Revolution
Great Britain responded to the Boston Tea Party in 1774 with the Coercive Acts. The first of these acts, the Boston Port Act, closed Boston's commerce until the East India Company had been repaid for the destroyed tea. The Massachusetts Government Act rewrote the Massachusetts Charter, making many officials royally appointed rather than elected, and severely restricting the activities of town meetings. The Administration of Justice Act allowed colonists charged with crimes to be transported to another colony or to Great Britain for trial. A new royal governor was appointed to enforce the acts: General Thomas Gage, who was also commander of British military forces in North America.
Adams worked to coordinate resistance to the Coercive Acts. In May 1774, with Adams serving as moderator, the Boston Town Meeting organized an economic boycott of British goods. In June, Adams headed a committee in the Massachusetts House which proposed that an intercolonial congress meet in Philadelphia in September. With the doors locked to prevent Gage from dissolving the legislature, Adams was one of five delegates chosen to attend the First Continental Congress. Because Adams was never fashionably dressed and had little money, friends bought him new clothes and paid his expenses for the journey to Philadelphia, his first trip outside of Massachusetts.
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams
Read more about this topic: Samuel Adams
Famous quotes containing the word revolution:
“Freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected. These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“I see every day more clearly the value, necessity, and sanative qualities of the three B’s: Bench, Ballot, Barricade.”
—Aurora C. Phelps, U.S. women’s magazine contributor. The Revolution (May 21, 1868)
“We live in an era of revolution—the revolution of rising expectations.”
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965)