What were some important Revolutionary war events in Massachusetts?

Question

I am thinking about writing a historical fiction, and I am a westerner. Could you help me out with important revolutionary events in Massachusetts?

Answer 1

Congrats, and I hope you the best with your research and book!

Massachusetts became the focal point of opposition to British imperial policies for two reasons. First, the greater Boston area was a major commercial center and was naturally sensitive to all efforts to regulate trade. Second, the colony was home to a large number of radicals who ranged from the obstreperous Samuel Adams to the intellectual John Adams. The first great outburst of colonial indignation came during the Stamp Act crisis in 1765, during which the cry of “no taxation without representation” was heard. The ensuing quiet was broken by resistance to the Townshend Duties in 1767. Radical colonists fanned public furor following the Boston Massacre in 1770 and plotted the destruction of private property in the Boston Tea Party in 1773. British officials responded by closing the port of Boston in 1774.
Armed hostilities broke out in April 1775 at Lexington and Concord, and continued at Bunker Hill. Much of the early military action took place in Massachusetts until the focus of the war later shifted to New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

ALSO SEE
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/revwar-75.htm

Answer 2

Revolutionary War Important Events

Answer 3

I'm sure you've gotten some great answers so far, but here's a recap- The Boston Tea Party (prior to the war- started by Sam Adams, John Adam's second cousin. Boston Massacre ("shot heard around the world", though baseball took that line years later), The battle of Lexington and Concord, and of course the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere that took place through Boston and up to Concord. Will your book be for children or adults? I'm a school teacher, so I want to be on the look out for good historical fiction! :-)

Answer 4

"Boston was the center of revolutionary activity in the decade before 1775, with Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Hancock as leaders who would become important in the eventual war. Under military occupation, since 1768, when customs officials were attacked by mobs, two regiments of British regulars had been housed in the city with increasing public outrage."

"In Boston on March 5, 1770, in what began as a rock throwing incident against a few British soldiers, ended in the shooting of five men by British soldiers in what became known as the Boston Massacre. The incident caused to further rile anger in the commonwealth over taxes and the presence of the British soldiers."

"One of the many taxes protested by the colonists was the Tea Act, and laws that forbade the sale of non-East India Company Tea. On December 16, 1773, when a tea ship of the East India Company was planning to land taxed tea in Boston, a group of local men known as the Sons of Liberty sneaked on to the boat the night before and dumped all the tea into the harbor, an act known as the Boston Tea Party."

"The Boston Tea Party caused the British government to pass the Intolerable Acts that brought stiff punishment upon Massachusetts. They closed the port of Boston, the economic lifeblood of the state, and eliminated any self-government. The suffering of Boston and the tyranny of its rule caused great sympathy and stirred resentment throughout the colonies. With the local population largely opposing British authority, troops moved from Boston on April 18, 1775 to destroy the powder supplies of local resisters in Concord. Paul Revere made his famous ride to warn the locals in response to this march. That day, in the Battle of Lexington and Concord, where the famous "shot heard round the world" was fired, British troops, after running over the Lexington militia, were forced back into the city by local resistors. The city was quickly brought under siege. In response, on February 9, 1775, the British Parliament declared Massachusetts to be in rebellion, and sent additional troops to restore order to the colony. Fighting broke out when the British attempted to take the Charlestown Peninisula in what is known as the Battle of Bunker Hill. The British won the battle, but at a very large cost. Soon afterwards General George Washington took charge, and when he acquired cannon in spring 1776, the British were forced to leave, marking the first great American victory of the war. This was the last fighting in the state but the Massachusetts state navy did manage to get itself destroyed by the British fleet."

"The fighting brought to a head what had been brewing through out the colonies, and on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. It was signed first by Massachusetts resident John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. Soon afterward the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston from the balcony of the Old State House."

"History of Massachusetts : Revolutionary Massachusetts: 1760s–1780s" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Massachusetts#Revolutionary_Massachusetts:__1760s.E2.80.931780s

Answer 5

It was the locus of one of the acts that triggered the revolution -- the refusal to pay tax to the king on imported tea. Instead they threw bales of it in the harbor. It was in Philadelphia though that the rebels gathered to declare independence from the throne. At that time, Philadelphia and Boston were the two most important cities in the colonies. They were the fonts of the revolution.