AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: Colonial Resistance Groups (Day 39/309)

Welcome to today’s explanation of Colonial Resistance Groups in my series- APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

Wikimedia Commons: Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Mercy Otis Warren

As Britain began to more intensely exert their imperial authority, colonial resentment and resistance increased. Colonial leaders, such as Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, and Mercy Otis Warren, inspired and fostered a sense of unity against Britain.

The Bostonians Paying the Excise-man, or Tarring and Feathering. Wikimedia Commons

The Sons of Liberty were founded in 1765 and used grassroots activism to advance the rights of colonists and fight against British taxation. They participated in civil disobedience, and sometimes violence, to achieve their goals. 

Non-Consumption and Homespun Movements, Frances Tauvern Museum

Similarly, the Daughters of Liberty were founded in 1766 to support resistance efforts. Women voiced their political opinions and fueled the rebellion through many ways. Most notably, they participated in widespread boycotts against British goods and spun their own cotton and wool in the Homespun Movement.

Letter from Samuel Adams to James Warren, 4 November 1772 Bostonteapartyship.com

In 1772, Committees of Correspondence emerged as a key communication system. Towns from Nova Scotia to Georgia were able to express ideas and coordinate resistance quickly through this network.

Throughout the movement for independence, American colonists participated in political activism to boycott, protest, and resist British imperial policies.

Join me tomorrow as I explain the Townshend Acts in our next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!