He took to the left, I to the right ... Just as I reached it, out started six officers, seized my bridle, put their pistols to my breast, ordered me to dismount, which I did.”