Table of Contents Setting the Stage 4 No Taxation Without Representation 6 The Plan 8 The Midnight Ride 12 The Beginning of a Revolution 24 Discover More 26 Glossary 30 Index 31 Websites 31 3
Setting the Stage The Boston Journal Monday Issue 1 Volume 4 April 17 1775 Parliament Continues Harsh Legislation At noon today the town crier gave the following notice through out the town British Parliament continues to impose harsh legislation and taxation on the colonies Tension is growing and many colonists are upset at the unfair treatment They want a representative who will fight for the rights of the colonies No taxation without representation representation is the cry coming from the colonists Give me liberty or give me death declared Patrick Henry passionately passionately as he addressed delegates in Virginia on March 23 His words ultimately persuaded Virginia to join the rebellion John Hancock and Samuel Adams openly spoke out against the oppressive oppressive British and are now marked men Many have joined the Patriots Patriots and it only seems to be a matter of time before the real begins fighting fighting 4
The Boston Tea Party was in recation to Great Britain’s harsh tax laws Before the United States of America was an independent country it was a group of Colonies ruled by Great Britain In the 1760s the British Parliament passed a series of tax laws charging high taxes on a variety of items such as paper and tea The Colonies didn’t think the tax laws were fair They didn’t have any representatives to speak for them in the British Parliament where such laws were made The Sons of Liberty in Boston and patriot groups in other Colonies started to protest against the taxes On December 16 1773 the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Native Americans and boarded three tea ships in the Boston Harbor They dumped 342 chests of tea into the water Paul Revere was one of the Sons of Liberty and probably took part in what became known as the Boston Tea Party Tensions between the British grew and by April of 1775 the colonists found out that the British planned to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock two American patriot leaders and take military supplies stored in the town of Concord On the night of April 18 Paul Revere rode from Boston to Lexington to warn everyone that the British regulars were coming Thanks to Paul Revere and other messengers the American militiamen or minutemen were prepared for the battles of Lexington and Concord which were the first fights of the American Revolution 5
