Road to Revolution
By: Betsy Kirsop
¨Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason.¨ - Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was born on September 27, 1722 in Boston Massachusetts. He attended Boston Latin School. He went to Harvard at the age of 14. He received a Bachelors and Masters degree at Harvard. He received these degrees in 1740 and 1743. He soon found out that he wasn't making a good living through business so he switched over to politics. John married Elizabeth Checkley in 1749. They had six children but sadly only two survived to adulthood. Elizabeth died after giving birth to a stillborn baby. In 1764 he married Elizabeth Wells. In 1765 Samuel became Boston's tax collector. He was a tax collector for twelve years. He then became a writer and soon rose to the top of politics in Boston. He was the creator of the Sons of Liberty which was a big part of the Revolutionary War. Samuel Adams was brave, trustworthy and ahead of his time.
¨Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.¨ - John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was born on October 30,1735. He became a student at Harvard in 1751. John graduated within four years. He studied law. John was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1758. He was married and had four children. One of his son's name was John Quincy Adams who was the sixth president of the United States. He proudly defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre ( 1770 ). Two out of the eight men were found guilty and the other six were found innocent of manslaughter (1770 - 1774). John served in the Massachusetts Legislature. He then was elected to be a member of the Continental Congress. He also was a part of the committee that wrote the draft of the Declaration of Independence. John Adams was very smart, thoughtful and always willing to help where he could.
Boston Massacre
Life was hard in 1760. On March 5, 1770 a small group of colonists were harassing British soldiers. This is when the clash started to happen. A group of soldiers led by Captain Thomas Preston came to the rescue. All of the attempts to calm the crowd didn't work. They soon fired a shot with a musket which was later followed by a couple more shots. The commotion left several wounded and five dead. One of the victims was an African-American named Crispus Attucks. This was the first act that was violent and where people died.
Boston Tea Party
On the night of December 16, 1773 the Sons of Liberty illegally loaded three East India cargo ships. They then proceeded to throw 45 tons (90,000 pounds) of tea into the harbor. This act was a part of the boycotts. One hundred fifty men disguised as a Mohawk tribe threw all 342 cases of tea off ships into the harbor. The ships names were the Dartmouth, Eleanor and Beaver. After this most men that were caught and tried. Some were even put to death.
"Dump it Off" - Boston Tea Party Song ("Shake it Off")
Boycotts
Boycotts are a rebellion of people against people. During the Revolutionary War some boycott groups were the Daughters of Liberty and the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of LIberty was started before the Daughters of Liberty. The women wanted to be involved with what their husbands were doing so the Daughters of Liberty was formed. These groups were a secret organization founded before the boycotts started. Boycotts were usually non-violent and more verbal. Some boycotts did become physical and people did get hurt. The Sons of Liberty were a part of the Boston Tea Party. This was a boycott that was more extreme than others and caused a lot of damage. These boycotts could include death and jail time if turned extreme or violent. Women and men both got different sentences based on age and previous records.
Daughters of Liberty
The Daughters of Liberty was a group of colonists that were all females. Women during the Revolutionary War took a backseat to the men. They let the men handle all the politics while they stayed home and took care of the children and household duties. The Daughters of Liberty refused to drink British tea and wove wool to make clothes. They did this to boycott products from the British. Instead of colonists buying more things from Great Britain, the colonists could buy handmade items from each other that would be cheaper and wouldn´t have any import fees attached to the price. George Washingtonś wife, Martha, was a part of this group. Ester de Berdt helped raise money to end taxation. This group of women were brave and independent.
Conclusion
Overall these are key people and events leading up to the Revolutionary War. They are just as important as the war itself. Not only were the events important but so were the people that were a part of them. The beginning of the Revolutionary War was and will forever be in history.
Citations
"1773: Boston Tea Party: Terrorism in the United States." About.com News & Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
"History of American Women." Daughters of Liberty. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
"The History Place - American Revolution: Prelude to Revolution." The History Place - American Revolution: Prelude to Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
Kelly, Martin. "John Adams -2nd President Of The United States." About. Education, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
"Samuel Adams." About.com Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
"Samuel Adams." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.
"What Caused the American Revolution?" About.com Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.