Battle of Lexington, 19 April, 1775
National Army Museum, London
The thirteen American colonies had long resisted British efforts to impose taxes to recoup costs of The French and Indian War (1754-1763), leading to growing unrest. Taxes on printed material proposed under the Stamp Act of 1765 led to the formation of the Sons of Liberty. A new duty on tea and other goods in 1767 and seizure of John Hancock's sloop, the Liberty, increased tensions and led to the Occupation of Boston by British troops in 1768. In 1770, an unruly protest ended with shots fired by soldiers in the Boston Massacre.
The Tea Act of 1773 was followed by the Boston Tea Party, a legendary planned act of defiance that rallied the other colonies to the cause. In 1774, as more colonists rejected imperial rule and supported the cause of freedom, British monarch King George declared
Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion, closed Boston Harbor, and ordered the patriots be
disarmed.
On the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere and William Dawes were sent out to Lexington and Concord
to alert rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock of British plans
to arrest them and to capture or destroy stockpiled munitions in
Concord.
On April 19, 1775, the first shots of the Revolution were fired, on Lexington Green. No one knows who fired first. Some 25,000-70,000 Patriots died during the Revolutionary War, which ended eight years later with the Treaty of Paris, on September 3, 1783.
On July 4, 1776, America's Declaration of Independence from British rule was signed by 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress. The United States Constitution was written in 1787 and ratified in 1788, with all 13 states signing on by 1790.
Our nation's founders fought long and hard to rid themselves of King George, "A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people."
The vision of freedom that grew out of decades of struggle "to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the
general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and
our Posterity" is enshrined in our Constitution and its Bill of Rights.
The Patriots Day observance on Monday offers a time to reflect on the enormous debt we have to those who came before us. No Kings events on April 19, and through the weekend in many nearby communities and nationwide, offer each of us an opportunity to stand up again in defense of our constitution and our democracy.
SHDTC Updates-Issue 71-No Kings in America-041825
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