America’s Revolution

The Trouble with TaxesSo what stirred up the hornet’s nest in the first place? It all began over money – and over the rights of citizens, too. Great Britain needed money, so they passed a Sugar Act and Stamp Act saying that colonists had to pay taxes to Great Britain for all sorts of imported goods. But the colonists were already paying separate taxes to cover their own debt – they thought paying twice wasn’t fair.

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Rebellion!!!Many colonial merchants refused to buy

British goods.Pamphlet writers roared.Preachers thundered from their pulpits.Angry members of an organization called the

Sons of Liberty stripped royal office holders naked and covered them with hot tar and goose feathers.

The Shot Heard Around the World

The Shot Heard Around the World

British General Thomas Gage had been trying hard to keep the peace in Massachusetts, but he was ordered in the name of the king to use more force. In April 1775, a spy in Boston warned Gage that colonial troublemakers were stashing big piles of ammunition in nearby Concord. Gage decided that the British Army had better go seize John Hancock and Sam Adams, two rebel leaders who were hiding out in Lexington.

The Shot Heard Around the World

A British regiment shivered through a chilly night rowing and then wading across the Charles River. On the morning of April 19, the soldiers had marched as far as Lexington when they came across about seventy patriot militia gathered on the village common. The rebels were armed because rebel spies William Dawes and Paul Revere had spread the alarm that the British were on their way.

The Shot Heard Around the WorldEverybody’s nerves were on edge. Still holding their weapons, the patriots began to back away and look for cover. Then someone fired a shot – nobody knows who – but as soon as they heard it, the British soldiers started shooting. Eight Americans were killed, and ten more were wounded. Not everyone realized it at the time, but the Revolutionary War had just begun.

Lexington to concordJohn Hancock and Sam Adams had disappeared. The redcoats marched on to Concord to destroy the ammunition, but most of the ammunition had vanished, too. Meanwhile, great multitudes of men from farms and villages all over the countryside gathered to fight back. Each side told a different tale about Lexington and Concord.

Samuel Adams! Samuel Adams!

Who was Samuel Adams?

Samuel adamsSamuel Adams Long before Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Samuel Adams wrote a school paper about the right for fairness and justice in government. Samuel developed his ideas about freedom while studying the theories of John Locke at Harvard College in the 1740s.After completing his studies, Samuel returned to Boston, Massachusetts to work for his father. He began to question the fairness of the laws imposed by the governor, who was appointed by the British government. Samuel and his father spent several years trying to prevent British officials from taking their home and land.

Samuel AdamsSamuel believed the colonists had a right to elect their own government officials and he began to convince others about their rights for fairness, justice and representation. He wrote newspaper articles and essays and promoted his ideas at taverns and meetings. As a result he formed the Country Party, which included farmers who supported his ideas.

Samuel adamsConflict with colonists and the British Government grew worse in the 1760s and 1770s when the British Parliament imposed new tax laws on the colonists. Samuel and the members of the Country Party opposed these laws. Samuel organized a group called the "Sons of Liberty," who resisted the tea tax by secretly dumping tea into Boston harbor in the famous "Tea Party." Samuel saw the need to expand his cause, and he began to make his case for independence to John Adams, his second cousin, and a wealthy merchant named John Hancock.

Samuel adamsSamuel proposed a meeting with representatives of all the colonies to discuss their problems with the British Parliament. The Continental Congress first met in Philadelphia in 1774. Just as he had in Boston, Samuel promoted his ideas for independence with the other delegates. Two years later, the Continental Congress met again in Philadelphia. They adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and Samuel signed it.

Samuel adamsSamuel continued to represent the people of Boston, and he ultimately served as president of the Massachusetts Senate. He voted for the Constitution in 1788, but strongly supported the need for a bill of rights. He spent the rest of his life as a voice for reform, and he died in Boston in 1803. Samuel's strong belief in independence and his ability to persuade support for the cause of freedom earned him the name "the Father of the American Revolution."