Replies

The first conflict of the American Revolution might be said to be the result of the Stamp Act of 1765. In August of 1765, Andrew Oliver, the stamp agent in Boston was hung in effigy from the Liberty Tree and forced to resign his commission.

"What a greater Joy did ever New England see
Than a Stampman hanging on a Tree".

Lt. Gov Hutchinson and the sheriff attempted to break up the crowd around midnight only to be driven off by a hail of stones and harsh commentary.

A couple of weeks later a crowd gathered and lit a bonfire on King St in Boston. They then moved on to the house of William Story, a Crown agent in the admiralty court. The crowd swarmed the house, destroying Story's papers and his furnishings as well as Court records held there.

The crowd then moved on to the home of Boston's Controller of Customs, Benjamin Hallowell. They tore down his fence, broke out his windows, stormed the house and stripped it of contents.

The next target of the night was Hutchinson's home. The Lt. Gov. had gotten warning and sent his family to safety. But his eldest daughter had returned and declared she would stay unless Hutchinson also departed. Hutchinson retreated with her to a neighbor's house. The crowd did its work again and left only a shell and a partial roof to greet the dawn.

Thus our ancestors met overreaching government. It was not the last battle but merely a beginning. There followed the Declaratory Act and the Townsend Acts and the Tea Act. Martial law and direct resistance pushed back and forth until "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" and then it was game on.