petition to King and circular letter to rescind Revenue Acts, 123–24
petition to remove Governor Bernard, 126
presidential election of 1796 and, 259–60
Provincial Congress in Concord and, 244
Quartering Act opposed by, 116
reaction to outbreak of revolution, 256
reputation of, 278n
retirement and death of, 260
right to organize and bear arms and, 172–73
Shays Rebellion, reaction to, 269–70
Stamp Act repeal commemorations, 116, 134–35
standing army essays by, 135–36
states’ rights and, 263, 269
Tea Act and, 199–202
Townshend Acts and, 123–24, 137–38
troops in Boston and, 131–32, 151–52, 162, 234–35
unity sought by, 115–16, 154, 155, 203, 213
as Walter Cronkite of his time, 137
Whiskey Rebellion, reaction to, 270
Administration of Justice Act (the Murder Act), 222–23
admiralty courts, 118–19. See also Vice Admiralty Court Act of 1768
colonial hostility toward, 52, 56
custom grievances and, 127
Gaspée and, 188
headquarters and expansion into district offices, 118–19, 127
ruling against Hancock, 130–31
Sons of Liberty desire to end, 103
Albany, New York
British troops to be sent, 87, 110
“Constitution of the Sons of Liberty of Albany” (1766), 88
fire masters of, 2–3, 87
fur trade and, 18
prominent families of, 3, 21
“Riots,” xvii, 22–24, 88
river travel to, 18
Sons of Liberty born in, 19–24, 87–88, 91
Stamp Act and, 1–4, 18, 19–24
Thomas Williams’s Inn, 2, 20, 21, 22, 23, 87
as true cradle of liberty, 1, 260
Van Schaack “corrected,” 1–4, 19–24
Albany Congress of 1754, 4
Albany Plan, 4–5, 12
Alexander, John, 126
Allen, John, 193
American Board of Customs Commissioners, 118
American Historical Review, 40–41
American Revolution, 261
American Board of Customs Commissioners as tipping point, 118
Battle of Breed’s Hill, 256
Battle of Bunker Hill, 259
Battle of Golden Hill, 145–47, 148, 278n
Battles of Lexington and Concord, 249, 251–55
British surrender at Yorktown, 250
burning of the Gaspée and, 179–89
collaboration of social classes and, 31–32, 65–66
first blood spilled (1766), 111
first blood spilled (1770), 147
first casualty of nascent (1770), 154
as ideological or economic, 25–27, 198, 284n
John Allen’s letter as popular pamphlet, 193
midnight ride of Paul Revere, 245–49
setting of, 27–28
“shot heard round the world,” xiv, 249, 250
Siege of Boston, 255, 258, 259
Treaty of Paris, 261, 265
Andrews, John, 227
Articles of Confederation, 259
“Association of the Sons of Liberty of New York, The,” 214
Attucks, Crispus, 159, 162, 170
Autobiography (J. Adams), 165–66
Bailey, James, 170
Bailyn, Bernard, 25
Baltimore, Sons of Liberty and mutual defense pact, 92–93
Barré, Isaac, 33–34
Beard, Charles A., 25, 26
Beaver (tea ship), 206, 208
tea thrown overboard, 210–11
Becker, Carl, 65
Bell, J. L., 16
Benson, William, 2
Berkeley, William, 44
Berkeley Barb, 69
Bernard, Francis, Governor of Massachusetts, 46–51, 116, 125
accuses Adams, Otis, of treason, 131
asks for troops in Boston, 129, 131
Assembly dissolved by, 126, 132
departure of, end of term, 138
letters of, 46–51, 132, 275n
orders Assembly to retract circular letter, 125
reward for identifying Stamp Act protest ringleaders, 56
seizure of Hancock’s ship and, 129
Stamp Act and colonial reaction, 46–51, 56, 61
Townshend Acts modified, 138
Berniere, Henry de, 254
Beulah (ship of Robert Murray), 234
Bickley, George Washington Lafayette, 266–67
Board of Customs Commissioners
attack on agents of, 129
Boston hostility toward, 126–29
in Providence, 179
seizure of Hancock’s ship, 128–29
Boston, xv, 105. See also Adams, Samuel; Boston Sons of Liberty; Otis, James
Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770), 155–63
Boston Tea Party (Dec. 16, 1773) and events preceding, 202–12
British Coffee House tussle, Otis attacked (1769), 149–50
British troops sent (1769), 131, 132, 137
British troops sent (1774), 234–35
British troops shoot children (Feb. 22, 1770), 154–55
Castle William (at harbor entrance), 129, 152, 161, 163
Committee of Correspondence, 208, 220
Committee of Correspondence, Suffolk meeting, 230–31
Committee of Inspection, 235
custom informant tarred and feathered, 150
customs agents attacked, 129
customs agents in and seizure of property, 126–29, 179
Faneuil Hall in, 116, 130, 137, 152, 154, 161, 203, 230
first American public welfare project, 163–64
freeing of impressed seaman, 127–28
Granary Cemetery in, 263
HMS Romney (warship) in, 127–28
“irreconcilables” (nonsigners of embargo), 152–53
liberty tree, 48, 116, 129
mob attacks on Hutchinson and British officials (1765), 52–57
North End Caucus, 199–200
as occupied city, 134, 138, 151–52, 172–73
Old South Meeting House, 203
Old South Meeting House meetings about tea ships, 204–9, 212
population of, 28
Port of Boston closed by Parliament, 219, 221–22
quiet period, early 1770s, 175
relief supplies sent to, 222, 235
smuggling into, 118
Stamp Act protest in, 46–55
Stamp Act repeal and, 105
Stamp Act repeal commemorated, 116, 134–35
tea ban, 152
tea dumped from Fortune, 219
Boston, Siege of, 255, 258, 259
Boston Beer Company, “Sam Adams” beer, 269
Boston Gazette
accounts of Boston Massacre, 160, 162–63
account of killing of Seider, 152–54
account of Otis defamation charges, 149
accounts of tax rebellion, 51, 56
antitax tracts in, 47
articles by “Vindex” (Samuel Adams), 174
excerpts of Hutchinson’s letters, 196
Virginia Resolves in, 47
Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770), xiv, 155–63
accounts of, 155, 156, 157, 174–75
compared to Kent State, 160–61
deathbed or dying declaration exemption for hearsay evidence and, 171
fatalities, 159
funeral procession and burial, 162–63
Sons of Liberty maintain calm in city, 163
trial, 165–73
trial verdicts, 169, 171–72
Boston News-Letter, 37
Boston Port Act, 219
outraged response to, 221–22
Suffolk Resolves
and, 230
Boston Post-Boy, 56, 105
Boston 1775 (Bell), 16
Boston Sons of Liberty. See also Adams, Samuel; Otis, James
act on customs “racketeering,” 129–31
Boston Tea Party and, 212–13
chapters of and mutual defense pact, 92
committee for night watch, 162, 163
meetings about stationing of British troops, 131–32
nonimportation agreements and, 123, 131, 148–49, 150, 152, 163, 175
Boston Tea Party (Dec. 16, 1773), xiv, xvi, 209–12, 281n
arrival of ships carrying tea, 202, 206
cost of lost tea, 211–12
importance of, 212
men involved in, 209–11
Old South Meeting House gatherings about, 204–9
Parliament’s response, 217–25
as precedent for destruction of private property, 217
towns objecting to, 217
Boston Town Assembly (Boston Assembly), 116
Committee of Correspondence resurrected (1772), 191, 200
John Adams elected to, 169–70
nonimportation agreements and, 123
resolutions on unjust tea tax, 200
Samuel Adams and, 35, 226
Bowen, Ephraim, 182, 183–84, 186, 189
boycotts and/or embargos. See also nonimportation agreements
of all British goods, 221, 224
Continental Association to enforce suspension of trade pact, 231–32
Continental Congress of 1774 and, 228, 231
Franklin’s warning to Parliament about, 100–101
South Carolina problems, 241–42
Suffolk Resolves and, 230
Breed’s Hill, Battle of, 256
Briggs, Aaron, 189
British Parliament, xv
American envoys to, 10
Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) of 1774, 218–19, 221–23
colonies denied representation in, 11–12
Currency Act of 1764, 108
debates on what to be done with “the rebellious colonies,” 90
French and Indian War debt, 4, 7
indifference to colonial tax protests, 35
Quartering Act of 1865, 109–10
Shelburne’s proposals for colonies, 119
Stamp Act of 1765, 4
Stamp Act repealed, 96–101, 103
taxation powers of, 9
Townshend Acts duties removed except for tea, 164
Townshend Acts of 1767–68, 116–20
Townshend’s speech, 120
trade duties on the colonies, 9–10
Brown, John, 182, 184–85, 186
Bucklin, Joseph, 183–84, 185, 186
Bull, William, Governor of South Carolina, 139–40, 216
Bunker Hill, Battle of, 259
Burke, Edmund, 12, 96
Caldwell, James, 159, 162
Canada, 26
Carr, Patrick, 159, 163, 171
Carrington, Edward, 242
Cartwright, Richard, 20
Chaffin, Robert, 118
Champagne, Roger, 141
Charleston, South Carolina, xv
antitax demonstrations, 62
British capture of, 262
currency problems in, 139, 233
customs officials and, 179
General Committee of, 232–33
liberty tree (liberty oak), 106, 110
opposition to new taxes, 15
population of, 28
Provincial Congress formed, 233
quiet period, early 1770s, 178–79
shipbuilding in, 232
slaves imported through, 178
Sons of Liberty in, 15, 62, 138–39, 215–16 (see also Gadsden, Christopher)
Stamp Tax demonstrations in, 84
Stamp Act repealed and, 106–7
stamp commissioner resigns, 62
tea boycott, 215–16
tea ship Britannia cargo dumped, 233
tea ship London seized by customs, 215–16, 282n
Townshend Acts and, 139–40
trade and, 109
Clarke, Jonas, 244–45, 248
Clarke, Richard, 199–201, 202, 206
Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)
Administration of Justice Act (the Murder Act), 222–23
Boston Port Act, 219, 221–22
colonial boycott of British goods and, 221
Massachusetts Government Act, 222, 230
passage of, 218–19
Quartering Act of 1774, 223
Quebec Act and, 228
reimbursement of East Indian Company, 219–20
repeal by colonies sought, 236
Washington’s response to, 223
Colden, Cadwallader, Acting Governor of New York, 63–77, 93–94
aftermath of antitax demonstrations and, 83–84
antitax demands received by, 64–65
coach destroyed, 76, 94
death of, 178
decision to give up stamps, 78–82
description of “Revolutionary parties,” 66
effigy carried through streets, 75–77
efforts to enforce Stamp Tax, 70, 72–73
efforts to reinforce Fort George, 67, 70–71, 75
holds fire on mob, 76, 78
letter to Britain on jeopardy of Fort George, 78–79
message in oyster shell left for, 80
passes tax problems to Sir Henry Moore, 82, 83, 84
refusal to cooperate with Moore, 102
replaced by John Murray, 176–77
replaced by William Tryon, 178
reports threats against Thomas James, 73, 74–75
return to office (1769), 143
Colonial America, 31. See also specific colonies
Albany Plan and, 4–5, 12
bound apprentices in, 29
boycotts, 17, 66
British troops in, 11
characters of each colony, differences, 5–6
cities of, 28
Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) and, 219–25
colleges in, 30
cost of living, wages, 7–8, 109
courts and the judiciary, 65, 103, 118–19, 127, 165–73, 222–23, 237–38
crime and punishment, 31, 150–51
currency problems, 13–14, 108–9, 233
Declaration of Rights, 59–61
Declaratory Act and, 101, 106, 117
dislike and mistrust of British officials sent to the colonies, 10–11
economic recession in, 26, 27, 108–9
envoys to the British Parliament, 10
first Continental Congress (1765), 46, 59–61, 71
French in, 2
friction with Britain, causes, xv
fur trade, 2, 104
governance of, 12
indentured servants in, 28–29
independence called for, 105, 134
land rights and, 179
life and customs in, 30–31
life expectancy, 30
literacy rate, 30
loyalty to Britain maintained, 34, 42, 60, 105, 124–25, 131, 133, 198, 231
Mason-Dixon Line, 28
military commissions denied to, 11
militia of, 11 (see also Minutemen)
Navigation Act of 1660, 4
New France, 10
newspapers of, 36–38
occupations in, 29–30, 179
popular ballads, 69–70
population and demographics, 27–29, 31
Quartering Act of 1865, 109–10, 116
“redemptioners” in, 29
relationship with Britain, 4, 33–34
ruling class in, 29
ship travel and, 18
size of each colony, 28
slavery in, 27–28, 178, 223
smuggling in, 117, 118, 119, 179, 197, 198
social class distinctions in, 30–31
Stamp Act, 4, 17–18, 19–24, 36–42
Stamp Act d
istributors, action against, 1–4, 17, 19–24
Stamp Act repeal, 95, 96–101, 103, 105
Stamp Act repeal commemorations, 116, 134–35
standing army in opposed, 116, 135–36
taxation without representation and, xv, 9, 15–16, 26, 34–35, 45
taxes, Franklin’s testimony to Parliament on, 97–101
taxes, resolutions against, 38–45
tea tax resolutions and, 199–225
Townshend Acts, 116–24
trade and, 11, 12, 109, 232, 239–40
trade duties, 9–10, 45, 103, 118, 179
voting in, 141
Committees of Correspondence, 34–35, 66
of Boston, 208, 220
Boston Tea Party news and, 212
effectiveness of, 194
importance of information sharing, 135
resurrected 1772–1774, 191–94
Suffolk meeting, 230–31
Conciliatory Resolution, 239–40
Concord, Massachusetts
munitions stored in, Gage’s troops and, 251
Provincial Congress meeting in, 244
shot heard round the world, xiv, 249
“Concord Hymn” (Emerson), 250, 284n
Connecticut
call for independence, 105
as “charter” colony, 5
Committee of 500, 105
independence called for, 106
loyalty to Britain maintained, 105
nonimportation agreements, 131
Sons of Liberty chapters in, mutual defense pact, 92
Sons of Liberty leader Putnam, 95
Sons of Liberty pact with New York, 90–91
stamp agent pressured in, 67–68
Connecticut Assembly
call for colonial union, 194
Resolves, 46
Stamp Tax protest sent to London, 35
Constitutional Courant (broadside), 68–69
“Constitution of the Sons of Liberty of Albany, The” (1766), 88, 250
“to persevere to the last . . .” 88, 250
Continental Army, 255
Continental Association, 231–32
Continental Congress of 1765 (Stamp Act Congress), 46, 59–61, 71
Declaration of Rights, 59–61
Continental Congress of 1774 (First)
boycott on trade and, 228, 231
call for, 223–25
conservatives at, restoration of relations with England sought, 228, 229, 231
convening of, 226
“Declaration of Rights and Grievances,” 231
delegates return to communities to carry out resolves of, 232–33
enforcement groups formed, 232
famous delegates, 230–31
Georgia absent from, 226
goals of, 228
liberal delegations, 228
Massachusetts delegation, 228
New York delegation, 229
opposition to liberal faction, 228–29
Philadelphia chosen as site for, 225
Philadelphia delegation, 229
prayer of benediction at, 229–30
resolve for union, 228