How American Colonists Resisted British Control: From Protests to Revolution

Colonial resistance escalated from petitions to armed rebellion over a decade (1765–1775). Key methods:

1. Political Protest & Propaganda

• Stamp Act Congress (1765): 9 colonies petitioned Parliament – "No taxation without representation."
• Sons of Liberty: Organized riots, effigy burnings, intimidation of tax collectors.
• Boston Tea Party (Dec 1773): Disguised as Mohawks, dumped 342 chests of East India Co. tea. Iconic property destruction.

2. Economic Coercion (Non-Importation/Non-Consumption)

• Colonial assemblies & merchants agreed to boycott British goods (1765, 1768, 1774).
• Continental Association (1774): First Continental Congress mandated total trade halt with Britain until Intolerable Acts repealed. Enforced by local committees.

3. Intercolonial Coordination

• Committees of Correspondence: Shadow governments (Samuel Adams, 1772) sharing intelligence, coordinating resistance across colonies.
• First Continental Congress (1774): 12 colonies (excl. GA) met in Philadelphia. Issued Declaration of Rights & Grievances, endorsed Suffolk Resolves, set Association.

4. Military Preparation

• Minutemen / Militia Reorganization: New England towns stockpiled powder, drilled.
• Powder Alarms (1774): British seizures met with massive militia mobilization.

5. Declaration & War

• Lexington & Concord (Apr 1775): First shots. British march to seize arms.
• Second Continental Congress (May 1775): Created Continental Army (Washington), managed war, diplomacy.
• Declaration of Independence (Jul 4, 1776): Formal rejection of British sovereignty.
• Revolutionary War (1775–1783): 8 years, French alliance (1778), Yorktown (1781), Treaty of Paris (1783).

Resistance evolved from rights-as-Englishmen to natural rights of mankind.