The North American colonies of England in the late 1760's

through the mid 1770's were a momentous time and place to be alive.

It was the defining point in the history of America, where, through a

clear progression from a state of dissatisfaction with British rule to a

state of rebellion, and ultimately war, the colonies slowly moved

toward their final break from Britain in the Declaration of

Independence. Events like the Boston Massacre, and then the British

Tea Act, resulted in growing undercurrents of rebellion that would

eventually culminate in the formation of the Continental Congress,

open war, and a final decision to permanently break from British rule.

The colonists had long been unhappy with British Parliament

levying taxes without them having any representation in Parliament.

They had grown accustomed to a great deal of autonomy from Britain,

and they felt that this showed they were given less respect than their

British peers. After it became clear that the Townshend program was

nothing short of a complete failure, Britain finally decided to relax

policies somewhat. Before news of the repeal could reach America,

however, the unfortunate incident that came to be known as the

Boston Massacre would take place. It had started out as a skirmish

between shippers and British soldiers, with the colonists throwing rocks

and snowballs at the inexperienced and frightened soldiers. After a

muddled chain of events resulted in injury to one of the soldiers,

several launched a volley of shots into the crowd of colonists; killing

five. Despite the fact that no officer had given the soldiers permission

to fire, propaganda in the colonies, including an infamous engraving by

none other than Paul Revere himself, described the event as a "bloody

massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th, 1770 by a

party of the 29th Regt." This event was notably used by people like

Revere and Sam Adams to create waves of anger and discontent

among colonists, which they achieved with great success.

The next key point in the progression to independence was the

Boston Tea Party, which was caused by the 1773 Tea Act. This tea tax

was yet another attempt by England to refill it's post-war coffers and

was once again imposed without consulting colonial assemblies. It

angered many colonists and caused the formation of the Sons of

Liberty, who resolved, the night before the infamous Boston Tea Party,

that "whoever shall aid, or abeit, or in any manner assist in the

introduction of tea, from any place whatsoever, into this colony, while

it is subject, by a British act to Parliament, to the payment of a duty, to

raise revenue in America, he shall be deemed an enemy to the liberties

of America." According to David Burner in Firsthand America, A History

of the United States, the following night, December 16th, 1773,

roughly 8,000 men had gathered at a local church and demanded the

repeal of the hated Tea Act. When this was not granted, a group of

men disguised as Indians rushed into the harbor, boarded British ships,

and dumped large amounts of tea into the harbor. George Hewes
recalled, "{I brought}... a small hatchet, which I and my associated

demonated the tomahawk, with which, and a club, after having painted

my face and hands with coal dust in the shop of a blacksmith, I

repaired to Griffin's wharf, where the three ships lay the contained the

tea..." This was a huge step in the progression of colonial action

regarding their growing dissatisfaction with British policy, as someone

had finally progressed from grumbling to open rebellion. In this act, the

Sons of Liberty had permanently altered the way colonists attempted

to rectify their grievances. Britain responded swiftly and decisively,

closing Boston Harbor to all ships in the first of what would come to be

known in the colonies as the Intolerable Acts. In the act, Parliament

intended to "discontinue in such manner, and for such time as are

therein mentioned, the landing and discharging, lading or shipping, of

goods, wares, and merchandise, at the town, and within the harbour,

of Boston, in the province of Massachusetts's Bay, in North America."

This act, far from isolating Boston, only served to make it seem a

martyr and caused many colonies to issue declarations of their

support, such as the Resolutions of the Freeholders of Alblemarle

County which stated, "Resolved, That these their natural and legal

rights have in frequent instances been invaded by the Parliament of

Great Britain and particularly that they were so by an act lately passed

to take away the trade of the inhabitants of the town of Boston, in the

province of Massachusetts Bay."

 The next leap towards independence would come when a

Virginian governor called for the dissolution of the assembly. This same

assembly then called for a meting of a "Continental Congress" to

discuss their grievances. In response to the Intolerable Acts, the

congress said, "To these grievous acts and measures, Americans

cannot submit," and they ceased to import or export British goods and

sought for redress of their issues, which Parliament ultimately did not

grant. The Continental Congress then approved preparations for a

defensive war and began gathering munitions and training the so-

called, "minutemen." When British general Thomas Gage heard of their

store of gunpowder, he dispatched some 1,000 soldiers to Lexington

and Concord, intending to surprise the minutemen and quickly defeat

them. Their movements were watched, however, and the ride of Paul

Revere warned of British approach. While it is impossible to know who

fired first, the colonists managed to circulate their account of the

Battle of Lexington and Concord before the British could. Their version

of the events showed Britain as the aggressor and rallied support from

thousands who would not have otherwise involved themselves. This

only the stage for conflicts to come.

When the second Continental Congress was convened the

colonies were rapidly closing in on a point of no return. Open rebellion

and armed conflicts were escalating what had been quiet discontent

with British policy into a full scale revolt. The Continental Congress
tried to avoid this, and they sent one last conciliatory appeal to the

King in the form of the Olive Branch Petition. When this was ignored,

they issued a "Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of of Taking up

Arms", which showed they were ready to fight for their violated

liberties. Public opinion at this time was largely unsure of what they

were seeking; with many wanting only a redress of grievances from the

crown. This was largely change when Thomas Paine anonymously

published his impassioned pamphlet, Common Sense. In it he stated,

"The authority of Great Britain over this Continent is a form of

Government, which sooner or later must have an end... 'Tis repugnant

to reason, to the universal order of things." He insisted that America

must split from British rules, which was only harming their liberties.

This pamphlet altered the public mindset invaluably, causing many

who had previously wished to remain under British rules to call for a

final split. This finally came when the Continental Congress issued a

Declaration of Independence, which heralded the colonies right to

govern themselves, outlined the crimes of the king, and claimed that

he had forfeited all right to their loyalty. They had assured England, in

no uncertain, terms that they were to be a free and independent

nation not subject to the crown.

In conclusion, after a long series of British fumbles, the colonies

had inexorably marched toward independence. What had began as

discontent had slowly but surely become complete rebellion, which

culminated in the formal Declaration of Independence. This act was the

beginning of the true Revolutionary War and marked Americans'

determination to be free of foreign rule.