God Save the People! From the Stamp Act to Bunker Hill
To tell the story of the coming of the American Revolution in Boston, this exhibition follows the evolution of colonial thought and political action through the letters and diaries of men and women caught up in the conflict, together with political cartoons, newspapers, maps, artifacts, and portraits.
Between 1765 and 1775, as imperial reforms encroached upon what colonists perceived to be their English liberties, Boston became a center of resistance and site of a series of spectacular events that undercut royal authority. Citizens of Massachusetts bonded together to reject the British administration over their activities and lives. Imposed customs duties and taxes -- such as the Stamp Act and Tea Act -- were successfully overturned due to well-ordered and systematic mob violence.
Along with celebrated Sons and Daughters of Liberty, this is the story of forgotten patriots who died for a country-to-be, brothers who served against each other in the courtroom, propagandists and war profiteers, merchants whose enterprise was threatened by political chaos and young lovers divided by battle lines.
If you are unable to visit the exhibition in person, you can explore the coming of the American Revolution through the following online displays.
Perspectives of the Boston Massacre is an interactive website that allows visitors to examine materials offering a range of perspectives related to the events of 5 March 1765.
The Siege of Boston presents more than one dozen accounts written by individuals personally engaged in or affected by the siege, which occurred from April 1775 to March 1776.
The Annotated Newspapers of Harbottle Dorr, Jr., presents the complete four-volume set of Revolutionary-era Boston newspapers and pamphlets assembled, annotated, and indexed by Harbottle Dorr, Jr., a shopkeeper in Boston.
Discover the fears, friction, and turmoil that shaped these times with The Coming of the American Revolution, a web display of newspapers, official documents, and personal correspondence arranged into fifteen key topics.