Helped start the Sons of Liberty, put up propaganda posters, and incited protests against the British in Boston. Attended 1 st & 2 nd Continental Congress. Road to the American Revolution Faces in the Crowd Convinced Virginia House of Burgesses to pass resolution against British taxes. Attended 1 st & 2 nd Continental Congress. Uttered the famous words, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Wealthy Massachusetts merchant. Funded the Sons of Liberty. President of 2 nd Continental Congress. First to sign Declaration of Independence. Protested the Stamp Act by burning effigies of unpopular tax collectors. Inspired the Daughters of Liberty. Carried out the “Boston Tea Party.” Members Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott spread the word, “The British are coming!” Massachusetts lawyer. Cousin to Samuel Adams. Attended 1 st & 2 nd Continental Congress. On the committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence. Served in the Virginia legislature. Delegate in the 2 nd Continental Congress. Known as a great thinker and writer. Taking ideas from English philosopher John Locke, he wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence based on basic English rights and the universal principles of, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Road to the American Revolution Boston Massacre 1770 Boston Tea Party 1773 Intolerable Acts 1774

Road to the American Revolution Boston Massacre 1770Boston Tea Party 1773 Intolerable Acts 1774 On the brink of rebellion, the British army occupied Boston. Colonist were furious about redcoats stealing from local shops, starting fights with locals, and taking local off-hour jobs. On March 5 th, angry colonists threw sticks & stones at soldiers. After one soldier was knocked down, nervous redcoats fired and killed 5 colonists. Colonial leaders like Samuel Adams and Paul Revere used the tragedy as propaganda calling it the “Boston Massacre” which encouraged stronger protests. English Parliament repealed the Townsend Acts but kept the tea tax. Trade resumed, but committees of correspondence were set up throughout the colonies to spread political ideas and information. The British East India Company was vital to the English economy. To help save the company & protect the English economy, Parliament passed the Tea Act. Colonists wanted zero taxes on their tea, nor did they want to be told what tea they had to buy. The Daughters of Liberty declared that rather than part with freedom, “We’ll part with our tea.” At midnight on December 16 th, the Sons of Liberty recruited colonists to board three ships dressed like Mohawk Indians and throw 342 chests of tea overboard in protest of the Tea Act. At this point, most colonists wanted change but still saw themselves as loyal citizens to the English crown. King George III responded, “ We must either master them or totally leave them to themselves.” In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts to punish the colonists for resisting British authority. The laws coerced the colonists to house British soldiers, close Boston Harbor, and ban town meetings in Massachusetts. Rather than intimidating the colonies, it brought them together in support especially of Boston. Parliament also passed the Quebec Act that set up a Canadian government stretching south to the Ohio River and ignoring all colonial claims to those lands. The colonists strongly believed that these new laws violated their rights as English citizens. They felt the Coercive Acts were intolerable.

Major Cities in Colonial America