BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS IN the 1760s was a hotbed of radical political activity and the scene of constant violent protest against British colonial policy. Much of the credit for the Revolutionary stance of Bostonians belongs to Sam Adams and a group that came to be known as his “Sons of Liberty” (or the “Boston Mob” as some called them).
Adams, a Boston attorney and John Adams’ cousin, hardly seemed like a revolutionary. revolution. “He had a sunken chest, a sallow complexion, and ‘wishy-washy gray eyes,’” wrote one historian, and his “lips twitched and trembled, for he suffered from palsy.” Financially, he was a loser: he dressed poorly and earned little.
Like his more successful cousin, Sam Adams was a devout Christian, beginning his day
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He organized political opposition to the British in the Massachusetts colonial assembly and soon became the colony’s most effective Revolutionary propagandist. Nor did Adams confine his activities to non-violent polemics. One of the most fascinating aspects of Adams’ career was his organization and leadership of the Sons of Liberty.
Adams contended that the colonists had to oppose British tyranny dramatically—even with violence. He and members of the “Loyal Nine,” a secret group of Boston radicals, welded together a corps of husky South Boston “bully boys” to perform some of the more unsavory revolutionary tasks, including intimidating tax collectors and threatening British officials. Mob violence had always plagued Boston, but now the rioters attained a political role, which brought with it a certain revolutionary
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The battles at Lexington and Concord were simply formalized versions of the resistance that had been going on in the streets of Boston for 10 years. The Sons of Liberty introduced violence into the British-American dispute and made reconciliation impossible, which was Adams’ goal all along, namely to alienate the moderates and make them choose sides. Events also revealed that “news” and “propaganda” often were one and the same, depending on who did the “reporting.” With that strategy in mind, Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty proved that rioting, looting, and violence—disgusting as they often were—could be effective Revolutionary
12). With violence comes fear and that is what they instilled in the hearts of the Britain’s and their loyalists who lived in the colonies. For example, in April, 1765, the Governor of New York expected to get a shipment of paper goods. Once the Governor found out that the Sons of Liberty knew about the shipment he locked himself inside Fort George because he was scared for his life. The Governor had every right to be scared, seeming as though the Sons of Liberty arrived at his house after he received his package and proceeded to burn his transportation. The angry mob then set their sights on a commander at Fort George and began to loot and vandalize his house. They did all of that destruction in the name of what? “Patriotism”? I think not. The Sons of Liberty were murderous bullies who tarred and feathered people who were loyal to Britain, the act of tarring someone is terroristic enough. A patriot fights for what they believe in yes, but not to the extent of killing people before they exhausted all peaceful options. The Sons of Liberty even had, “cooperation with undisciplined and extralegal groups to set off violent actions” (Kramer par. 15). I mean, come on! They used outside help to instill fear so they could get their point
John Adams was the second president of the United States. Before he was a president, he was a very hard working man but, he had a little bit of an attitude. He was the kind of person that would do something right and would never think of the consequences after. His cousin was Sam Adams one of the instigators for the Boston Massacre and the tea party. When all of this was happening he stood up for the british soldiers in court to make sure they got a fair fight. John was a visionary, he could see how things would play out in the future. He foresaw the idea of a Continental army and the Declaration of Independence. John even new how to talk and encourage or change peoples minds, he once introduced the idea of the Anti-Revolution of the South
Protests in the streets against the British soldiers for this Townshend Tea Tax led to the first bloodshed early in the Revolution. The “Boston Massacre” was the killing of eleven citizens on the streets of Boston when a group of sixty colonists led by Crispus Attucks were protesting the new act. The news of this slaughter was spread throughout the colonies by the Committees of Correspondence set up by a rich politician named Samuel Adams. These committees made it possible for information on everything resistance-related to reach all of the colonies in due time. In this way was news of the Boston Massacre spread across the United States which created outrage across the country. As tea was shipped to America under the new tea tax, rebellion stirred in Boston. Colonists disguised themselves and pillaged the trade ships, ruining millions of dollars worth of tea. In response to this, Parliament passed the ‘Intolerable Acts’ which outraged the colonists even further by closing the Boston ports, placing Massachusetts under royal authority, and allowing the Catholic French to settle along the Ohio River Valley under the new policies. Thus continued Parliament to colonist battle as the First Continental Congress met to discuss their rights as subjects under the king and announce the changes they wanted made in the Declaration of Rights which argued that the natural rights of
As Colonial America grew in size and power during the 1700s, there also grew increasing tensions between colonists and the British Empire ruling over them. Originally, the colonies were a place of religious freedom and of new beginnings for the immigrants sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe. As population and economy grew, so did the presence of the British Monarchy. The colonists began to revolt against the overbearing laws of Parliament, engaging in various acts of violent protest, leading to the American Revolution. Behind these revolutionary efforts was a secret organization known as the Sons of Liberty. Famous members like Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Benedict Arnold, and Paul Revere banded together to organize in places like the famous Liberty Tree and taverns across the city of Boston to plan out their attacks, remaining anonymous to the colonies and the government. Starting the revolutionary hub of Boston, the group later expanded to New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Philadelphia during the sparks of revolution across the colonies. There is great controversy over whether or not the Sons of Liberty were a patriot organization or a terrorist organization. Patriotism is defined as having great love and support for their country, whereas, terrorism is defined as the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially political purposes. Based on their actions and characteristics, there is greater evidence proving the Sons of Liberty should be
In the story "John Adams and the Coming of the Revolution”, author David McCullough discusses how John Adams was asked to defend the British soldiers in court of the soldier’s accusation of man slaughter, following the Boston Massacre. Being such a problematic case that could ruin his reputation, John Adams accepted to defend the soldiers because of his experience in difficult cases, and his strong principles and beliefs. John Adam’s reputation did not even tarnish because of how skillfully he handled the case gaining the respect of the people of Boston.
He collaborated with his cousin, revolutionary leader Samuel Adams, but he established his own prominence prior to the American Revolution. After the Boston Massacre, despite severe local anti-British sentiment, he provided a successful though unpopular legal defense of the accused British soldiers, driven by his devotion to the right to counsel and the of innocence"]]. As a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, Adams played a leading role in persuading Congress to declare independence. He assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and was its foremost advocate in the Congress. As a diplomat in Europe, he helped negotiate the eventual peace treaty with Great Britain, and acquired vital governmental loans from Amsterdam bankers. Adams was the primary author of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 which influenced American political theory, as did his earlier Thoughts on Government.
Today we look back at the American Revolution and picture a united people fighting for inalienable rights, but to grasp the impact that Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” had upon his contemporaries we must understand the situation in the American colonies in 1776. When Paine wrote his pamphlet, the colonist and The Parliament in London, were almost 10 years into a debate over the rights of limited self-government by the colonies. In the months preceding the publication of Paine’s pamphlet the situation had steadily worsened until the April 19th, 1775 armed confrontation between Massachusetts colonists and British Army soldiers. By the end of that day, blood had been shed by both sides, and armed colonists placed the British garrison in Boston under siege. Despite this violence, most colonists viewed the events as a part of a struggle between Englishmen that would be resolved with the continued allegiance of the colonies to the Crown, but with more favorable treatment from London. It was with this popular mindset throughout the colonies, that Paine would deliver his “Common Sense” pamphlet arguing for complete independence from England. Paine understood that to make his argument resonate he needed to appeal to the public in a manner that had yet to be done.
Samuel Adams, one of our founding fathers, signee of the the Declaration of independence, and helper of the Boston tea. Samuel is a very respected, honored, and patriotic man in US history.
England made any town meeting, except authorized by the governor illegal, and housed British soldiers in select public buildings. In Massachusetts the British military governor, General Gage, ordered his 3,500 British soldiers in Boston to seize armories and storehouses in Charlestown and Cambridge. After the seizure, 20,000 colonial militiamen mobilized to protect other military supply depots and in the town of Concord the famous defensive force, the Minutemen, were organized.2 With these acts Parliament declared that Massachusetts was in open rebellion. British Secretary of State, Lord Dartmouth, quickly ordered Gage to send his soldiers on a search and destroy mission to capture colonial leaders, and military supplies in Concord. “At the same time Gage would attempt to find, capture, or kill John Hancock and Samuel Adams.”3 The stage was set for the first major engagements of the American Revolution.
The colonists felt that Britain and its laws were very oppressive and, as mentioned in paragraph one of the prompt, the colonists began to resist. There were many rebellions taking place at the time and controversy was inevitable, however one event that started out as cruel hazing turned deadly, and is now known as “The Boston Massacre”. Although most of colonists resented Britain, British Troops, and especially the custom collectors, after controversial acts of violence, one colonists, John Adams, defended British Captain Preston, and eight British Soldiers.
The Boston Massacre is one of the most controversial events in American history that occurred in Boston before the American Revolution. Certainly, it has a fundamental role in the development of America as a nation, which led it to have a huge motivation for revolution. A heavy British military presence and having very high taxes in the country were some of the main reasons that made Boston citizens very irritated. Thus, there were already many disagreements and tensions between inhabitants and the British that could have led to the Massacre. In this essay, I will carefully analyze three primary sources, and compare these to the interpretation given by HBO’s John Adams. In my view, these sources can be
To end such tyranny, the people of Boston orchestrated various rebellions against the British troops. Prominent figures of the American Revolution such
Throughout the 1760’s, the Sons of Liberty influenced a major increase in colonial revolutionary thinkers; through conducting successful demonstrations
March 5, 1770 – Boston Massacre – A crowd gathered, “a motley rabble of saucy boys, negroes and mulattoes, Irish teagues and outlandish jack tars” as John Adams called them during the soldiers’ trial.
The Boston Massacre is considered by many historians to be the first battle of the Revolutionary War. The fatal incident happened on March 5 of 1770. The massacre resulted in the death of five colonists. British troops in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were there to stop demonstrations against the Townshend Acts and keep order, but instead they provoked outrage. The British soldiers and citizens brawled in streets and fought in bars. “The citizens viewed the British soldiers as potential oppressors, competitors for jobs, and a treat to social mores”. A defiant anti-British fever was lingering among the townspeople.