Loyalists

Americans now refer to The War f Independence as the Revolution but it may also be considered a civil war. Their nicknames was "Tories", they took manners into their own hands and armed themselves as well as the patriots. Loyalists were 20% of the white population in the colonies.

Educated people, both loyalists or revolutionaries agreed with John Locke's theory of human rights and an ordered government. Yet they both criticized Britain's actions towards them. What differed loyalists was that they wanted peaceful ways to protest against England and violence only led to tyranny. They did not support independence since it would lower the economic rate since colonies would be cut off the British mercantile system.

Loyalists came in all shapes and sizes. Some were farmers and artisans. While others were British officers, that not surprisingly, stayed loyal to the crown. Others were slaves, Native Americans, and indenture servants that came from Germany since King George III had a German origin.

The Paris Peace Treaty forced Congress to give most of the Loyalists land back. Such as the heirs of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. Many Loyalists left the Americas such as George Franklin, son of Benjamin, and John Copley the most famous painter of the time.

Shot heard around the World

John Hancock

He was born in Braintree, Quincy, a January 12 of 1737. He was an orphan an was adopted by a wealthy merchant. He graduated from Harvard College in the area of business ay the age of 17. He went to England in England and witness the coronation of King George III. In 1763, his uncle died and he inherited a great piece of land in New England. 

He returned to New England and was involved with revolutionary politics and used its great social influence to revolt it. He and Samuel Adams convened in a Provincial Congress to govern Massachusetts without the current general, Thomas Gage, knowing about their activities. They started to stockpile arms and ammunitions to prepared for the war against the British.

Later he wrote the Declaration of Independence and has the most recognizable signature on the document. In the 1790s he was elected Massachusetts governor. He later died October 8th 1793.

The Firts Continental Congress

The First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphias Carpenters Hall on September 5, 1774. The idea of this meeting was advanced a year earlier by Benjamin Franklin, but didnt to gain much support until after the Port of Boston was closed because of the Boston Tea Party.

Twelve of the 13 colonies were included. Georgia didnt wanted to be a part of it; they were facing attacks from the restive Creek on their borders and desperately needed the support of regular British soldiers.
The Congress, which continued in session until late October, did not get independence but they did wanted to be more united and to make British know what they were capable of..

Some of the most prominent figures of the era were among the 55 delegates in attendance, including George Washington, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, John Jay and John Dickinson.

They were mostly people of social standing and made their livings from trade, farming and the law. Many were initially unknown to one another and vast differences existed on some of the issues, but important friendships flourished. Frequent dinners and gatherings were held and were attended by all except the spartan Sam Adams.

Intolerable Acts

The government spent a lot of money on troops and equipment for Massachusetts. British merchants had lost money on  spoiled, and destroyed goods shipped to the colonies. The revenue generated by the Townshend duties, in 1770, amounted to less than £21,000. On March 5, 1770, Parliament repealed the duties, except for the one on tea. That same day, the Boston massacre set a course that would lead the Royal Governor to evacuate the occupying army from Boston, and would soon bring the revolution to armed rebellion throughout the colonies.
In 1174 after the French and Indian War the British Government decided to reap greater benefits from the colonies. The colonies were pressed with greater taxes without any representation in Britain. This eventually lead to the Boston Tea Party. In retaliation the British passed several punative acts aimed at bringing the colonies back into submission of the King. In Whiche the following acts were created.
Boston Port Act, Administration of Justice Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Quartering Act,Quebec Act.

The Boston Tea Party

The colonies didnt want to pay the levies required by the Townsend Acts, because they thought they had no obligation to pay taxes imposed by a Parliament in which they had no representation. So the  Parliament decided to stop taxing  with the exception of a duty on tea. In May of 1773 Parliament had a clever plan. They gave the struggling East India Company on the importation of tea to America. Additionally, Parliament reduced the duty the colonies would have to pay for the imported tea. The Americans would now get their tea at a cheaper price than ever before. However, if the colonies paid the duty tax on the imported tea they would be giving Parliament's right to tax them. Tea was like a must to have in colonial life  it was assumed that the colonists would rather pay the tax than deny themselves the pleasure of a cup of tea.
The colonists were not fooled by Parliament's plan. In Boston, the arrival of three tea ships ignited a furious reaction. The crisis came  on December 16, 1773. A mass meeting at the Old South Meeting House that morning resolved that the tea ships should leave the harbor without payment of any duty. A committee was selected to take this message to the Customs House to force release of the ships out of the harbor. The Collector of Customs refused to allow the ships to leave without payment of the duty. The committee reported back to the mass meeting and a mess erupted from the meeting hall. It was now early evening and a group of about 200 whopping war chants, the crowd marched two by two to the wharf, descended upon the three ships and dumped their offending cargos of tea into the harbor waters.
Most colonists applauded the action while the reaction in London was swift and vehement.

The Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a colonist who was  throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, to British soldiers who defended themselves with their guns. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry.
The Colonists didnt want the British troops to spend so much time in the colonies. The problem began when about 50 citizens attaked a British soldier. A British officer, Captain Thomas Preston, called in additional soldiers, who were also attacked, so the soldiers fired into the mob, killing 3 colonists. A black sailor named Crispus Attucks, ropemaker Samuel Gray, and a mariner named James Caldwell, and 8 others.
The colonists made a meeting was called demanding the removal of the British and the trial of Captain Preston and his men for murder. At the trial, John Adams and Josiah Quincy II defended the British, leading to their  release.
The Boston Massacre was a signal event leading to the Revolutionary War. It would soon bring the revolution to armed rebellion throughout the colonies.