Left image
British Soldiers landed in Boston in 1768 and again in summer 1774
Credit: Revere, Paul, and Paul Revere. "A view of part of the town of Boston in New-England and Brittish [sic] ships of war landing their troops! 1768." Map. Chicago, Ill: Alfred L. Sewell, [1870]. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50
Right image
Sons of Liberty meet across the American Colonies to discuss resistance to parliamentary overreach
Credit: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "Agitation against tea ships, New York City, 1773" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 16, 2023. https://dig
Breaking Points
When British warships closed Boston Harbor in June 1774, outrage grew over Parliament’s heavy-handed response to the destruction of the tea. With limited options to protest ordinarycitizens, farmers, and freeholders radicalized toward direct action. Tensions finally boiled over in September of 1774 following a military raid ordered by Royal Governor, General Thomas Gage. Within days, thousands of militia soldiers turned out amid rumors of British soldiers destroying Boston. During the crisis, Gage also refused to convene the Massachusetts General Court; an elected body of delegates from towns across the colony. Between June 1, 2024 and October 6, 2024 Minute Man National Historical Park will be conducting programs and events about the summer of 1774.
Historical Context:
When news of the Coercive Acts reached Massachusetts, along with a new Royal Governor, a fleet of Navy warships and a large garrison of regular soldiers, provincial resistance moved from Boston to the countryside. The people of Massachusetts debated whether to pay for the destroyed tea and distance themselves from the actions of what many considered a mob, or to embrace the destruction and stand firm against Parliament.
In June 1774, the Boston Committee of Correspondence headed by Samuel Adams and Dr. Joseph Warren, produced the “Solemn League and Covenant” which called for a total cessation of trade with Great Britain. While resisted by some Boston merchants who wanted to wait for a larger Continental Association, the covenant had broad support among Massachusetts towns. Those who refused to sign were often targeted for harassment and their names published in newspapers.
Following the closure of the Port at the beginning of June, more news flowed into Massachusetts of further measures by Parliament to bring the colony under control. The Massachusetts Government Act altered the province’s charter and consolidated a great deal of power in the office of the Royal Governor. This act abolished the elected Governor’s Council and allowed the governor to appoint his council directly. The act also allowed the governor to appoint judges and even restricted town meetings to once per year with permission and approval from the Royal Governor. The Act for the Better Administration of Justice soon followed and allowed for government officers accused of committing a crime, including murder, to be tried in England or another colony where they might receive a fair trial. Colonists referred to this as the “Murder Act.” News of these new acts electrified the people of Massachusetts and brought the crisis into sharp focus throughout June, July, and August 1774.
Later that summer, as the provisions of the Massachusetts Government Act took effect and General Gage consolidated power, people began taking direct action. High ranking gentlemen who had been appointed as judges or mandamus councilors were confronted by angry citizens and forced to resign. In many towns, militia companies began training more frequently and some captains were urged by their neighbors to have their companies ready “to meet at one Minute’s Warning eqipt with Arms and Ammunition, according to Law...”
Seeing trouble on the horizon, on September 1, 1774, General Gage sent a detachment of Regular soldiers to Charlestown (now Somerville) to retrieve the government’s stock of gunpowder. The response from the Massachusetts militia was massive. Within 24 hours, several thousand militiamen were alarmed, mobilized, and marched to Cambridge. Along their route, the Militia were spurred on by false rumors of the British Army and Navy firing upon the town and its inhabitants. Arriving in Cambridge, the militia army quickly discovered there had been no bloodshed, but Regular forces removed large quantities of gunpowder and artillery into safehouses in Boston.
Less than a week after the September 1st Powder Alarm, thousands of people in Worcester, including several militia companies, assembled to force the closure of the court and prevent the new crown-appointed judges from sitting. A similar action occurred shortly after in Concord. In addition, many of the crown-appointed councilors to the Royal Governor, known as Mandamus councilors, were confronted by large assemblies of people and forced to resign under the threat of violence.
Across New England, discussion and debate of the crisis swirled in town meetings, public spaces, and private homes. Communities became divided along political lines with dissenting loyalists being targeted for harassment by the Patriot aligned majority. Loyalists names and reputations were slandered, their property vandalized, and their families threatened. As resistance to Parliamentary overreach grew, Patriot leaders organized county conventions that decried the perceived tyranny. During this time, people of all social classes, ethnic backgrounds, and genders participated in both public and private discourse.
In late September, General Gage refused to convene the Massachusetts legislature, known as the Great and General Court. In defiance of the governor and Royal authority, the delegates met anyway in the town of Concord and formed the Provincial Congress. With popular support on their side, they seized power from General Gage and isolated him in Boston.
Bernklow, Gary M.. The Powder Alarm of 1774: Colonial Communication and the Pre-revolutionary Mindset. Chicago: Eastern Washington University, 1995.
Breen, T. H.. The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence. Oxford NY: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Breen, T. H.. American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010.
Jones, Edward Alfred. The Loyalists of Massachusetts: Their Memorials, Petitions and Claims. United Kingdom: Saint Catherine Press, 1930.
Nash, Gary B.. The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America. New York: Penguin Publishing Group, 2006.
Raphael, Ray., Raphael, Marie. The Spirit of '74: How the American Revolution Began. New York: New Press, 2015.
Wood, Gordon S.. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2011.
Young, Alfred F.., Kaye, Harvey J.. Liberty Tree: Ordinary People and the American Revolution. New York: NYU Press, 2006.
Events & Programs:
250th commemoration events June 1, 2024 - October 6, 2024
Other Events and Programs
Follow the links below for other special events and programs at Minute Man National Historical Park in 2024 & 2025.
